The following FAQ page will list different forms of acceptable evidence in order to issue a formal leasing violation for trash and/or cleanliness violations.
Common Areas: Roommates are expected to take shared and equal responsibility for keeping the common areas of the dwelling clean, tidy, in good repair, and livable. Roommates are expected to clean up their own messes and expected to clean up after any guests, overnight or otherwise, that they may have. Failure to comply with the foregoing (in Landlord’s discretion) will result in assessment of a cleaning charge to be split equally among the roommates. Roommates must allow for mutual use of common areas, such as decks, garages, driveways, and yards, in an equitable manner. No roommate may claim exclusive use of any common spaces. (Page 3).
HOA: All HOA rules must be followed throughout the term of the lease agreement. Any violation resulting in a fine will be charged to housemates and repeated violations will result in an eviction. (Page 4).
|
Soft Evidence |
Description |
|
General complaint |
A formal complaint sent to Alcove directly from a roommate or landlord. This may be submitted in a support ticket or by emailing the support team. Can apply to the common areas, shared spaces, or tenants' bedrooms. |
|
Messages |
Screenshots of texts or messages indicating that a roommate or group of roommates are responsible for trash pileup or have not taken shared cleaning responsibility, sent through texts or instant messaging apps. Must show the date and person responsible. |
|
Landlord inspection |
Details from a self-inspection report conducted by the landlord, indicating lease violations. |
|
Hard Evidence |
Description |
|
Alcove inspection report |
Alcove vendor has found clear evidence of cleaning issues and has documented it in the report. Can be applied to common spaces as well as tenant bedrooms. |
|
Photos and videos |
Photos/videos submitted showing violations of common space cleanliness or severe cleanliness of a tenants bedroom. |
|
HOA/ Community Violation |
Formal violation report submitted to the support team documenting a violation of the trash placement or cleanliness rules of the community. |
FAQ: Trash and Common Area Cleanliness Policy Violation
Q: What should I do if I suspect a roommate is not maintaining cleanliness in the common areas or not disposing of trash properly?
- The tenant should first attempt to resolve the issue with the housemate responsible.
- A tenant should submit a complaint via email or support ticket to Alcove Support, detailing the situation.
Q: What happens after I submit a complaint?
- Alcove will respond promptly, categorizing the complaint as falling under the 'soft evidence' category.
- Alcove will conduct an investigation to gather further, hard evidence. This may include contacting other roommates for additional information and reaching out to the landlord. Depending on the severity and specifics of the case, we may also schedule an inspection on behalf of the landlord to conduct a walkthrough of the property to collect more evidence.
Q: What does Alcove require as evidence?
-
- Alcove will request additional hard evidence.
- Hard Evidence: Pictures of the common spaces showing the mess.
- Soft Evidence: Multiple reports of the violation.
- Basic Evidence: Screenshots of text conversations or Landlord report.
- Alcove will request additional hard evidence.
Q: What happens once hard evidence is provided?
- Alcove may issue a lease violation notice of warning to the lease offender and give them the opportunity to correct the violation.
Q: What if the lease violator doesn't adhere to the warning?
- If the lease violator persists, Alcove may issue a notice to quit and may impose fines or schedule a cleaning at the tenants expense.
- Alcove will make the final determination on next steps based on the evidence.
Q: What if the tenant continues to violate the trash and common area cleanliness policy?
- If the tenant fails to adhere, Alcove may notify the Landlord and recommend that they file for an eviction.
- Should the Landlord decide to proceed, Alcove may issue a 10 day Notice to Vacate and will offer our full cooperation with the eviction proceedings.