Your Vacation Guide
Everything you need to know about vacating your rental.
Unfortunately, not all vacations involve an aeroplane, cocktails and sunshine. Vacation also means leaving something or somewhere that was occupied.
There often comes a time where you need to vacate a rental property. You might have purchased your own place, might be moving in with a friend or maybe even moving to a different location or country (now that could be exotic!).
Whatever the reason, moving is often regarded as one of the most stressful events in one’s lifetime. But it doesn’t have to be! You can prepare to leave your rental property and make the process as simple and straight forward as possible.
How? Read on…
Preparing to vacate your rental property
Keys
Keys must be handed in by close of business on your vacate date. Unfortunately, keys cannot be handed in earlier as you are responsible for maintaining the property up until handover.
All keys must be returned to the Hanson Property Office. This is so we have a signed record of what keys are returned and can reconcile the keys returned with the keys issued at commencement of your lease.
If you leave the keys in the property, we can’t take responsibility for them if they are lost or stolen, and we want to avoid any unnecessary key cutting charges.
Maintenance
If you spy any maintenance that needs to be attended to in the process of packing everything up, drop us a line. Remember that all maintenance must be reported via email or through the maintenance form on our website.
Maintenance items cannot be reported via SMS, so make sure you send it through in the correct format to make sure it gets sorted.
If you notice any damage to the paint work from your time in the home, make sure your contact your Property Manager as painting must be completed by a professional contractor and the Owner must grant approval before any painting is completed.
Oil or grease stains on garage floors are also something to chat to your Property Manager about. Some cleaning methods can compromise the concrete and create issues for future tenants so get in touch before putting any concentrated acids or abrasive cleaners on your garage floor.
Carpets
These need to be cleaned by a professional contractor at the end of your tenancy and a copy of the receipt provided to your property manager to confirm this has been done.
Not every cleaner can clean carpets to a professional standard, so we have a list of preferred carpet cleaning contractors to ensure you get the job done right, first time around.
Easiest way to tick this box – hand the receipt in with your keys. We’re more than happy to just take a copy of our files.
Flea Treatment
If you were approved to house pets at the property, then you must have a professional flea spray completed at the end of your tenancy.
There are a number of local contractors who do this and again, we just need a receipt to be provided to confirm this has been attended to (you can also tick this off your list by handing it in with your keys as well).
Pre-vacate Appointment
We want to help you be as organised as possible for your final inspection. So we offer you the opportunity to catch up with your property manager informally before you vacate to run through any queries or questions you might have.
This IS NOT a final bond inspection. It’s an informal catch up to assist you in preparing any items that need attending to, we all know that there are a million things going on when you move so sometimes it’s handy to have a second eye point out things that need attending to.
This appointment is not a requirement of your agreement, just a tool to help make the process as smooth as possible – particularly as you aren’t permitted access to the return to the property and attend to items once you have vacated.
Final Bond Inspection
FBI. Not just the name of a federal agency but a very important part in the end of your lease agreement, the Final Bond Inspection (FBI) is where your property manager will review the property in comparison to the condition as noted in the ingoing Property Condition Report.
To help you prepare for the inspection, we have a comprehensive vacate guide that is provided to you when you give us your notice to vacate. Lost your copy? Don’t stress – give us a buzz and we can re-send you one.
The most important thing to note is that the Final Bond Inspection cannot be completed until ALL keys are returned.
Once your keys are handed in, the Final Inspection will be completed within the prescribed 14 days. A report will be issued to you following the inspection with any items that may need to be addressed and/or a summary of your bond and any necessary deduction (like final water consumption etc.).
Want to attend your FBI? You’re more than welcome! Just get in touch with your Property Manager and they will let you know what time and day the inspection will be completed so you can make arrangements to be there.
When do I get my bond back?
Your bond is held by the Bond Administrator so unfortunately, they control the disposal of your bond. They are normally very efficient, but to help get your bond back in the fastest possible time, here are some tips:
- When you receive your FBI and bond disposal summary outlining any costs to be deducted from your bond, get in touch with your property manager ASAP to discuss any queries;
- Ensure that your property manager has the correct mobile number and email address on file for all parties on the Lease agreement, as this will be needed by Bond Admin to dispose of the bond electronically;
- If any mobile numbers or emails have changed, get in touch with your property manager ASAP so that Bond Admin can be advised;
- Once you receive your email notice from Bond Admin regarding the disposal, log in and approve the disposal as soon as possible. ALL parties must approve of the disposal via their individual emails for their bond disposal to be processed.
Getting your bond back as soon as practical is important for the owner, as much as it is for you. The owner is required to pay all outstanding accounts (e.g. water consumption) out of their own pocket until the bond is disposed and reimburses them for these costs.
We all want to ensure this process is as smooth, stress free and efficient as possible so at the end of the day, just sing out if you have a query. We’re always here to help.
