If the home you buy is dirty when you move in, it may not be a breach of contract, but it can sure feel that way as the new owner.
Unlike renting, buying a home doesn’t require a post-move-in/out damage deposit. Homebuyers In BC pay for the house before getting the keys. This means you won’t have a chance to see the property until after you’ve paid for it. You’ll trust the seller to clean after receiving their payment, and most do. Adding a term requiring professional cleaning in your purchase contract will give you some assurance, but it’s not a guarantee.
If you feel the home is dirty when you move in, It’s important to remember that everyone has different cleaning standards. For example, a seller may have hired a professional cleaner and genuinely believe they left you a spic-and-span home. But that won’t change how you feel if you perceive the home you buy as dirty when you move in. Your standards may be higher than the sellers.
A little-used option is negotiating a cleaning deposit into your purchase contract. This way, you’d have the deposit money available if you needed to hire your cleaner. Unfortunately, few sellers are agreeable to this, as a clean home can be a sensitive and sometimes offending subject. You won’t want to stall negotiations over potential cleaning.
Still, some sellers believe they’re not obligated to clean, and in this case, your only option is the legal path. We’d start by contacting the seller to see if they’re willing to make things right. If you don’t get a positive outcome, other options are the Civil Right Tribunal or Small Claims Court. The legal route can be a lot of time and effort, and may not outweigh the cleaning costs, so you’ll need to decide if it’s worth it.
