Moving House

When you’re leaving your house for the last time to begin a new chapter in your life, there are a number of things you’ll need to tick off the “moving house list” in order to ensure a smooth departure:

• Give required notice
• Return all keys
• Leave the property neat and tidy
• Inform all your suppliers
• Pay any outstanding rent
• Clear out the property if someone passes away
• Contact us for any other queries

Give required notice

You’ll need to give us 28 days’ notice before moving out. The easiest way to do this is via our Tenants Online service which you can access via insert how to access. Alternatively, you can send a notice letter to your local office, or call us on 0303 303 0003 (option 4) and one of our customer service team can help you.

Return all keys

You’ll need to return all keys, including metre box, window and shed keys, as well as front and back door keys, to your local office on the day you leave. Please note that we will keep charging you rent until all keys to the property have been returned. Finally, if you are posting the keys, please remember to include a note stating the address of the property in question.

Leave the property neat and tidy

We’ll arrange a suitable time to visit your property, before you move out. During this visit, we’ll advise you on how to leave the property clean, tidy and in excellent condition. If the property has not been left in a really good condition and costs are incurred to bring it up to the required standard, you will receive a bill with these rechargeable costs. In addition to leaving the house clean and tidy, we will also need to ensure that you do each of the following:

• Remove all furniture, carpets and items from your shed and garage (unless otherwise agreed)
• Leave all internal fittings such as doors, fires, light sockets and cooker points
• Ensure that nobody is living in the property when you move out. If there is, they will be evicted and you will be charged for our legal costs.

As we pride ourselves on being a green organisation, we greatly encourage the recycling of any unwanted furniture where possible, when moving out.

So, if you are looking to dispose of furniture rather than take it with you to your new home, try contacting your local charity shop as they may take your unwanted furniture. Alternatively, let us know and we may be able to put you in touch with someone who will be happy to take it for their home.

Finally, if you have any unwanted items or rubbish that you wish to dispose of prior to moving out, please contact the council refuse department and ask them to remove any such unwanted items from your home.

Please note that if you do leave unwanted items behind, either in the property or in the garden area, we will we charge you accordingly.

Inform all your suppliers

Before moving out of your home, please give notice to your gas, water and electricity providers and ensure that you make arrangements for final meter readings and final outstanding payments.

In addition, before leaving your house for the final time we also request that you do the following:

•  Turn off all taps, including the stop tap, if possible
• Inform the council tax office and the housing benefit office if you are claiming benefit.

Pay any outstanding rent

Have you paid all rent due or have you still some rent owing? Please check this before you leave!

If there is a balance of rent owing on your account, please contact a member of our Income team by calling 0303 303 0003 (Option 1).

Please note that all outstanding rent must be settled prior to departure – if not you will be pursued by our legal department for any rent that remains outstanding.

Clear out the property if someone passes away

If you’re responsible for clearing a property when a relative or friend passes away please notify your local office of this. The reason is simply that you will need to let us know when you’ll be returning the keys as rent continues to be payable until these are handed in.

Your local office will be able to help and advise if you wish to pay any outstanding rent owing on the property. If you do not wish to pay outstanding rent in this way, we will claim this from the estate of the deceased.

Finally, please note that if your deceased friend or relative was in receipt of housing benefit, this will end on the first Sunday after their death.

Contact us for any other queries

If you need any more information about what needs to done prior to you moving out, please contact us on 0303 303 0003 (Option 4) and we will be more than happy to help in any way we can.