Policy and Procedures

Welcome! We hope you enjoy your stay. To make your stay comfortable, the following policies and procedures are in effect. Please read them carefully!!

1. OVERNIGHT GUEST POLICY: STRICTLY NO overnight guests policy. If you wish to have overnight guests in your room, you need to inform us by phone, text messaging or via e-mail in advance. If you do not know in advance and this is a last minute decision, you still need to notify us and also have to pay $15/night for each of your guests. If at any time, we find out that you have any guests that we are uninformed about, they will have to leave the property and you will be responsible for the payment. Also, you may NOT at any time give any visiting guests the passwords to the house or the room, unless you have gotten permission from us for a guest to stay and have paid for their stay. No visiting guest is allowed to stay at the property when you leave the property.  They must leave with you. This is a shared accommodation and we need to respect the persons living in the other rooms.

2. INTERNET ACCESS: If the place has Internet access, the Network Name and Password will be provieded.

3. FURNITURE AND MOVING STUFF AROUND: If you move any furniture in your room or anything else in the house, please make sure to move tit back to how it was before you leave or this will affect your deposit. Also make sure you take care of the furniture like it was your own. If furniture is damaged during your stay, the amount will be deducted from your deposit. If there are previous damages to the furniture and you see it upon your arrival, just let us know what it is in writing via e-mail if possible and we will let you know if it was a pre-existing and you don’t have to worry about it and you will not be responsible for it. Please note that everything has been left clean in your room and in the common areas, so please do a walk through of the place and your room and notify me in writing via email immediately and let me know if there are any problems. If you do not e-mail me in writing, we will assume that your room and the place was clean and in acceptable condition when you arrived.

4. ROOM AND PROPERTY ACCESS: Some doors of the houses and rooms are password operated and some have keys. If they are password operated, we always change the passwords when tenants move out. If we change passwords to main doors at any time for any reason, we will inform you via txt message or e-mail. ALWAYS make sure to lock all doors when you leave the premises and check the door by pushing it to make sure it is locked before you leave. 

5. KEYS and LOCKS: If your room or the house has keys and you leave your keys behind or lose your keys and get locked out for any reason, there is a $70 charge every time you call us and we have to come there to open your door for you. Of course you can always call a locksmith. If you damage the locks or doors while trying to open them yourself, you will have to pay according to charges stated in the settlement guide.

6. GUESTS and PARTIES: There is to be absolutely NO parties held at the place at any time and no getting together with outside friends and study groups after 12 midnight. If they are going to stay past midnight, they can pay the guest fee of $15/ night and stay over. If you have any day guests, please limit their visit to a couple of hours and don’t have them hang out at the place all day. There should be no non- paying guests hanging out after 12 midnight. Remember this is a shared facility you must be mindful and respectful of the others living there, so if you wish to hang out with somebody, you may go out or to his or her place. Also if you come home late at night, come in very quietly so as not to disturb the others who may be sleeping or studying.

7. SHOWING THE HOUSE and/or ROOMS and ENTERING the ROOM for EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE: The house, your rooms and all common areas-kitchen, bathrooms, dining areas, fridges etc. must be kept clean at all times, NOT ONLY before you are moving out. Since this is a short-term rental, we do show the place a lot to prospective guests and there are no set times for us to show the place. According to Florida laws, we are allowed to show the place and do emergency maintenance at all appropriate hours. Hence, it is essential that it must be maintained clean and in top condition at all times. We will definitely call, text message or e-mail you and inform you that we are going to show the place and or your room beforehand. This might be at a very short-notice sometimes. In case we do not hear back from you, we are still allowed to show the room according to Florida laws. You do not have to be there if you are not at home. Rest assured, nobody can enter your room or be in it without our presence, so you have nothing to worry about. If we find the place messy and dirty when we come and we have to clean it in order to show it, this will definitely be deducted from your deposit.

