Did you terminate your lease? Are you preparing to move out? Do you need some advice? Here are a few tips to help you prepare as best you can.

Before moving out…

Make sure to clean the tenancy thoroughly, otherwise you may have to pay the landlords for the  cleaning job. A thorough cleaning means washing all surfaces, cleaning all windows, washing the refrigerator inside and outside, defrosting the freezer and washing it, washing the stove and cooking plates and cleaning the oven. A complete descaling of all bathroom tiles, as well as the shower and the toilet is also mandatory.

If you are responsible for handling internal maintenance ...

If your tenancy was newly painted when you moved in, you may have to repaint it when moving out. In any event, if it does need a fresh repaint, you are required to do so. Also, in case you drilled holes in the walls, it's generally going to be your responsibility as a tenant to return them to their original condition.

For a tenancy to be handed over in a proper and decent condition, all walls should be freshly repainted after 3-4 years of normal use.

You must hand over the lease in the exact same condition it was received. That is: neither in a worse nor in a better condition. As specified in your Maintenance Obligation, you must pay for all repairs and damages, in case of maintenance failures.

Next step: Do not forget to take pictures of your lease

Always take pictures with date stamps of your apartment the day you move in and the day you move out. Pictures are admissible as evidence in case of any dispute.

What about the Move Out Inspection?

Your landlords will schedule an inspection with you as soon as they have received your Notice of Intent to Vacate. Unless otherwise stated in your lease agreement, your landlords have two weeks from the time you hand over the keys to summon you for a final move out inspection.

A move out inspection occurs when a landlord and a tenant walk through the rental unit to look for any damage or illegal alterations. We recommend that you participate.

During the inspection, you should keep an eye on whether your landlords take note of damages, deficiencies and defects that were listed in your occupancy report. You are not liable to pay for any damage, deficiency or defect that were listed in the occupancy report.

Here, it would be helpful if you can show the pictures you took when moving in: This would enable the landlords to compare the current condition of the property to the condition of the property when you moved in.

If you disagree with the Move Out Report…

If you participate in the move out inspection and your landlord takes note of damages and repairs in the Move Out Report that you do not consider yourself liable to pay for, you must do the following:

Sign the move out report, but also make sure to declare on the report all matters you disagree on.

In this way, you acknowledge having participated in the inspection, but at same time state your objections.

If you agree with Move Out Report…

If you do agree with the content of the Move Out Report, you simply sign it. It may take up to 6-8 weeks before you can get your deposit back.

If you didn’t participate in Move Out Inspection…

Within a deadline of two weeks days after the key handover, your landlords should have stated all claims to any damages, defects or deficiencies they consider you to be personally liable for.

If your landlords fail to do so within 14 days, you will automatically be entitled to a full refund of your deposit.