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Moving Out & Giving Notice

Whether you’re relocating to a new city, moving in with a partner, or upgrading your living space, moving out of your rental property can be an exciting and life-changing milestone. Unfortunately, big personal steps like this also have the potential to cause you an enormous amount of stress, particularly if you do not take the appropriate steps to plan ahead.  If you want to avoid giving yourself more headaches than necessary, follow these steps to ensure that your moving process goes without a hitch!

Give Notice

So you’ve decided you’re ready to move out – congrats! The first and most important step you must take is to give your building manager your notice to vacate. You are required to provide at least one month written notice before you move out. If your rent is due on the first of each month the written notice must be received on the last day before your rent is due. Example: If your rent is due on January 1st, your notice to move out must be received by the Landlord/Agent on or before December 31st to end the tenancy on January 31st. 

Please Note: The notice must include your proper address, date and your handwritten signature. 

If the notice is handed in on the first, second or third day of the month it will be considered a ‘late notice’ and if we are not able to find a new tenant you will be responsible for the next month’s rent.

It is essential that you give your landlord notice to move out as soon as you decide to move! Please contact your building manager if you have questions regarding this process, or download the ‘move-out’ package here:

Schedule Your Move-Out Condition Inspection

Once your building manager is aware that you’re leaving, they will arrange a ‘Pre-Move-Out Inspection’ and will let you know what they expect for a smooth move-out condition inspection. The building manager will also talk to you about scheduling your Move-Out Condition Inspection. This inspection will take place on one of the last days of your tenancy and is necessary to ensure that you have left the suite in good condition. The Residential Tenancy Act states that the tenant must vacate the apartment by 1:00 PM on the last day of the tenancy. At the time of the move-out inspection, the tenant must leave the rental unit in clean and in good condition, undamaged except for reasonable wear and tear, and give the landlord all the keys or other means of access that are in the possession or control of the tenant and that allow access to and within the residential property.

Clean, clean, clean! 

Before you vacate the unit, you must move all of your personal belongings out and perform a deep clean of the suite. This includes (but is not limited to) wiping down blinds, cleaning inside and behind appliances, and washing walls and floors. We recommend hiring a professional to do this for you, but you may also perform the deep clean yourself if you feel confident that you can complete it to a professional standard. The full list of move-out duties can be found in our ‘Move-Out Package’, and your building manager will point out deficiencies noticed during the ‘Pre-Move-Out Inspection’ as well. If you are unsure about any of your responsibilities, please contact your building manager for more information.

Complete the Inspection 

Vacating tenants must move out of their rental suites by 1:00 PM at the latest on the last day of their tenancy (usually the last day of the month). Once you have cleaned and removed your personal belongings from the suite, your building manager will perform the move-out condition inspection of the apartment with you at the scheduled time. During the inspection, the building manager will walk through the suite together with you; comparing the Move-In and Move-Out Condition Inspection Reports allows the building manger and tenant to determine if the rental unit was damaged and who is responsible for paying for repairs or unsatisfactory cleaning.

At the time of your move-out inspection, you will have to return your keys, fobs, and laundry card to your building manager. The cost to replace a lost laundry card is $10, to replace lost keys is $10 and fobs varies by building ($30-$90). Please contact your building manager as soon as possible if you need to replace a lost key.

Give a Forwarding Address

The last and most important part of the ‘Move-Out Condition Inspection’ is to provide your building manager with a forwarding address on the Move-out Inspection Form. The new address and your signature is required on the ‘Move-out Inspection Form’ to receive your security and/or pet deposit back. After the inspection, the landlord will send you the cheque with the deposit within the 15-days timeline.

Friendly Reminder: Ensure all of your mail follows you to your new address. You can sign up with a mail forwarding service, however it is a good idea to contact the most important ones like: Banks, credit card companies, utility services, insurances, government agencies, phone/cable/ internet provider etc. directly.

Moving out doesn’t have to be a hassle unless you make it one by not planning ahead. Pick a move-out date and stick to it, make sure all your belongings are moved and all apartment surfaces are cleaned, and you’ll be ready to move into your new home, knowing your deposit is on its way and with a rental record as spotless as the apartment you left behind.