8. CLEANING, MAINTENANCE & USE OF SHARED KITCHEN AND DINING AREAS: You are welcome to use the kitchen to cook and prepare food. Also, you can pick an empty shelf or cabinet in the kitchen to store your dry food items. Please make sure they are stored in airtight bags and not left open to avoid ants and roaches. During and after using the kitchen, you must ALWAYS wipe and clean the countertops, dining table, chairs, appliances (microwave, coffee makers, dish draining rack, stove top and knobs, drip pans etc) and wash all your dishes, pots and pans. NOTHING should be left in the sink. Anyone not following these rules will simply be warned and if it happens again, they will be told to leave. No REFUNDS will be given. When using the fridge or freezer in the Kitchen, it is advisable to wrap your stuff in a bag with your name on it and pick shelf for your stuff and do not occupy the whole fridge. Keeping the place clean is a shared responsibility and if the place is not clean upon departure when you leave, the amount will be deducted from the deposits of everybody sharing the place according to the settlement charges guide (posted in the house and sent to you via e-mail as well) regardless, if others left the common areas dirty. So, it is very important that you call, e-mail or send me a txt message or e-mail me if you see that someone is not following the rules and not keeping the place clean, unless it is you who are not keeping the place clean if there is nobody else in the house. If you take it for granted and do not notify me it can affect your deposit. When you notify me that the place is not being kept clean, this will be kept confidential so as not to affect the peace and harmony at the house and we will address it accordingly.

9. CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE OF SHARED BATHROOMS: The bathrooms must be kept clean (no hair and dirt in showers and floors) and floors DRY at all times. Please try not to leave ANYTHING in the bathroom if you are sharing the bathroom for e.g. shampoos, toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, razors, creams or we will not be responsible if anyone takes or uses your stuff! This is to eliminate the problem that anybody uses your stuff and to avoid clutter in the bathrooms.

10. MAID SERVICE: We also provide maid service at an additional cost. Please inquire with us if you need a good reliable maid service or weekly/monthly cleaning etc.

11. NOTICE TO VACATE: Unless you are staying daily or weekly, which we always charge more than the monthly rate, you must give us 15 days notice from the day you move in of whether you will be staying another month or moving out. If you do not give us 15 days notice before you leave and decide to leave all of a sudden, you will be required to pay the next months rent, plus your deposit will not be refunded. So make sure to notify us!!!!

12. COMPLAINTS: If we find out that anybody takes other persons belongings and that there is a complaint, the issue will be researched.

13. CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY: If any payment is made for reservation including the deposit for any time period, all these payments are non-refundable. So if for whatsoever reason before and /or after arrival you decide to cancel or make changes that result in a shortened stay or you decide not to stay, you agree to forfeit the full advance payment and deposit. You will also be legally responsible for any damages to the property and court fees and costs.

14. COMMON AREAS: Please DO not leave any personal belongings in the common areas.. We are also not liable for the loss/ theft of any personal belongings in your rooms or any other accidents and injuries that may arise in the house (slip and fall etc.). Please secure your room doors and also the house door at all times.

15. TRASH: The TRASH in the house- your rooms, kitchen and bathroom needs to be taken out before it gets full, smelly and nasty. Please put all trash bags in the BIG Green Trash Bins outside. You have to buy your own trash bags. The trash cans in the house need to be kept very clean at all times and make sure there is no trash water leakage in the cans as this causes bad odor in the house. If we come by and the trash CAN in nasty, we will clean it, but $20 will be deducted from your deposit every time we have to clean it! THE TRASH CAN in Kitchen and bathroom must be kept clean at all times. Please ask us about the trash pick up and recycle pick up days and when and where to put the Green TRASH Bins for PICK UP. PLEASE make sure that trash is taken out during trash days and if you are sharing the house, please make a schedule and take turns with other housemates to do it. Also after trash pick up, make sure to bring back the bins back inside or we can be fined and you will be responsible for any fines.

16. BUGS: The house is bug free and we fumigate the yard on a regular basis, however, Miami has a very humid climate and a lot of rain in the summer and you might sometimes see a bug or ants etc.  that has come in to escape the rains and this is due to the climate. Unless you see a lot of bugs all over the place (which you won’t), please do not call me. Lizards are also very common in Miami and they are harmless to humans. In fact they eat ants and other insects, so they are a plus. If you see ants or any bugs, please do not call me, just get an ant/roach spray etc. and take care of the situation.

17. MAIL: If you are going to receive mail at the property, please ask us the procedures on how to get the mail as it varies from property to property.

