Cleaning Between Tenants in Ontario
Every Ontario landlord faces the between-tenancy cleaning challenge — the window between one tenant moving out and a new tenant moving in, during which the unit needs to be restored to a standard that supports re-leasing and meets a new tenant's reasonable expectations. Here's what landlords need to know.
What You Can Charge the Outgoing Tenant
Under the RTA, landlords can seek cleaning costs from an outgoing tenant only for cleaning that is needed above and beyond "ordinary wear and tear" — i.e., damage or neglect, not normal use. The standard process is to file an application with the LTB within 30 days of the tenant vacating.
Important: Ontario landlords cannot unilaterally withhold a last-month's-rent deposit for cleaning costs. The last-month's-rent deposit must be applied to the final month's rent. To recover cleaning costs, you need an LTB order.
Timeline
In practice, most Ontario landlords have 1–2 weeks between tenancy end and new tenancy start. Schedule the professional cleaning as early as possible — ideally 24–48 hours after the tenant has fully vacated and done a final walkthrough. This gives time for painting or minor repairs if needed before the new tenant's possession date.
What the Between-Tenancy Clean Should Include
- Full deep clean of kitchen (oven, fridge, cabinets, counters, floors)
- Full bathroom clean (grout scrub, toilet, tub/shower, exhaust fan)
- All floors vacuumed and mopped
- All windows wiped
- Baseboards throughout
- Inside all closets