We hope it won’t be necessary for you to leave. Your lease automatically renews every 30 days at the end of your initial lease term, thereby giving you great flexibility with your planning. We realize that sometimes your job changes or you get transferred or the military calls you to duty, but we hope you will reconsider whether it is really necessary for you to move. Moving is such a pain!
Should you wish to leave your unit at the end of your lease, or any time thereafter to find another property, you will be required to do a couple of things:
- You must give notice in writing. An Owner must serve notice on the other party that they wish to terminate a lease. Likewise you, as a tenant, must give notice to the Owner that you wish to end your tenancy. This must be given to the Property Manager in writing at least 30 days before you intend to move out. Failure to do this will result in loss of your Security Deposit.
- Move-Out Pack. When you have given proper notice of your intent to move out you will be provided with a “Move-Out Pack” prior to your leaving. This packet explains what should happen, what your responsibilities are in moving out and how to ensure you can get your deposit returned. Please pay close attention to it and return the “Forwarding Information Form” and “Evaluation Form” contained in the packet. You can obtain a copy of the “Move-Out Pack” by clicking on the button at the right.
Move outs are sometimes a contentious issue for tenants and owners. Owners clearly don’t want to pick up the cost of cleaning and repairing damage due to tenant negligence. Tenants want to minimize the cost cleaning, vacating and moving and maximize the level of deposit being returned. Problems clearly arise when tenants leave late and don’t remove all items. A tenancy change-over can also be complicated by missing keys, extensive cleaning, including baths, toilets, windows and stoves. This is the reason it is important to return the Inspection Form done at the beginning of your tenancy. It will be used again when you leave for comparison of the state of the property. If significant damage or lack of cleaning is present on move out, photos are taken to document the state in which the property was left.
Deposit Return
A return of your deposit can be made quickly if the property is left in good condition, there are no repairs needed and minimal cleaning is required. A combination of some or all of these issues will impact on the amount of your deposit we are able to return and the speed we are able to return it. We are clearly unable to release your deposit until all bills have been received from all members of the cleaning and repair teams.
Deposit Deductions
We can help you to understand what items are likely to impact on the amount of your deposit return as follows:
- Keys. Missing or non-returned keys will result in a charge to tenants for an change of locks (due to security issues).
- Cleaning. If cleaning is required, it will be carried out by independent cleaning crews at cost.
- Inventory. All appliances, fans, lighting fixtures, etc. that were present when you moved in must be present, clean and in good working order when you leave. Missing, damaged or dirty inventory items will be charged to tenants at cost.
- Breakages. Breakages will be charged to tenants at cost.
- Walls and Ceilings. Nails, adhesives, smoking and dirty hand prints will stain walls and ceilings and can mean they have to be repainted! We encourage you not to smoke in the unit and to use only adhesive hangers that are specifically developed to be removed without damage to walls.
- Smoking. Although strongly discouraged in all our properties, smoking will require additional cleaning of blinds, carpets and walls to get rid of the smell of stale smoke!
- Unpaid utility and repair bills. These will be deducted from your deposit.
Deposit Release Policy
We will always try to release a deposit within 45 days – which is pretty much the industry norm. If we can, we will release it more quickly. The better cleaned and maintained your unit is on check out, the quicker we are able to send your deposit back to you.
Deposit Disputes
If you have any deposit dispute, it should be sent in writing to the Property Manager clearly explaining the following:
- The property referred to
- The issues in question
- The amount being questioned
- How we can contact you
The clearer we can understand the issue, the faster we will be able to review it and respond to your concerns. Ultimately we will have to be the final arbiter between you and the Owner. We rarely get blamed by tenants that we are being too hard on them. We always try to be logical and fair. Most always we get right! The Owner always receives a Settlement Report from the Property Manager outlining the deductions that have been made from your Security Deposit.