If you have taken the decision to move out of your rented accommodation then there are some necessary preparations which you will have to make before you do so. There are a couple of reasons why it makes sense to complete all of these preparations for moving out. The first is that the landlord or landlady still has your deposit, which you will of course want to see returned. Another reason why it makes sense to leave in the right way is that you may need a reference from your current landlord or landlady, in order to rent somewhere else in the future.
Above all, it is just the right and decent thing to do when you leave, to ensure that you have prepared everything for moving on, and these are the necessary things you must first have in place.
Giving Fair Warning
Whether you are contractually obliged to give a certain amount of notice or you simply wish to be decent to the owner of the property, early notice makes things easier for everyone. This means that you have a leaving date to stick to and it means that the owner of the property has a clear understanding of when the space will be unoccupied.
Repairing Damage
There is a clear difference between fair use of the property and actual damage, wear and tear does not qualify as damage. If however, you have caused damage to the property in any way, be it through an accident or some other incident that caused damage, it makes sense for you to fix it. The main reason for this is that it may cost $50 to repair on your own, yet your landlord or landlady may well take $100 off the deposit and say that is what it cost. Make it easy on yourself and get the damage fixed before you leave.
Post Move Clean
A smart course of action if possible is to move your items out one or two days before your lease is due to expire. What this will allow is for the moving day to take place without too much hassle, and then you will have a couple of days to do a sweep off the property and leave it in good shape. When it comes to end of lease cleaning Hobart has a number of high level companies which will come in and transform the property after you have moved. You are not obliged to get the place cleaned up, but going back to the point about getting your money back, it makes sense to leave on the best terms possible.
Checking Bills
Most contracts have it built in that the deposit will not be returned for up to 45 days after you have left the property. The reason for this is twofold, first so that any damage to the property can be identified and secondly so that ay outstanding bills are not left unpaid. To make this process easier on yourself, be sure to get in touch with water, gas, electricity and internet providers and find out what your status is with each of them. If there are any debts outstanding then pay them, if there are not then be sure that you have documentation which supports this, so that you can be confident when you leave the property that everything is paid up.
Taking Photos
We have seen cases before where owners of a property have attempted to blame the outgoing tenant for certain damage which has been done, despite it not being the tenant’s fault. To give yourself some security, take a video of the property or take photos so that you have evidence of how you left the property.
These are all necessary precautions to take before you leave.