Things a Landlord Should Do When a Tenant Moves Out
When you’re working as a landlord, you have many responsibilities over the course of a lease. Between repairs and solving various problems, it can be a complex time without a set schedule or process. However, every lease eventually ends, and tenants will move away. Here’s a deeper look at what a landlord should do when a tenant moves away.
Contacting Your Tenant
Every state has its own laws about how you should handle a tenant leaving, so make sure you follow local laws. However, you’ll likely need to reach out to your tenant to figure out if they want to renew and when they’re leaving if they don’t want to renew. Do this at least a month in advance to find a new tenant and get everything else ready.
Pulling Up Paperwork
You’ll need to pull up the paperwork they first signed when they got the place to close out the lease. It’s also necessary for you to get a report on the state of the rental property before the tenant started living there. This will help with the next step of the process.
Walkthrough With Tenant
On the last day of a tenant’s stay, you should do a walkthrough of the property before they leave. Checking the place for damage, recording it, and comparing it with the previous documentation of your property is necessary. This way, you can get back any money for the damage if your state allows it. Most people consider this the best time to return the deposit as you can deduct the fees from the deposit and return it simultaneously.
Preparing the Place
Once your tenant leaves the property and you’ve walked through the place, it’s time to prepare the property for the next tenant. This means cleaning it up and repairing anything broken. A clean unit in good condition will draw in a lot more potential tenants and help increase the rental price. This is why preparing the property is such an important step for a landlord once a lease ends.
If you go through all these steps and follow the local regulations and laws around tenant and landlord relationships, you should have no legal problems. However, you should always contact a local lawyer about the legal requirements of your local government to be sure. Make sure your next tenants have the best place possible after your old tenants leave.
