Moving out of my apartment. Any tips on repairs so I don’t get charged much?
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at
10:58 pm
I am moving out of my apartment. No deposit was required when I moved in but I hear that the company charges greatly for the smallest of problems left behind. I’ve kept my apartment in good shape and plan to steam clean the carpets, repair nail holes, etc. However, I’m worried about being charged for things beyond my control such as aging, peeling wallpaper, and old grout that needs to be recaulked. Any tips to avoid charges after I move out?
Repossession
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Filed under: flat renovation
Toothpaste is cheap spackle. It covers nail holes like a mofo.
dont even bother we got charged $560 for the glass casing on a ceiling fan light bulb missing, it was accidently broken ( $10 at hom depot would cover it ) and included in that $560 were “cleaning fees” we left the apartment in amazing shape compared to the crud hole it was when we moved in.
If you still live there and are under the conditions of the lease, I’m wondering if you could call maintenance to repair these items while you still live there. That way you wouldn’t be charged. What I do recommend is buying a magic sponge to remove the scuff marks on the floor and walls…does wonders. Make sure to clean it good and get rid of any mold/mildew. In my opinion the things that you listed are the responsibility of the property owner, not the renter. Good luck!
Take photos and video if possible of the entire apartment In case your landlord destroys it AFTER you left and claim you did it.
If there’s small wear and tear damage the usual faucet toilet leaking, fix it. IF there’s any other damage fix it.
For the grout you can buy a pen which colours it white again, alternatively you can fill/cover it with toothpaste which will last only until after you move out. I did that once and it worked a treat.
By law, your landlord cannot charge you for normal wear and tear on your apartment. If anything isn’t working right and you haven’t reported it to the landlord, that might be a problem, but the only things that they can charge you for are damages that don’t arise from normal weat and tear, such as nail holes that weren’t there before you moved in but this is cheap to fix…a broken light fixture that you didn’t report to the manager … perhaps you were cleaning it and it fell, a broken window, etc. Steam cleaning the carpets is not necessary unless you actually left it dirty with spots, animals soils, etc. Normal build up of grime on the carpet is not your problem. It is usually the owners or managers problem and part of your cleaning deposit or charge that they told you about up front when you signed the rental agreement or lease. Just clean the apartment very well like tile, grout in bathroom, linoleum floors should be mopped, carpet vacuummed and spot cleaned for any soiled spots (Woolite carpet and rug stain remover is really excellent for this). If the management company doesn’t have to hire an industrial strength cleaning crew, they will appreciate this usually. Repainting the apartment is something the manager does automatically before another tenant moves in-it is not your responsibility.
Normal wear and tear is not the fault of the renter.
Just do a deep clean on the place and fix any damage that was caused due to you living there.
Take pictures and/or a video of each room. Do the final walk thru with your apartment manager.