You are coming to the end of your lease agreement and are wondering what you need to do to finish out your term at your apartment complex. The month or so leading up to the end of your lease involves some important decisions you need to make before moving out.
It isn’t quite as simple as just grabbing your things and signing another lease at another complex. There are several things you need to take into consideration to ensure that you both get your security deposit back and that you are not charged for more damages, or possibly breaking the lease with the complex.
If you want to keep your status of a good tenant as well, which will carry over to future renting opportunities, pay attention to these factors as you get ready to move out.
Who is Ending The Lease?
This is a big one. It absolutely is going to impact your wallet depending on whether you are ending the lease, or your landlord is ending the lease.
If your landlord is ending the lease, chances are you have broken the lease agreement in some way, otherwise, there would be no need to ask you to leave or start the eviction process.
Whether it was repeated noise violations, an extremely messy apartment that has turned into a health hazard, or you have been consistently paying late or maybe not paying at all, having your landlord ask you to leave is going to ding your pocketbook.
More than likely, they are going to have grounds to keep your security deposit as you have violated the lease in some way. They are also going to be forced to spend unexpected money to both cleanup, fix, and then re-list your apartment for someone else.
Additionally, you are more than likely to receive a bill for the cleaning costs and any repairs that need to be done on the apartment’s behalf. If the landlord is forced to go to the trouble to ask you to leave or start the eviction process, they are probably going to take the time and effort to come after you for damages as well.
Part of these damages is going to include breaking the lease. Let’s say you have stayed in your apartment for 7 months out of the 12-month lease you signed. Your monthly rent is $700.
This means legally, you owe the landlord for the remaining 5 months of rent that you did not provide. They would have the legal right to come after you for non-payment at the tune of $3,500.
Something like that can make life difficult for a very long time, so if possible, do not force the landlord’s hand by making them ask you to move out.
If you are the party ending the lease, potentially you are going to have much more flexibility with your options and financial obligations to the complex. If you are at the end of your lease or have gone over into a month-to-month lease by default, then giving notice to your landlord and taking care of the cleaning process are probably the two main factors you will need to worry about.
If you are ending your lease early…
Are You Ending The Lease Early?
If you are ending your lease agreement early, the manager or landlord is going to want to know why. This matters! Because legally, they have the right to enforce payment for the remainder of the lease almost regardless of the reason.
Being up-front and honest with them about why you are moving can help sway the landlord in being favorable to your situation.
This is why being a great tenant during the entire duration of your lease is so important! It can mean the difference between having your landlord just let your out of your lease or obligating you to pay thousands of dollars you could be burdened with for a long time to come.
Again, ending the lease early gives the apartment complex the right to ask you to pay the remaining part of your lease obligation. If necessary, and the situation warrants it, the landlord can get an order from the court that will force you to pay it or garnish your wages until the debt is paid.
Obviously, avoiding this outcome is absolutely crucial. Many landlords and managers will be sympathetic to whatever situation you find yourself in if you have been a good tenant, have taken good care of your apartment, and are up-front and honest with them.
Check Out Process
Once you have decided that you are, in fact, leaving the complex, there are several things that you need to do.
The first is to make sure that you fix any damage the apartment has. This means anything that is damaged that is above and beyond “normal wear and tear”. If you have put a bunch of holes in the walls, fix them.
If you have broken some appliances or fixtures in the apartment, replace it. Not doing this ensures that you will not be getting your deposit back and may, in fact, get a bill for damages on the way out.
The second thing is to remove everything from the apartment. This means everything. When you leave anything, even if it is trash or just a few small things, the apartment is going to have to pay to have someone clean it up and dispose of it.
Use the bins outside your building to take all the trash, and whatever you don’t want to take to your new place. By leaving things in the apartment, even if you don’t think it is a big deal, is simply forcing someone else to clean it up, and that means money deducted from your security deposit.
The third thing that needs to be done very well, is cleaning. Making sure your apartment is spotless is a good way to get your month or 2 months deposit back.
This can literally mean $1,500 bucks or so. Additionally, if you have a spotless apartment and need to leave your lease early, this is going to be your biggest negotiation tactic when talking to the landlord.
If they see that you left them with an apartment they don’t have to put a bunch of time and money into to rent again, more than likely they are going to be conducive to your situation.
Notify Your Landlord
Not giving your landlord proper notification when you are about to leave is another easy way to lose your security deposit.
Most lease agreements have 30-day notification time periods a tenant is required to give management before moving out. This applies even if you have stayed at the complex longer than your lease and are in a month-to-month agreement.
Also, it is just a courtesy for the landlord. They are running a business and why they have tenants sign a lease in the first place is so they know how long an apartment is going to be rented out for.
When a tenant just up and leaves, it leaves them in a lurch, and they are more likely to make tougher rules for future tenants as well as giving you a poor rental reference to the next place you rent at.
Address and Keys
Once you have finalized the issues like cleaning the apartment, fixing what is broke, and making sure you are compliant with the lease you signed there are two things you need to do right at the end.
The first is to give your manager a forwarding address. This is in case people don’t get your address change soon enough and bills or letters come in that you need to take care of. Leaving a forwarding address is an easy way to handle this.
Change your postal address quick and easily with this official USPS link: Official USPS® Change of Address
The second thing is returning the keys to the manager. This should be done on the day of move out and needs to include all keys that were given to you for your apartment at the beginning of your rental.
If all the keys are not returned, the complex will be forced to re-key the lock, which is going to cost you money on your security deposit.
Security Deposit Request
The final thing you should do is request your security deposit back.
Now, this is going to be highly dependent on how well you accomplished the tasks and conditions laid out above, but if you believe you deserve your security deposit back, request it in writing from the manager or landlord.
This written request should include asking for a detailed, itemized list of any deductions from the security deposit that they determined you incurred when they do their final walkthrough.
Most states require that a manager or landlord should give you a written form of the deductions from your security deposit between 14-60 days after your lease period has ended.
To avoid any discrepancy, take pictures at the beginning and the end of your rental term so you can show them you know exactly what the condition of the unit was when you moved in and when you left.
Ending your lease is not as straight-forward as the moving in process, but taking care to fulfill these requirements are going to maximize your chances to both avoid added expenses at move-out, and increase the probability you will get your security deposit back with little or no hassle.
