Expensive Mistakes to Avoid When Moving Out Of a Rental Property

Moving out of a rental property can actually become quite a risky endeavour unless you follow the right protocol. One wrong step can result in unexpected fines and, potentially, a driving penalty as well. Here’s our guide on helping you avoid the worst result when moving out of a rental property.

Spread the word

There’s a long list of people to tell, including your employer, bank, credit card provider, utility provider and the council.

And we can’t forget to mention the DVLA, which is often the one many forget. Even though you’re not changing vehicles, you are changing your address, which means that, if you at some point receive a driving offence, the DVLA will send it through to your old address. And if they don’t receive a response in a timely manner, things can get bad quickly.

Change the postal address

We will always recommend Royal Mail’s redirection service – chargers start from £33.99 for 3 months and it takes just 5 days to sort. You can apply for this online or at your local post office, from 3-6 months after you move.

Clean with care

The Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS) says poor cleaning makes up over a fifth of deductions from tenants’ deposits. To avoid this, we’d suggest paying for a quality end-of-tenancy clean; you may even be required to depending on what your contract says.

Once they’ve finished, take lots of clear photos of their work so that if disputes do arise, you’ll find it easier to deal with instead of putting your deposit at risk. You could even send the same photos to your landlord – the key thing to remember here is that you want to return the flat how you found it.

Get educated on ‘wear and tear’

Landlords are not allowed to subtract money for ‘reasonable wear and tear’ i.e loose wallpaper, worn carpeting or faded curtains and drapes.

And if you’ve lived in the property for a number of years, the landlord should expect the property to be worn more than one that’s been lived in for a shorter period of time (six months and under).

All proposed deductions that you deem unreasonable need to be raised.