Moving out Notes for Tenants

Your End of Tenancy Checkout - Handing back the Property

In accordance with the terms of your tenancy agreement, you have two main obligations to consider when ending your tenancy:

1. The property and contents should be handed back in the same condition as they were at the beginning of the tenancy, but allowing for normal wear and tear.

2. The rent must be up to date, and all bills settled.

The Checkout

We will contact you to make an appointment time for your checkout. This will need to be fixed for a time when you are literally ready to close the door and hand back the keys. During the checkout we will check the condition of the entire property and contents against the inventory, and record gas and electricity meter readings if relevant.

The following notes are intended to help you prepare for the checkout, so that the event runs smoothly, and to minimise the risk of misunderstandings, deductions from your deposit, last minute problems or surprises:

The Inventory

It is a good idea to start your preparations early by running through your inventory to remind yourself about the contents and condition at the start of the tenancy, and to check for damaged or missing items.

Normal Wear and Tear

Please note that normal wear and tear does not include damage, nor excessive wear and tear.

Preparing the Property and Contents

• All soft furnishings especially carpets, curtains and mattresses should be left clean, paying special attention to any heavy stains and marks if applicable. This may mean having carpets professionally cleaned, and curtains dry-cleaned and pressed. If your carpets were new or professionally cleaned at the start of your tenancy we will expect the carpets to be professionally cleaned before the check-out, and a receipt / invoice for the work supplied to our agency. If they are not, we will arrange for professional carpet cleaning at your expense.
• All kitchen utensils, equipment and appliances should be cleaned, the fridge and freezer defrosted, food should be removed from all the cupboards and all hard surfaces should be washed down and cleaned, including the kitchen floor, which must not be sticky.
• All bathroom/WC furniture and fittings should be thoroughly cleaned with an appropriate bathroom cleaner/disinfectant paying particular attention to any stains or marks.
• All the woodwork, skirting boards etc. should be washed down.
• All items of furniture should be dusted, cleaned and left in the appropriate rooms.
• All electrical goods and appliances, including light bulbs and any garden equipment should be in good working order.
• Gardens and patio should be free from weeds and lawns cut. The garden must be in the same condition that it was handed to you at the start of the tenancy.
• No rubbish should be left on the premises, except in the dustbins provided ready for collection.
• All sets of keys must be handed over. Internal keys for cupboards, windows etc. should be left in their locks. Check your inventory to see what keys were handed to you at the start of the tenancy.

Final Bills

You should contact the appropriate offices for telephone, water rates, and council tax and arrange for final bills. For gas and electricity, it is generally easier to inform them of the final meter reading after the checkout. We will record these reading during the checkout and send letters on your behalf. We will also supply them with your forwarding address.

Mail Forwarding

You should make arrangements with the Royal Mail (please supply us with proof that this has been completed before your security deposit is released).

Viewings

It is possible that we may contact you to arrange to show the property to prospective tenants. It is a condition of your tenancy agreement that you allow us to do so. However we will give reasonable notice, and endeavour to do so at your convenience.

Return of Deposit

Please note that your deposit will not be returned at the checkout. It will be refunded by BACS and submitted within 14 days of the end of the tenancy. Where it is necessary for us to obtain estimates for replacements or remedial works, there may be a further delay, but we will endeavour to keep this to a minimum. Please make sure you provide us with the correct information at the check out to enable us to make this refund (see below).

Pre Checkout Visit

If you would like us to carry out a pre-checkout visit to the property, about 2 weeks before you are due to leave, we can arrange to do so. The purpose of this visit is to point out to you any particular areas which require your attention. Once the final checkout has taken place, you will not have access to the property, and therefore any remedial work will have to be carried out by contractors at your expense. This preliminary visit usually takes only a few minutes.

Prior to check-out we require the following information...

• 1. Requested time and date of your check-out appointment
• 2. Details of your forwarding address
• 3. Bank Details for the security deposit to be transferred to
• 4. Whether you would like a pre-checkout visit
• 5. Proof of your mail forwarding / property cleaning (required before release of security deposit)

If you have any queries about retting a property, please do not hesitate to call us on 01702 511683.