Moving from your Edmonton apartment or rental home to another Alberta city? Perhaps you’re moving to another province entirely. It’s an exciting time, especially if you are finally going from being a renter to buying your own home. However, there are quite a few things that you need to know before you move out of that rental. Failing to follow the advice and guidance in this post could mean moving difficulties, lost deposits, or even black marks on your credit. What do you need to know?
You need to give your landlord notice that you’ll be moving out even if you’re leaving at the same time your lease runs out. How much notice do you need to give? It’s usually about 30 days, but it may be more. You will need to check your lease to determine how much notice is required in your specific situation. Failing to give notice can put you in danger of a couple of issues. One, your lease could auto-renew, which means that you’ll be on the hook for the fee necessary to break the contract early. Second, it could mean losing any of the deposits you put down when you moved in. So, long story short, give the maximum notice that you can and always refer to your lease.
You want your deposit back, right? That means you need to erase all traces that you ever lived in the apartment (or rental home). What do you need to clean? Every single thing in the apartment. From top to bottom and back up once more. Your landlord might not be a stickler for end of lease cleanout, but it is always safer to err on the side of caution. Vacuum, mop, sweep, wipe down, clean up and clean out. From the floors to the fridge, the oven, and the bathroom, everything should look the way that it did when you moved in.
Ok, so major repairs and breakage that had nothing to do with you should have been handled at the time of the incident by property management/maintenance. What we’re talking about here are those things caused by you, that likely didn’t get reported. This can include anything from nail holes in drywall from hanging pictures to a hole you put in the wall with a broom handle. Any damage that was not present when you moved in and that was not repaired or at least noted by maintenance during your rental period should be repaired (and repaired professionally).
On move in, you were given keys. You might have been given a single key, two keys, or even more, depending on the property in question. All of those keys will need to be turned in when you move out. What’s more, you also need to turn in any keys that you might have had made. Many people find that they need to make copies for family members, friends, and significant others. Each of those needs to be gathered up and turned into the rental office. You will also need to turn in other entry-related items, such as parking permits, passcode cards, ID cards, gate keys, and the like.
If you are renting an apartment, you probably don’t really have any sort of yard-related responsibilities, other than cleaning off your patio or balcony (if applicable). However, if you’re renting a single-family home, town home, or another rental property with a yard, you need to ensure that you tidy the lawn up. Your grass should be mowed, the weeds should be trimmed, and everything should be in good shape. Remember that if your landlord has to hire someone to fix your mess for you, they’ll pass that cost on to you.
Once you have cleaned, repaired, and prepped the rental, it is time to take pictures. Use your smartphone or a digital camera, but make sure that the pictures are of good quality and that they clearly show whatever’s being photographed. What should you take pictures of? Everything. Get pictures of the walls, doors, doorways, fixtures, appliances, furnishings, even lights. Anything and everything should be photographed. Why? This is your insurance policy in case the landlord or management company tries to claim that you didn’t clean or caused damage. Those pictures could mean a very big difference in your move-out costs and the hassle you have to deal with.
Ok, we know you have better things to do. You’re moving to a new home in Edmonton, hopefully one that you own yourself. That means you have a ton of things that need to be done, but it’s important that you at least try to be present for the inspection. Why is that? Simply put, this is your chance to nip potential issues in the bud. You will walk through the property with the landlord (or their agent) and know exactly how things stand when you’re done. Having no surprises is the best way to start your new life. If the landlord/agent has concerns, ask that they be provided to you in an itemised list so that you can correct them.
Once the inspection is done and you have your list of corrections, waste no time on getting them done. Of course, this is a worst-case scenario. If you followed the previous tips, there should be nothing that would need to be handled at this point.
Moving from an Edmonton rental to owning your own home is a big step. With the advice we’ve provided above, you should be able to make the move out process simple and easy. Also, don’t forget to use MoveIt.ca to find and compare moving estimates, as well as to locate other professional services that will help ensure your move is smooth and painless.
