Most tenants have good intentions when they give their landlord a move-out date. After all, they want as much of their security deposit as possible. But often tenants, especially ones who’ve lived in the same rental property for multiple years, grossly underestimate the amount of time, money and effort it takes to effectively move all of one’s belongings from one place to another. When time gets tight and energy runs low, the first thing to go is the tenant’s attention to the rental unit he’s leaving behind. Unwanted items are left piled in empty rooms, the kitchen and bathrooms are not cleaned properly, sometimes even the refrigerator isn’t totally emptied.
This leaves the landlord with a mess and a hassle – and if you’ve already got new tenants slated to move in right away, you could be left scrambling for a professional cleaning service to come at a moment’s notice and undo the damage done by the previous tenant.
The good news is there’s a simple way to help avoid all that. When a tenant gives his 30-day notice that he’ll be leaving the property, an effective landlord should be proactive and immediately give the tenant three things:
- A copy of his signed rental agreement with any requirements for move-out and the return of the security deposit highlighted, as a memory refresher.
- A copy of the move-in sheet that should have been filled out and signed by both tenant and landlord upon the tenant’s arrival. This should list, room by room, any damage or issues that were present when the tenant moved in. That will give the tenant a good guide when he’s getting ready to leave about what, if any, repairs he needs to make in order to leave the rental unit in the same shape he found it.
- A move-out guide that gives a basic cleaning checklist for a tenant. Some tenants won’t remember to clean the oven or defrost and clean the freezer unless it’s written on a handy to-do list.
Arm your tenant with all the information he needs to make a smooth exit and ensure he receives all, or at least most, of his security deposit.
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