It’s
time to finally say sayonara to that cave you call an apartment. We’re
sure the roaches
will miss you—almost as much as you’ll miss that freak in 2B
with a penchant for blasting Michael Bolton at all hours of the night.
You’re FREE!
Well, almost free. Remember that security deposit you gave to the landlord
when you signed your lease? It would be nice to get that back. It would
also be nice to avoid getting charged for unnecessary repairs that the
landlord performs after you’re gone. So save your money and allow
us to guide you through the process of properly vacating your apartment.
Oh, one last thing: Remember that none of this informative article is
meant as a substitute for individual legal advice. (Our lawyers are now
smiling.)
1. Give notice to your landlord
If you think you can just pick up and move out of your apartment anytime
you feel like it, realize that this is almost never the case; rather,
you must give a certain predetermined amount of notice to your landlord.
So here’s the proper procedure for giving your landlord notice:
- Go and
find your lease. If you can’t locate it (or once used it to line
the litterbox), then
go to your landlord and get a copy of it as soon as possible. Just make
sure that your landlord gives you a copy of the one that you actually
signed and not another version (those landlords can be tricky!).
- Look through
the lease and find out how much notice you agreed to give to your landlord
before vacating.
That isn’t
all quite as straightforward as you would think, because sometimes they
also require that your last day coincide with the end of a rental period.
As a result, you might not be able to move out. Here’s an example:
- You decide
on March 20 that you want to vacate your apartment.
- Thirty
days are required as notice by your lease.
- The first
day of every month is the end of your rental period.
- Therefore,
if you decide to give notice that day (March 20), you would not be able
to vacate until the end of the following
rental period (May 1) and not April 21, even though this would be more
than thirty days later.
So our advice
is to give your landlord plenty of notice (more than your minimum requirement)
and arrange it so that the last day of your lease coincides with your
rent period.
2. Clean and repair your apartment
Don’t worry, you’re not responsible for leaving your landlord
an apartment that looks absolutely and utterly impeccable. Reasonable
wear and tear is generally expected. You can find out exactly what condition
your apartment should be left in by looking at the lease.
If you notice
that any of the repairs you are required to make are grossly unfair (e.g.,
you must re-tile your entire bathroom), you should first kick yourself
for signing a bum lease, and then heave a sigh of relief as you realize
that you might be able to get out of it. The legal regulations of what
kinds of repairs your are responsible for change from city to city and
state to state. So click here
to find out what the legal requirements are in your city.
Chances are,
though, that your lease will be legal and that you’ll be responsible
for doing some light cleaning and easy repairs (anything that the landlord
feels wasn’t up to snuff will be deducted from your security deposit).
Here’s how to go about it:
- Look around
your apartment and assess its status. Would you move in there if it
was left in that condition? Did any major catastrophes occur (e.g.,
holes in the walls, doors falling off hinges, etc.)? Basically you want
to leave the apartment relatively close to the same condition it was
in when you moved in.
- Check
to see if there are any areas that could use a little paint, and paint
those areas (with the right colored paint). Don’t add any creative
details like happy faces or unicorns. Just paint.
- If you
have small holes (from hanging pictures, attaching coat hooks, etc.)
then you don’t have to worry about painting. Just use a spackling
compound to fill in the holes. If you don’t want to worry about
spackling (and you’re willing to risk getting caught), consider
filling the holes in with toothpaste or soap (if your walls are white)
-- they fill in holes very quickly and very easily.
- For larger
holes (from, say, your friend’s fist during his weekly drunken
rage), you might need to install wallboard.
- Directions
for painting, spackling, and wallboarding on your own, visit RENTNET®.
The Decorating
and Home
Improvement tabs will provide you with lots of useful tips, how-to
articles and expert advice. Of course, you could also just hire someone.
- Many leases
require you to clean your floors (wax for hardwood, shampoo for carpets).
These can be quite tough tasks to handle on your own, so we suggest
that you hire a professional. Just realize that it’s something
that you may get charged for if you don’t do it.
- Clean
your bathroom as well as you can. This especially means getting rid
of the fungus and mold on the walls.
- Defrost,
clean, and turn off the refrigerator.
- Leave
the apartment as empty as it was when you got there; the landlord will
charge you for the removal of anything you leave behind (even if it’s
little—like your sister). If you have something that you don’t
want (a table, a sofa, whatever), you can either call the future tenant
and offer to sell it to them, or you can find a Goodwill
and give it to charity (we recommend the second option).
3.
Document how you left the apartment
Now that your apartment is speckless, it’s time to compare it to
the sheet you filled out when you arrived at the apartment that assesses
what was damaged when you moved in. You did fill one of those out, right?
It protects you from having to repair the previous tenant’s damage.
If everything matches up, then you can expect to get your full security
deposit back.
But believe it or not, all landlords are not quite as honest as you would
like—you may disagree about the cost of a particular repair, or if
the repair is even your responsibility. Therefore, you need to document
the exact condition of your hovel when you left it. Here’s how to
do that properly.
One way to solve these problems is to arrange a time to meet with your
landlord after you have removed all of your goodies from the apartment
and made any repairs. Walk through the apartment, and see what he/she
expects you to pay for. Discuss everything right out in the open, write
down the results, and have him/her sign the agreement. You’re now
free and clear of having any extra repairs taken out of your security
deposit.
Taking
pictures of your cleared out apartment right before you are ready
to turn in the keys is also a good idea. Even get a friend to hold the
front page of that day’s newspaper within every camera shot —
this will verify that the pictures had to be taken on or after that certain
date (aren’t we so Nancy Drew?).
After your foray into “Candid Camera,” make sure you immediately
turn all of the keys in to the landlord personally or send them certified
mail. And make sure that you include a forwarding address for the return
of your security deposit.
4. Get your security deposit back
Within a certain amount of time after you have left the apartment (as
mandated by local law), your landlord must either send you your security
deposit back or an itemized list of the deductions claimed plus the remainder
of your deposit. If you get your full deposit back, then heave a heavy
sigh of relief and move on with your harried life. If any/all of your
security deposit is withheld, then you have two choices:
- Read the
letter, admit that those are costs for which you are responsible, and
forget about it.
- Dispute
the deductions. To do this, read the letter and itemized list carefully
to determine by when you need to respond. If you miss the deadline,
then tough. If you have a problem with any of the deductions, write
a letter disputing either the existence of the repair (with proof, such
as a copy of your photographs or a copy of your original damage report
from when you moved in) or the cost of the repair (with proof, such
as a general estimate from another expert). You always have the right
to get a “second opinion” estimate if you think the landlord
is charging way too much for a repair.
If the landlord
sends you nothing (no letter, no deposit, no nothing) after a set amount
of time also determined by local law, he/she must forfeit any claim to
your deposit. Unfortunately, this still might leave you with no choice
but to sue for return of your deposit. To do so, you should first check
to see if there is a tenants’ association for your area or state;
they can direct you best how to proceed, especially if you decide to file
a claim in Small Claims Court. A letter detailing your willingness to
go to court might be all that is necessary to create an incentive for
a pesky landlord to disgorge your security deposit—especially because
that, depending on the jurisdiction, some areas will offer a tenant twice
or thrice the security deposit if a tenant wins the case, as well as reasonable
attorney’s fees.
So go get ’em! And we congratulate you on leaving your apartment
(and Michael Bolton) behind you.
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