Tenant Source Exit Pack – Tenants

The big goal for yourself as tenant when leaving a tenancy is to get as much of the bond back as possible. In order to do this you need to return the property back to the condition it was in when you moved in. To jog your memory your Landlord should have sent you a copy of the ingoing condition report. Any damage that was not recorded on this ingoing report will be attributed to yourself and you will need to repair anything damaged further than general wear and tear.

Tenant To Do when vacating:

1. Make sure you are aware of rent owing and have payments continuing up to and including vacate date.

Note: Bond is not for covering final rent payments. You need to continue rent payments right to the end of the tenancy.

2. Repairs and Maintenance – take a quick walk through the property and let your landlord know if any maintenance or repairs are required. This is things like leaking taps, broken chattels and property damage. For things that are your own responsibility – i.e. damage you caused intentionally or by mistake just make a quick note that you will be taking care of them so they are aware and don’t bug you about them when you are on the case.

3. Your biggest task is cleaning. There a couple of options with cleaning –

A. Get in some professionals who specialise in end of tenancy cleaning – make sure they have a clause where they will come back to fix up anything they missed if the landlord does not find the clean satisfactory.

B. DIY the kiwi way. If going this route you want to make sure you have a plan, plenty of time, good quality cleaning materials and any safety equipment you may need such as face masks and gloves. Start a few weeks prior to vacate date and deep clean room by room so in your final days you only need to do a quick sweep.

Work through our cleaning checklist available here: Tenant Source Cleaning Checklist

Reminder: The sooner the property is back into good nick once you have moved out the sooner you get your bond back. This is a substantial amount of money and will be of use for your next property whether another rental or going into paying off your first mortgage.

The information contained in this publication is exclusively for promotional purposes and is not to be relied upon for legal or contractual dealings. Tenant Source recommends you seek independent legal advice, and that you may need to seek technical or other advice and information prior to making any actions in regards to tenancies in your investment properties. Tenant Source Ltd including its staff and directors accepts no responsibility for any issues arising as a result of taking advice from this publication.