The deposit clause
Your deposit is decided on the last day
A removal is the single biggest threat to a tenancy deposit, and almost none of the risk is in the van — it is in the doorway, the stairwell and the sequencing. Three of the six below are ours. The other three are yours, and we would rather tell you that plainly than let you find out at the check-out.
Ours
What we are responsible for
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Protect the hall, stairs and door frames
Almost all deposit deductions for damage are scuffs on communal or fixed surfaces rather than anything dramatic. It is the cheapest damage to prevent and the most common to be charged for.
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Lift furniture off floors rather than dragging it
Drag marks on laminate and carpet indentations are the two things landlords notice first, and the two easiest to avoid entirely.
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Photograph the empty property as we leave it
This is the evidence that the condition at check-out was not caused by the removal. We take them and send them to you as a matter of course.
Yours
What only you can do
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Photograph the property before anything moves
The check-in inventory is the document your deposit is judged against. Photographs taken before the first box leaves are what let you argue with it.
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Take down fixings and make good where you can
Shelf brackets, TV mounts and picture hooks are yours to deal with. Filler and a bit of paint is cheaper than the deduction.
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Leave the property empty before it is cleaned
An end-of-tenancy clean has to happen on an empty property. Booking the cleaner before the removal is the single most common sequencing mistake in a rental move.
The order matters more than the effort
The most common and most expensive mistake in a rental move is doing the right things in the wrong order. An end-of-tenancy clean on a property that still has furniture in it is a clean that will have to be done again, and the second one comes out of your deposit.
The order that works:
- Photograph the property while it is still full, so you have a before.
- Move everything out, with the hall, stairs and frames protected while it happens.
- Take down your own fixings and make good.
- Clean, or have it cleaned, on an empty property.
- Photograph it empty and clean, then hand the keys back.
If something does get marked
Tell us on the day rather than after. We would far rather know while we are still standing in the hallway, because most of it can be dealt with there and then, and because a mark we caused is ours to sort out — not something for you to argue about at a check-out where we are not present.
Our insurance details, and what is and is not covered, are set out in the booking terms you will be sent with your quote.
Get a quote
Moving out of a rented property?
Say so on the quote form and the protective work is priced in from the start rather than added on when we arrive and see the stairwell.