Two sets of dates that do not know about each other
A private tenancy ending and a social tenancy starting are governed by completely different arrangements and they line up only by luck. Expect a gap, or occasionally an overlap.
A gap means storage, which is straightforward. An overlap means paying for both for a period, which is unwelcome — but it is the easier of the two problems, because at least you have both sets of keys.
Your deposit is decided on the last day
Almost all deposit deductions for damage are scuffs and marks on fixed surfaces — door frames, stairwell walls, skirtings, drag marks on flooring. They happen in the first and last few feet of the journey, and they are the cheapest damage in the world to prevent.
- Photograph the property before anything moves. Evidentially, not artistically.
- Take your own fixings out and fill the holes.
- Have the property cleaned after it is empty, never before.
- Photograph it again once it is empty and clean.
Do things in the right order
The most common and most expensive mistake is booking the end-of-tenancy clean before the removal. A clean has to happen on an empty property, and a cleaner arriving to a flat with furniture in it either does a worse job or charges to come back.
Removal first, clean second, check-out third.
Tell us it is a private tenancy
It changes what we do. Halls, stairs and door frames protected, furniture lifted rather than dragged, and photographs of the property empty as we leave it sent to you.
That is all priced in from the start when we know, and added on when we arrive and see the stairwell if we do not.
The new place will be barer than the old one
Private lets frequently come part-furnished. Social tenancies almost never do. That means white goods, possibly flooring, and a week in which several things arrive at once.
Tell us what else is being delivered and we will work around it rather than adding to the pile.