We find that many people moving out of properties aren’t sure how to get back the bond they paid to rent the apartment or home. This is particularly the case for students, who may be moving out of their first-ever flat and are unsure of the rules around obtaining their bond refund. Keep reading to find out how to ensure you’ll get your bond back in full with no hassles.
Ensure All Rent is Paid
The most critical thing you must do first is ensuring that all of your rent is paid up to date. You will need to take into account whether you were paying rent in advance or following the week the rent was for. This should be outlined in your tenancy agreement so that it is clear what date you can stop paying rent on.
For example, you may have been paying rent on a Monday each week. But were you paying for the previous week’s rent on a Monday, or for the week ahead? That will make a difference as to when you can stop paying. If you aren’t sure, check with your landlord so there are no hidden costs on moving day!
Pay All of Your Bills
Remember that you may have some bills to pay even after you move out. You will have cancelled your electricity and internet accounts, but they will need to know what to charge you for your last day in the home. This means that you can expect to receive the bill on the next billing date, whether that’s in a week or a month. Make sure all of your flatmates are aware of this so they will have the money for these bills when they arrive.
Arrange a Time for Final Inspection
Be proactive about it and get in touch with your property manager or landlord to arrange a time for the final property inspection. That way, you have a date and time to work towards, and this will motivate you to get the property up to the expected standard.
Fix Any Damage
The next thing that landlords often take out of the bond is costs for repairs to the home. If you have caused any specific damage aside from general wear and tear, you can expect to see this money disappear from the bond. However, if it is a minor issue, it might be cheaper to fix it yourself if you think it can be done to a decent standard without assistance.
The smart thing to do, of course, would be not to cause damage in the first place. So, during your tenancy, be careful not to do so. This includes using sticky hooks behind any pictures you put up rather than putting holes in the wall with picture hooks. Another leading cause of damage in flats is abruptly swinging doors open, causing the door handle to leave a hole in the wall.
Return the Keys
If the landlord gave your household five keys to use during your tenancy, they would expect five keys to be returned to them at the end. If you have lost one of them, make sure that you go and get another one cut. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a reduced bond returned at the end of the tenancy.
You should be able to give the keys to the landlord or lock up the house and drop the keys at their office on moving day. Just make sure that you’ve gotten out absolutely everything you need from the home first!
End of Lease Cleaning
At the end of your tenancy, the entire place must be completely spotless. There are many tasks that you will be expected to complete to achieve this.
- Remove Absolutely Everything – It’s common sense that you will need to remove all of your belongings from the premises before you move out. However, you will also be expected to get rid of all rubbish, sometimes even the garbage that’s in the bins. So, plan to make a trip to the rubbish dump on moving day to make sure all of your bins are emptied.
- Clean from Top to Bottom – The house must be immaculate when the landlord comes to inspect it. This doesn’t just mean vacuuming the home and cleaning the bathroom; the landlord will usually ask for much more from you. You will be expected to clean the kitchen, including washing every shelf in the pantry and every cupboard. Just wiping down the benches won’t cut it. Some may even expect you to get the carpets professionally cleaned.
- Leave Behind Everything that Belongs in the House – If there were items already in the house when you moved in, make sure that you don’t accidentally take these with you when you leave. You might have been pleasantly surprised to find a set of sheets in the closet or some pots in the kitchen when you moved in. However, these belong with the property and must be left there when you move out. The same rule obviously applies to any larger items such as whiteware and furniture, too.
You can expect all of this cleaning to take you an entire day to complete. That’s why we suggest moving out a day before you need to, as that will give you a full day left to clean the house. You might think that it’s already pretty tidy, but you cannot clean properly until there is no furniture left in the property. You will be surprised how must dust and dirt can gather under the bed, on windowsills, and in the cupboards.
Get Your Bond Back with Some Help
If all of that cleaning sounds daunting to you, it’s a great idea to get some help. With the assistance of professional end of lease cleaning services, you can leave your rental spotless and sparkling without any effort required from you.
You might find that your professional movers offer end of lease cleaning services, or you might book it separately if you’re moving your own belongings. Either way, this can impress your landlord and help to ensure that you receive as much of your bond back as possible.