18. ELECTRICITY AND WATER: If you have a separate AC unit in your room, please do not leave your AC’s or lights OPEN in your rooms or in the common areas when you leave the premises or when you are not in the room or common areas because if they break down or freeze you will be left without an AC. We will check the rooms with AC’s and lights that are not turned off when you are not there and a warning will be given. Electric is included in the rent. However, there is a total monthly allowance of up to $150 in total for the electric and water bill that we pay for everybody living at the property. So if the electric or water bill goes over this amount, the balance will have to be split and paid by all tenants occupying the property at the time or will be deducted from your deposit if you refuse to pay at the time. If there is a Central AC unit, please make sure to set the temperature to 82 degrees F when you leave the place and not lower than 76 degrees F when you are at the house as setting it lower can cause the unit to free and break down which you will be responsible for the repairs, as we gave the unit to you in working condition upon arrival.
    
19. LAUNDRY/WASHER and DRYER: Some properties have a vending machine, bill changer and coin operated washer and dryers and some have non-coin operated washer and dryers. If it is an non-coin operated washer and dryer, please do a full load only once a week or this can affect everyone’s electric bill. DO NOT leave finished laundry unattended in the washers or dryers or the person who needs to use the Laundromat next might have to take out and your laundry might get ruined. Also make sure to CLEAN the LINT FILTER in the dryer after you finish drying your clothes!!! (If you are not sure how to use the washers and dryers, or clean the lint filter etc, please let us know and we will assist you) Please do not at any time hang your clothes in the bathrooms or outside on a line to dry, as this is not permitted. All machines are in working condition and if they break, everybody living at the property will be in charge of replacing them and paying for the repairs.

20. SMOKING: NO SMOKING in the rooms or anywhere inside the house. If you smoke outside, make sure you do not throw any cigarette butts on the floor or yard outside or else you will be asked to clean it up.

21. PARKING: Make sure you park in the designated parking areas and DO NOT Park in front of the entrance gate if the property has a gate. Nobody has any assigned parking spots and it is on a first come first get basis. At some properties that there are guest parking areas, do not leave your car more than one night in the guest parking spot or they will tow your car. You will be asked to move your car and park properly if you don’t follow the parking regulations.

22. SUPPLIES: We DO NOT provide toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, and dishwashing detergent, sponges, ant and bug spray, extension cords and replacement bulbs, extra pots and pans, plates, cups, utensils, etc.  You will need to buy that for yourself. If a bulb that was working goes out in your room, you need to replace it yourself. All the bulbs in the rooms are in working condition (let us know if they are not) and they need to be in working condition upon departure or it will be deducted from deposit.

23. REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT & MOVING OUT: There is a $250 refundable deposit that is paid upon reservation along with the first months rent to hold the place for tenant upon arrival.  So, a guest, who puts down the above-mentioned payments, but then decides not to occupy the premises for any reason, is NOT entitled to a refund of any of the amounts paid in advance including the deposit and first month’s rent that was paid in advance to reserve the room and in this situation the refundable deposit is NON-REFUNDABLE.

We do not inspect the premises and rooms, before the tenant check out and departs, so the premises and your room will ONLY be inspected within a few days after your departure. Please DO NOT insist on us coming out the night before or the day of your departure to inspect the place and refund your deposit immediately. According to Florida law, we have 30 days to refund your money or inform you if there are any issues and deductions, even though I usually do it earlier if there are no issues! If anything in the room is missing or broken or the room and common areas and have not been cleaned properly, your deposit will be deducted according to the settlement charges guide. So in order to get you full deposit back, follow the cleaning checklist that was provided to you via e-mail and make sure everything is in good, working condition and cleaned up. Based on the terms, a check will be issued and mailed out to you within 30 days after your departure to the address you have provided or if you have paid via paypal we will issue you a refund via paypal.

We have no intentions of keeping your deposit. A clean place means that we do not need to go and clean it or touch it up and it is ready for the next person to move in, just like it was for you to move in when you arrived. So leave it the way you would like to find it if you were moving in. If common areas are not cleaned and in the same condition as when you moved in and if we need to touch up or do any cleaning whatsoever, your deposit will be deducted according to the settlement charges guide. For common areas, it will be deducted from all persons who used the common areas during that time period regardless. So please talk to your housemates and make every effort to maintain the place or it will affect you if they keep and leave the place dirty.