Moving out can feel overwhelming - but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve created this guide to help you stay organised, avoid common mistakes and make your move as smooth (and deposit‑friendly!) as possible.

01 Dec 2023

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Tenant guide to moving out.

Before you hand back your keys, take a moment to run through our move‑out guide.

It’s designed to help you finish your tenancy with confidence, avoid avoidable charges, and keep everything simple from start to finish.

Notify the council

So that you don’t continue paying council tax after you’ve left, notify the council of your move. Inform them of the last day for the tenancy agreement of your current address and what your new address will be, and make sure to keep an eye out that it doesn’t continue to go out of your account after you’ve moved.

Let your utilities companies know

Chat to your landlord about this one, as when you close your account the landlord will likely want to still keep the service running.

At checkout, you can provide your utilities company with the meter reading and officially close your account. You don’t want to pay for someone else’s electricity after all! Remember to transfer Wi-Fi, your TV license, and any other address-related bills too.

Other address-related duties

Whether you’re renting or not, this one is important – tell your bank, your work, and anyone else who sends you letters of your new address! We don't get much post these days but sometimes it's important documents.

It can be helpful to pay for a redirect service through Royal Mail for a month or three while you make sure everyone has your updated address and can take the pressure off if you’re still sorting out things after moving day.

End-of-tenancy agreements

Know the ins-and-outs of what’s expected of you when you move out. If the place is furnished, make sure you don’t accidentally take anything that isn’t yours!

It’s best to make a list and go through everything in the week or two running up to leaving. Are you expected to hire a professional cleaner? Can you do a thorough enough job yourself?

There are often a lot of documents tied to a tenancy. Was there a move-in inventory report? Do you have details of your deposit & Tenancy Deposit Scheme? When leaving, pull together all of these important pieces and leave no stone unturned. Make the end process as easy as possible by being super-organised. You can’t be too organised when moving – trust us, we know.

Damages – wear and tear or mend and replace?

A word on ‘wear and tear’. In the context of a rental, fair “wear and tear” means damage to carpets, fixtures, fittings and furniture that would be reasonable depending on the length of the tenancy. For example, a worn carpet and paint are reasonable, especially if a tenancy lasted years. You can’t be expected to not touch the carpet whilst you live there.

However, if you break anything further than what would be considered reasonable for normal, everyday living, then it is your job to fix it before you leave. Otherwise, you can risk not getting all of your deposit back due to the cost of the landlord making these fixes.

For 'managed' properties often photos would have been taken at the start of the tenancy, so if in doubt check with the Managing Agent how things looked when moving in and what would be considered fair 'wear and tear'.

What happens at the end of the tenancy?

Ocean will always confirm the process for you in writing before the end date.

It’s the tenant’s responsibility to ensure that the property is in the same condition as it was when the tenancy started. If there is a professional cleaning clause in the tenancy, we are happy to recommend a local cleaning company.

Finally, clear out!

Now it’s time to go! Pack up everything, lock up, hand back the keys and off you go on your next adventure with every box ticked and moving to-do list completed.

The checkout

If it's an Ocean managed property a check-out will be conducted, photos will be taken and the meters read. All keys will be returned. The report will be forwarded to the landlord(s) and we will report back to tenants within 10 days if the landlord intends to make a claim on a deposit.

The possible outcomes are -

1. If everything is OK and no claim is being made then we will
refund the monies due.
2. If the landlord makes a claim and you agree with it, Ocean pay each party the agreed amount.
3. If you disagree with a claim, Ocean will assist you with negotiations directly to the landlord. If an amicable compromise can’t be reached, then either party can raise a claim with the appropriate deposit scheme. Deposit scheme claims processes vary, please refer to your tenancy agreement to confirm the process.

the place for an altogether better let...

We hope this article was useful, if you have any questions our team will be happy to help.

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