End-of-tenancy checklist for landlords
It’s come to the end of your current tenancy agreement, and your tenants are ready to move on, but are you? We’re here to supply you with a simplified checklist on how to get ready to place your property back on the rental market.
Agreed-upon end date
If you have tenants that have decided to leave or whose contract has ended for your rental property, then you need to ensure you have both confirmed an end date. This is extremely important to ensure that all parties involved are aware of this agreed-upon end date. This should be written down in a contract. This contract should include the signatures of all parties so it can be proven that you have both agreed on it. This will give you a small fraction of safety and protection in case the tenant does not leave the property by the agreed-upon end date. Having this date in the diary will also allow you to plan so you have a smaller gap between tenants.
Inspect the property
Inspecting the property is one of the most important steps when it’s the end of a tenancy. This will allow you to identify if they have cared and maintained respect for you and your property. Once they have removed all their belongings from the property, you need to ensure you complete a thorough inspection. This inspection will allow you to confirm whether you return their deposit or not. As a landlord, you will need to provide a good reason with evidence to not return their deposit; otherwise, they could penalise you and involve the court. During this inspection, it is also important that you make sure the past tenants have removed all their items from the property.
Check previous payments
Finally, before exchanging the keys and returning the deposit for the property, we would recommend going through all your previous payments with them. This will allow you to guarantee that they have completed all their payments. We would also recommend checking if there are no outstanding council tax and utility bills under the address of the property before parting ways with the tenants. This will allow you to once again be certain they were good, respectful tenants before returning their deposit.
Deep clean
Once you have completed the process with the previous tenants and you are happy, we advise deep cleaning your property in preparation for new tenants. This is not a required step, but if the past tenants have not returned the property to its original state, you can claim the deposit. This can be used to pay for a deep cleaning service and anything else you may have to fix within the property.
Re-list your property
Are you happy with your property? If so, the next step is to get it back on the market! After taking updated pictures of the property, it can then be listed and show encouraging new tenants for the future.
If you are an independent landlord or a new landlord entering the market for letting, we advise collaborating with an estate agent. This will reduce your involvement with clients and leave fewer tasks on your to-do list. Allowing you to rent out your properties stress-free.
Get in touch with us today if you are seeking advice
This article was originally published by BriefYourMarket and is reproduced here with their permission.
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