Moving Out

Chloe Wilkinson-Silk

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Moving out of a rental property can be a time of mixed emotions. Sadness about your time at that home coming to an end. Excitement about the next stage. It’s common to also feel a lot of anxiety about the process of moving out. It can feel like there are a lot of boxes to tick, and a lot to get organised in a brief space of time.

Here’s some of our handy advice for a stress-free move!

Notify the Landlord/Agent

Outgoing tenants should notify their landlord/agent of their intention to move out of the property. It is best to do this in writing, usually via email.

Tenants should check their contract for clauses that provide information about notice periods, and how/when they can end their tenancy.

For more information about ending a tenancy, please visit our Contracts advice page.

Inventory & Checkout

Moving In

An inventory is a useful document that provides information about the property when the tenancy began. Landlords do not legally have to provide an inventory, even if the tenant requests it. Tenants can hire an independent inventory assessor but would need to pay for it themselves.

An inventory may include details about:

Any furniture on the property- including any damage or marks.
Any appliances on the property- including how old they are, and how well they run.
The walls, ceiling, and floor- including any damage or marks
Carpets and curtains- including and damage or marks
Fittings such as cupboards, sinks, toilets- including any damage or issues
Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors

If you receive an inventory when you move into a rental property, check it closely. Update the inventory with any changes you notice, inlcuding damage, wear and tear, missing or replaced items, or anything that doesn’t work the way it should. Take photos on the day you move in. Remember to take photos of any damage or marks that are not included in the inventory, or that appear differently to the way they are described in the inventory.

Only sign the inventory after thoroughly comparing it to the property on the day you move in.

Keep a copy of the inventory, and make updates during your tenancy if anything changes (for example, if the landlord replaced the oven, that should be recorded on the inventory).

During the course of your tenancy, notify your landlord or agent in writing of any damage or faults in the property. Keep those communications as evidence for when you move out.

Moving Out

After you have removed all your own belongings and cleaned the property, it should be in the state it was in on the day you moved in.

You can make sure of this by checking the inventory. There will be some general wear and tear to a property over the length of a tenancy. For example, carpets that were brand new on the first day of a tenancy won’t look the same by the last day of a three-year tenancy.

After you have moved out, your landlord/agent will perform a final inspection, or “Check Out”. You cannot be charged a fee for this service.

During this inspection, they will be looking for any damage or changes that have occurred during your tenancy. Where possible, request if you can be present for Check Out, so you can also see any concerns that may arise.

If there are any disagreements about these concerns, ask for these to be recorded on the inventory. It can be helpful to show the photos you have from the beginning of the tenancy to prove any existing damage.

Tenants should only sign the Check Out report/inventory if they agree that it is accurate. The landlord/agent may use the report to make deposit deductions before it is returned to the tenant.

Bills and Readings

It is the tenant’s responsibility to ensure that all outstanding bills have been paid, and the accounts have been closed. An exception to this is when the bills are included in the rent.

There can be some delays in closing accounts, so it’s best to give suppliers plenty of notice of your intention to leave the property.

Companies to notify may include:

Electricity
Gas
Water
TV Licence
Council tax

Important details include:

Final date of tenancy
Forwarding address for tenant
Any relevant meter readings

The tenant should ensure that any outstanding bills have been paid, and then cancel any direct debits.

Landlords/agents cannot ask to see proof that accounts have been closed, but it may be helpful to show them.

Reclaiming Your Deposit

Tenants who paid a deposit at the beginning of their tenancy should have that deposit returned after they have moved out. Landlords/agents can make reasonable deductions from the deposit to cover costs incurred by repairing any damage. Deductions should be agreed upon by the tenant.

The method of reclaiming a deposit depends on whether it was lodged in a deposit protection scheme. Some tenancy types (for example, university halls or lodgers) do not require the deposit to be protected.

Protected Deposits

Tenants with an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007 are entitled to deposit protection. The landlord/agent must protect the deposit in one of these schemes:

Once the landlord/agent has received the tenant’s deposit, they have 30 days to provide written confirmation, including details such as:

How the deposit is protected
Contact information for the tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme and its dispute resolution service
How to apply to get the deposit back
What to do if there’s a dispute over the deposit

Tenants should contact their tenancy deposit protection scheme provider if they are confused or concerned about the process of reclaiming their deposit. Tenants can use their scheme's 'alternative dispute resolution' (ADR) service to settle any deposit disagreements. Claims to the ADR service should usually be made within 3 months of moving out of the property.

Unprotected Deposits

Some deposits don’t need to be protected by law. Tenants in these situations should contact their landlord/agent in writing to ask for their deposit to be returned. If the tenant disagrees with deductions that have been proposed, the landlord/agent may return an agreed portion of the deposit, and withold the remainder until the dispute has been resolved. If no agreement is reached, the tenant may need to take the landlord/agent to small claims court to retrieve the remaining amount.