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Moving Out

Overview

If you are planning to live in the same place next year, find out if your landlord allows summer storage. Some places may charge for summer storage, so know and understand your landlord’s policy. Be sure to ask how utilities are handled over the summer and whether or not anyone will be living there while you are away.

If you are moving out for good, know that every tenant is expected to leave the premises at least in as good a condition as when they moved in. Take out the checklist you completed while moving in and complete it again for moving out.

Be honest filling out the checklist. If repairs need to be made, indicate them clearly on the list. The landlord will be checking the property to assess any damage.

ShareFest Oxford

Banner for ShareFest Oxford on which there are three photographs of people moving items. There is also text about donations.ShareFest Oxford is an annual move-out week event that promotes recycling and giving among Miami University students and the Oxford community.

ShareFest will pick up your good-quality, used furniture, appliances, housewares and clothing, and non-perishable food items from your off-campus residence and distribute them to local social service agencies who will distribute items to people in need or sell the items to fund their services. On-campus students can donate through a designated area in their residence hall.

An expanded list of needed donations and an appointment request form can be found on the ShareFest Oxford website.

ShareFest helps people in need AND keeps reusable items out of the landfill. Win-Win!

Utility Bills

Some landlords take care of ending utility bill service and others require tenants to do it. Find out exactly what your landlord expects you to do. Even if the landlord says they will take care of it, call the utility company and double check to make sure you are not still being billed for use after you leave.

Security Deposit and Rules for Moving Out

When a tenant moves out at the end of the lease period, there are certain rules for both the tenant and the landlord to follow.

Tenant Responsibilities

The tenant should leave the premises in as good a condition as when the tenant moved in, or make any repairs needed to restore the premises to that condition.

It is in your best interest to do a walk-through of the apartment with your landlord or at least discuss what they determine needs to be fixed. You can discuss with your landlord if you can arrange to have the repairs made or not.

If you filled out your move-in checklist thoroughly, it will protect you from being charged for damage that was already done to the property when you moved in. Remember, the better you have treated the place all year long and the cleaner it is when you leave, the more likely you are to get some of the security deposit back.

The tenant should return the key to the landlord and provide a forwarding address in writing to the landlord for return of any security deposit.

Landlord Responsibilities

After the tenant moves out, any of the tenant’s money that the landlord holds as a security deposit can be applied to repairing damages to the property. The cost of those repairs will be deducted from the security deposit.

The landlord must provide you with an itemized bill describing what was done and the cost for each repair.

Landlords have 30 days after the lease agreement terminates and the tenant has turned over possession of the property and keys to return security deposits along with an itemized bill for the deducted repair costs.

If the landlord does not return the money owed within 30 days, a court can order the landlord to pay the tenant twice the money owed plus attorney fees.