If you’re renting the place where you currently live, it’s likely you have signed some type of lease agreement that allows you to live on the premises for a specified time frame. When the term of that lease expires, you’ll need to sign a new lease if you want to continue living there or end the relationship by terminating your lease. If you decide that terminating your lease is your best option and moving out is your next step, it’s a good idea to follow a few guidelines so that your transition takes place as effortlessly as possible.
Don’t Just Leave
While circumstances are different for everyone, you need to check to see if you are obligated to inform your landlord that you will be vacating the premises when the term of your lease ends — some agreements make it mandatory that you do this when you decide to vacate. When you notify your landlord of your intention to vacate, you should do this by communicating your intentions in written form. While the majority of landlords are typically well organized and familiar with this process, it’s a good idea to remind them that you expect to receive your security deposit back when you leave. Also, by using a well-written, formalized letter, it acts as proof if any discrepancies occur during the lease termination process.
Writing A Lease Termination Letter
Here are the sections of a sample letter that you can use to let your landlord know of your intentions:
Your name and address
Date
Official name and address of your landlord as it’s written on your lease
Dear [Name Of Your Landlord]
We are writing to inform you that we plan to vacate our current address at [List Your Current Address] when our lease expires on [List Specific Date]. We plan on leaving the premises by [List Specific Date].
Our new address will be [List Your New Address]. Please contact us with a date and time to conduct a walk-through of our current premises. We would like you to send our security deposit to our new address within the time limit that is allotted and listed on our current lease. If you believe that any portion of our security deposit should be kept by your company, provide us with an itemized list that states these charges. We expect to receive a refund of our full deposit of [Deposit Amount] as we have left the premises in the same good condition that the dwelling was in when we initially signed our lease. When we vacate, the balance of all utilities will be paid in full and their services will be canceled.
The best way to contact us is by phone at [ListPhone Number] or by sending an email to ]Email Address.] We will await your call or email.
Best Regards,
[Tenant Signature]
Tenant name in print
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!