When you have a good tenant in place, you always hope they’ll decide to renew their lease agreement and stay in your property for another year or longer. However, tenants move on, and when they give their notice and prepare to move on, you need to make some preparations, too.
This is a critical time for Fort Lauderdale rental property owners because you’ll need to think about inspecting your property, returning the tenant’s security deposit, and
preparing your rental property for new tenants.
Having a consistent procedure in place will keep you organized and ensure you treat each tenant fairly and in accordance with your lease agreement.
Remind Your Tenants of the Move-Out Requirements
When your tenants provide a notice to vacate, make sure you note their move-out date, and send them a notice that lists all the things they’ll need to do as the lease ends. This should include cleaning the property, removing all personal belongings, turning in keys, and leaving a forwarding address. This information can likely be found in the lease agreement, but it’s always helpful to remind them when the time comes.
Complete a Move-out Inspection and Report
Once your tenants have turned in the keys and completely moved out of the property, you’ll want to conduct a thorough move-out inspection. You are looking for any property damage that goes beyond general wear and tear. You’ll also want to make a list of the repairs that will be necessary before you begin looking for a new tenant.
Owners cannot charge for things like scuff marks on the wall from where a piece of furniture was or small nail holes in the walls from where pictures or clocks were hung. You can, however, charge for damage that’s accidental or due to abuse, neglect, or misuse. Document everything with pictures, videos, and notes during the inspection. Compare it to the notes and inspection report from the move-in process.
Security Deposit Accounting
The most complicated part of the move-out process for most owners is the return of the security deposit. Florida law requires you to return your tenant’s security deposit within 15 days of move-out if there are no reasons to deduct money from that deposit.
If you do need to deduct because of tenant damage, cleaning costs, or past due rent and utilities, you’ll have to return the remaining deposit and a detailed accounting within 30 days. Remember that you cannot deduct from the security deposit for normal wear and tear items. Things like small nail holes from where pictures were hung and scuff marks on the carpet from furniture are the responsibility of the landlord.
Turning Your Fort Lauderdale Rental Property
With your current tenants out of the property, you want to get your Fort Lauderdale investment home re-rented as soon as possible. This will save you money on long vacancy periods and ensure you aren’t losing a lot of cash flow.
