I have two questions on rental law.?

Question

1 - Is there a limit to what hourly rate a landlord can charge for cleaning services after a renter moves out when the landlord does the cleaning themselves?

2 - Does anyone know the laws about safe egress in regard to rental property? There is a property in which the bedroom has no windows nor a door to the outside. If there were a fire, it would become a death trap. Could this be legal under some sort of grandfather clause, or is it cause to shut down the property until it's fixed?

Thank you!

Answer 1

www.hud.gov has links to rental laws for every state.  

Answer 2

1. Some states allow for a landlord to charge for their own time/labor, others do not. It is state specific.

2. If the room has no windows, then it is not a legal bedroom and should not be used as such. It does not have to be fixed and the property would not be condemned.

Answer 3

1 - The limit is $0.   Landlords can not charge anything for their own time.   He can only bill for cleaning if he hired a licensed cleaning service.

2- This is not a legal bedroom.   This is not something that has to be fixed, you are allowed to have rooms without windows, just not bedrooms.  It is not legal to sleep in this room, but the landlord would not be responsible if the tenant was stupid and used it as a bedroom.   The property certainly would not be "shut down" as storage rooms, closets, etc are perfectly legal to have in your home without access from outside.

Answer 4

1 - In general a landlord is not allowed to charge for his own labor. He can only charge exactly what he is out-of-pocket.

2 - The so-called "death trap" existed when you moved in, so why complain now? If it's a concern don't use it as a bedroom.

Answer 5

1.It must be reasonable.  Easiest/smartest to do it yourself before moving out and avoid the problem.  It violates your lease, aggravates LL when tenant doesn't clean and hits you in deposit.  I'd much rather give you your entire deposit back and NOT have to clean the stove or rugs or rest of your dirt . . . . .

2.Egress to property is different than what you are talking about.  Query is rather is this is a legal BR.  Check local ordinance, as many require a BR have a window and closet. FEW  BRs have door to outside, and most of us wouldn't want this!   Having a room without a door or BR may or may not violate local ordinance, depends.  We can't tell you, depends on locale.