Moving out at the end of term

1. Set the dates before exams start

• Check in your lease when it ends and how much notice you have to give.
• If you leave before it ends, look for what it says about leaving early or subletting your room, and ask in writing.
• Agree early on the day of the check-out inspection and the key handover.

2. Find your move-in record

Before you clean, find the photos and the inventory from the day you moved in. If you sealed your photos, open the link: they are there with the date and each photo’s fingerprint, so you can compare room by room.

3. Before you hand back the keys

• Fridge and freezer empty and clean, and the rubbish taken out.
• Walls: remove tape, hooks and posters carefully; tape marks often end up as a deduction.
• Furniture and inventory items back in place; anything you added, gone.
• Every key and fob together, and the meter readings written down.

4. Move-out photos in the same order

Walk the place in the same order and framing as on move-in day (move-in and move-out checklist). If a mark was already there when you moved in, put both photos side by side.

5. If you travel before the check-out

Ask to do the check-out before you leave, or for someone you trust to attend. Put in writing where and how you want the deposit paid. You can adapt this message:

Hello [name]. I am leaving [address] on [date] and travelling on [date]. Could we do the check-out inspection on [day and time]? My move-in and move-out photos are here: [link]. For the deposit, my details are [payment method]. Thank you.

6. Who to ask

Many universities have a housing office, a students’ union advice centre or free student legal services that review leases and deposit disputes. Look on your university’s website before you sign next year’s lease, or if something is deducted, and see how to get your deposit back.