Moving house can be a tricky time with plenty to sort out before, during and after the move. We’ve prepared a checklist of things to take care of in the run up to moving out to help tenants get through their next move as smoothly as possible.

Serving notice

Tenants in Scotland should provide written notice (normally an acknowledged email will do) to their letting agent giving at least 28 days notice that they are moving out. Notice needs to be signed by all tenants who are named on the original tenancy agreement or if emailed, all tenants should be copied into the email to signify that they are all aware of the notice being served. The agent will then respond to confirm a move out date. 

Pay the last month’s rent

Tenants should remember to pay their last month’s rent then cancel their rent standing order. The tenant’s deposit will remain protected with the relevant Tenancy Deposit Scheme until the tenancy has ended and is there to cover any damage or remedial works needed.

Removals

For tenants with lots of belongings, it’s worth organising a removal company (or a friend with a van!) to help with the move. If using a removal company, normally someone will pop round ahead of time to provide a quote based on the amount of bits of pieces needing moved. It’s worth tenants making sure they have a few days overlap with their new home and arranging the removal for a couple of days before the tenancy end date to avoid a last minute rush and to give plenty time to get everything in order.

Utilities & other admin

Tenants should contact their broadband and TV provider to inform them of the move. It’s normally as simple as providing a termination date at the old property and a set up date for the new home. It’s worth starting this process early to avoid several days or weeks in the broadband-abyss after the move. Tenants should also contact their electricity and gas suppliers,  giving them their move out date and up to date meter readings and also contact the council tax department to inform them of the move. It’s worth setting up mail forwarding too with Royal mail for a period of at least 3 months following the move. 

Check the inventory

Tenants should check through the inventory they received at the beginning of their tenancy, making sure nothing’s gone missing, or accidentally packed and to ensure all furniture is back where it was when they moved in. If a copy of the inventory is needed, the agent will have a copy they can share.

Fix up, look sharp

If there’s anything that tenants have accidentally broken or a stain that needs removed, these should be sorted out before the end of the tenancy. If there’s something broken that the tenant is unable to fix themselves then it’s worth highlighting this to the letting agent at this stage in case there is a simple solution that can be taken care of before the move out.

Cleaning

Once a tenant has moved all of their belongings out they should give the place a thorough clean so that it’s ready for the next tenants. It’s important that this is a deep clean, including; under beds, inside fridge and oven, on top of cupboards and in all the other nooks and crannies around the property to avoid money being deducted from the deposit to cover cleaning. Moving home is a busy time so instructing a professional cleaner to take care of this part of the process is well worth doing.

Keys

On or before the move out date, keys should be dropped off at the letting agent’s office. At Umega these can be dropped out of hours through a dedicated key drop at our office.

Then it’s onto the new place and over to the letting agent to complete the move out process. At Umega we’ll normally inspect within 1 working day of a tenant moving out and will report back following our inspection before initiating the deposit refund. If any remedial works or cleaning  are required and deemed to be the tenant’s responsibility, we’ll communicate this to the tenant and take care of it before applying to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme to deduct these from the deposit, if applicable.

More information on this part of the process can be found in our Refunding deposits blog.