Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

The landlord cannot "force" you to hire a professional cleaner. So long as you can objectively prove that the apartment is as clean as it was (or cleaner) when you moved in, the landlord cannot charge you for professional cleaning. The same, however, is not always true for carpet. The carpet needs to also be as clean, or cleaner than when you moved in, less normal wear and tear. That does not include spots or stains which are not normal wear and tear. Because Rug Doctors do not do a particularly good job at cleaning carpets, you almost have to have them professionally cleaned to restore them to the condition they were in when you moved in. From experience, I can tell you that I've yet to see carpets cleaned with a rental machine that are acceptable to most landlords, and judges will generally back that up.

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