Moving Out of a Rental? Here’s What You Should Do

Moving is a daunting task and it’s not easier when you’re moving out of a rental. Sure, you don’t have to make large repairs or deal with selling, but there are things you’ll need to be aware of. 

For one, rental units are temporary with year-to-year, or month-to-month contracts that you, as the tenant, need to be aware of and fulfill. When you move in and before you move out, your lease will be your first place to start. 

1. Review Your Lease

Your lease, paired with conversations with your landlord or property manager, will always be your first place to check. It will hold key information about move out details, including the date and if you’ll need to do anything specific before you vacate the home. 

You’ll also want to review any fees or deposits you have paid, such as a security deposit or pet deposit. In most cases, your security deposit will be refunded, though the pet deposit likely will not be. That information will be found in your lease. You can also ask your landlord what you can do to ensure you get the highest possible refund for your security deposit. 

The last thing you want is to assume that you’re going to be getting some money back, when that turns out not to be the case.

Also, review it carefully so you don’t accidentally take something that was there when you moved in!

2. Clean and Organize

The most commonly known thing about moving out is that you should clean your apartment or home thoroughly before you do. When renting, this can be the key to getting back your full security deposit, or losing it entirely. 

To get your security deposit back, you’re going to have to make sure that the house or apartment is clean, organized, and in as good of a condition as it was when you moved in, if not better. Depending on your lease agreement, that means scouring the floors, filling in nail holes, and doing a bit of landscaping. 

The best thing to do is take it room by room. Pack up the room first, clean your items, and then clean the now empty room. Once that room is clean, you can use it as a storage area for all of your boxes and luggage so you can continue to clean. 

As you’re cleaning and organizing, it can be a great time to decide what you can put into storage. Perhaps there’s a box or two of personal mementos in the back of the closet that’s simply taking up space, and instead of moving it into the back of the closet in your new place, you can store it and keep it safe elsewhere.

3. Find Affordable Storage

Renting often means that you won’t have room for all of your things, depending on your situation. It’s not always possible to find a big enough, or unfurnished space, especially if you have short notice of your move. 

If you’re interested in renting a self-storage unit, it can be a good idea to find an affordable space before you move out. 

Albuquerque Self Storage offers month-to-month contracts, so you can use it when you need it and move out of it when you’re ready to go. To keep it easy, we only require a 10 day notice before you leave your unit. And we don’t require a deposit!

You don’t have to worry about security either — our storage units are safe. Albuquerque Self Storage, has a well lit and gated facility for you to store your items and every unit is protected by a padlock. 

If you’re interested in using us for your self storage needs, contact us today.

4. Schedule a Walkthrough

You should be in pretty consistent communication with your landlord about you moving out. Don’t forget to schedule a walkthrough when you’re all done cleaning. What is a walkthrough? It’s pretty simple: You walk through the apartment with the landlord or rental agent (sometimes it’s without you) to see if there are any issues that should be fixed before you move out. Identifying these issues now will help you avoid fees for damages so you can get your security deposit back. 

Before you schedule it, go through your move-in checklist. It will help give you an idea of what the apartment/home was like before you moved in. You can also take images or video with your phone before you move out, so in case anything comes up, you can show what the rental looked like before you left.