Is there anything in the lease that covers this? It’s usually stated in the lease what is expected and that supersedes anything the landlord says.
If it’s not covered I would not clean the common area if I didn’t use it.

I would just ask the owner to clarify, and that maybe I misunderstood.

Using the space has nothing to do with it. If the setup is tenants have chores to do it should be in the rental agreement…..in writing. Remember verbal agreements regarding real property are generally void or voidable, depending on state. (Statute of Frauds)

If it’s written into a lease then I would ask for an addition to the lease where the person is paid for their services. It would be like the landlord of property of apartments suddenly expecting the tenants to do gardening work for the property because either he won’t do it or won’t pay someone else to maintain the outdoors. If that responsibility was never theirs then he cannot insist on either charging them more for it if he hires someone else or expects the tenants to pick up his slack.
Now if it’s a verbal contract there is no way of telling if this was just casually mentioned and not really a contract. What I mean by that is that cleaning a common room whether the other person uses it or not is beneficial to both parties. A clean home is less likely to have an infestation or develop mold. Unless the room is completely isolated from everything else in the home to include a Hvac system, things will spread. Dust, mold, and bugs. If the tenant is paying more to so they would not have to clean, then that would be seen as a contract but will still be hard to prove if it isn’t written down.

If the person is still home living with mom, then they need to get off their asses and help around the house because I’m willing to bet mom is charging minimum and feeding the person and doing their laundry and probably is only charging to make up for the cost of having an extra body.

I had this issue for a while when my daughter lived with me. She didn’t want to clean her room and I would clean it and she didn’t help with much around the house saying she’s paying rent and she wouldn’t be required to do that if she paid rent somewhere else. I pointed out I didn’t need her money and would never rent a room to a stranger never mind rent it at a lower price. And renting is not the same as owning. I own my home and I pay all the bills and feed her and help her with laundry. None of those things would be done by anyone else and I give her a clean place to live that is bug-free, mold-free, and dust-free. But should bugs get in her room or mold, it will not just remain in her room that she rents. It will spread throughout MY home. Also when she moved in with me she was only paying a third of her old rent for a tiny 1 bedroom that she could hardly afford to heat up. And she had to battle mold and bugs there. .

Nothing in the lease about cleaning anything, not even their own room and bathroom. Any cleaning is done for the tenants own comfort and their comfort has nothin to do with the common room.

You won’t like this advice but I think the tenant needs to have a discussion with the landlord about expectations and responsibilities.

@janbb Who won’t like that advice, the OP? I got 4 likes so far, so I think the jellies think your advice is good advice. I didn’t even stop to think the tenant might not want to talk to the owner. They live together.

@tinyfaery Can’t the tenant just talk to the landlord?

I guess. The tenant has issues with confrontation, especially with men.

But, everything has worked itself out anyway. Apparently the landlord was just having a bad day.