Moving Out
Deciding to Move
The likelihood is that as a student you will have a fixed term contract. Determine what length of notice you have to give your landlord. If you decide to leave before your contract ends you will need to check your housing contracts terms and conditions. You may be responsible for paying the rent up until the end.
INSPECTION
Moving out comes with the dreaded inspection, the mad clean and tidy up to ensure everything is ready and up to standard. It’s worth asking the landlord for a list of everything that they will be looking for, that way you can make sure you are ready. Make sure you go through the inventory and make sure everything is where it should be.
The University of Bristol have a pretty good checklist of things to look out for
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/accommodation/usefuldocs/movingout.pdf
BILLS
No less than two weeks before you move out, contact all your utility companies to take your names off the bill and to make sure you have paid up to the end of your tenancy.
DEPOSITS
Some find it quite an ordeal to get their deposits back. So long as you have left everything as you found it, compensated the landlord for any damage, paid up all your rent and bulls, this should not be the case! Your deposit should be back to you within 10 days. If it isn’t contact your University Accommodation Office (link to contacts) for advice. Under the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme landlords that fail to protect their tenants’ deposits are required to give back 3 times the amount of the deposit to the tenant.
Refuse
When you move out it is likely that you have accumulated a lot of junk that you want to get rid of. Don’t just leave it in boxes or dump it on the street outside your house. Of course there is always the fact that fly tipping is illegal, so you can’t jus dump it anywhere. If what is junk to you is ok to use ,why not donate it to a charity shop?
If you are at Bristol Uni, The Big Give is a fantastic way to make use of your unwanted items, reduce waste in landfill sites and help local charities! At the end of term there are collection points at halls of residence, around campus and the Students' Union. Look out for the logo:
The Council can help you shift large household items http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/environment-and-planning/recycling--rubbish-and-waste/household-waste---special-collections-for-large-items/
FRIENDLY ADVICE
Having a send off party to mark your ‘moving out’ is not a good idea. Your end of year clean will be big and it’s important your whole house gets involved. You don’t want to be in a hellish position a few days before you leave. It would be typical for an end of year party to be the one where damage occurs. So unless your idea of a party is wearing rubber gloves and scrubbing carpet, our friendly advice is to save it for another time.