Move Out Guidelines

When it’s time to move on, please follow the guidelines below to ensure a smooth transition:

It has been a pleasure providing you a home and having you as a tenant.  DeGuire Property Management (DPM) is an agent for your Landlord.  Our goal is that your security deposit is returned in full.  To meet this goal, we have provided some information to prepare you and make the transition as easy as possible.  Please be aware of the following items covered by your lease:

TEXAS LAW REQUIRES THE TENANT TO PROVIDE WRITTEN NOTICE OF THEIR FORWARDING ADDRESS AND ALL RENT AMOUNTS DUE PAID IN FULL PRIOR TO RECEIVING A SECURITY DEPOSIT ACCOUNTING.

THE TEXAS PROPERTY CODE STRICTLY PROHIBITS USING YOUR SECURITY DEPOSIT IN LIEU OF PAYMENT OF THE LAST MONTH’S RENT, AND STRONG PENALTIES CAN ENSUE FOR DOING SO. 

Final Departure/Surrender

Provide DPM the exact date you will surrender the property.  Upon surrender of the property place the garage door openers, swimming pool cards (if applicable), mailbox keys (if applicable) and fireplace gas key in a zip-lock bag in one of the kitchen drawers, leave all keyless deadbolts disengaged, heat low (65) or A/C high (80), turn off lights, lock house and return all keys to the DPM office.   Once you have vacated contact DPM immediately so the move out inspection can be scheduled. 

To assist us in making refunds to you promptly, we ask that you review the security deposit section of the Residential Lease Agreement that you signed when you moved in.  This will clarify the refund procedure and explain any additional charges which you may incur.

For more information pertaining to cleaning your unit and an explanation of security deposit deductions, please review the following:

CLEANING SPECIFICATIONS

• Remove all trash and personal items from the home and yard.
• Clean all appliances thoroughly, including microwave, range hood, inside of refrigerator, inside of oven, etc.
• Clean sinks, cabinets, and drawers.
• The carpeting must be professionally cleaned and a receipt submitted with keys.
• Wash non-carpeted floors.  Remove stains and marks.
• Wipe down walls; pay special attention to areas around light switches, hallways, doors, and baseboards.
• Clean all windows, secure all screens, and remove cobwebs inside and out.
• Make needed repairs to screens and screen doors.
• Clean and disinfect the bathrooms thoroughly.
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  • Repair, or have repaired, any damages that you or your pets may have caused.
  • Schedule all utilities to be disconnected on the last day of your lease agreement.
  • If you are responsible for the lawn care:  Mow, trim, and remove debris from yard.
  • Make arrangements to have your trash picked up before you discontinue service.
  • Do not place trash and garbage in the recyclable cans, a fine will be incurred.

Remember, it will always be less expensive if you take care of your own damages.

GENERAL CLEANING

Use this as a simple checklist to help you remember what needs to be done.

WALLS

Clean Vents

Vacuum Cobwebs

Dust Above Doors

Lightly clean any dirt off of walls

Baseboards

FLOORS

Clean Vents

Vacuum All Carpets

Sweep Non-Carpeted Areas

Mop/Scrub Vinyl

Clean under Refrigerator

DOORS

Clean all knobs

Dust

Clean Inside Door Jam

BATHROOM(s)

Sink/Tub/Shower

Toilet

Walls/Windows

Floors

WINDOWS

Sills

Blinds

Windows

Vacuum Tracking

KITCHEN

Refrigerator

Oven - Inside and Out

Stove Top and drip pans

Stove Hood

Cabinets – In/Out

Countertops/Sink

OUTSIDE

Grass Mowed

Leaves Raked & Bagged

Garden/Beds Weeded

Concrete Degreased

Lights Working

Trash Hauled Off (do not leave any debris)

MISC

Clean All Light Fixtures

Fireplace - Clean all ashes and debris and clean screen (if applicable)

Sweep Porches

Sweep Garage

Clean Sliding Glass Door

Sweep Laundry Area

Smoke Detectors & Batteries

WHAT IS ORDINARY WEAR AND TEAR?

The typical definition of ordinary wear and tear is “Deterioration which occurs based upon the use in which the rental unit is intended; without negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse of the premises or contents by the tenant or occupants of the household, or their invitees or guests.”

In other words, ordinary wear and tear is the natural and gradual deterioration of the property over time, which results from a tenant’s normal use of the residence.  For example, the carpeting in a home, or the paint on the walls, wears out in the normal course of living.  Carpets become threadbare, and paint peels and cracks.  Even the most responsible tenant cannot prevent the aging process; thus they will not be held responsible to pay for damages resulting from aging.  Also, a tenant would not be held responsible for damage arising from using the property in a normal way.

WHAT IS NOT ORDINARY WEAR AND TEAR?

A landlord can require a tenant to pay for damages if the tenant helped the aging process along or didn’t use the property in a normal way.  A carpet worn from people walking on it is something you have to expect.  But a tenant who cuts a hole in the carpet or spills paint on it may be held responsible for the damage.

How can you tell what is and isn’t ordinary wear and tear?  There are three basic types of damages caused by a tenant that aren’t considered ordinary wear and tear.  They are:

Negligence.  If a tenant does something carelessly that the tenant should have known would cause damage, or if the tenant failed to do something that the tenant reasonably should have done to prevent damage, that’s negligence.  In short, did the tenant act prudently to preserve the property?

Failure to Warn.  Another form of negligence is where the tenant fails to take steps that could prevent damage to the property.  Even the reasonable wear and tear exception shouldn’t insulate a tenant from responsibility if the tenant fails to let the management know when something goes wrong in the home that might later result in worse damage. For example, if a window pane is cracked because of a faulty foundation, that’s not the tenant’s fault.  But if the tenant doesn’t tell the management that the crack is letting in water and the carpet below the window gets water damaged, the management may be able to argue that this extra damage was caused by the tenant’s failure to inform the management of the problem.

Abuse/Misuse.  If the tenant knowingly or deliberately mistreats the property, or uses it for the wrong purposes, the damage the tenant causes isn’t ordinary wear and tear – it’s abuse or misuse.  For example, did the tenant slide furniture over an unprotected floor, causing gouges?  Or did the tenant discolor the bathtub by using it to dye fabrics?  Was the tenant an artist who failed to cover the floor as the tenant painted, leaving permanent stains on the carpet?  Did the tenant paint the walls of the property a unique color?

One court decision required a tenant to pay for leaving a property with carpet mutilated in an area around a wet bar where it was damaged by rust and mildew stains from plant containers, and covered with cigarette burns – some clear through the pad.

Accident.  Sometimes damage occurs by mistake.  The tenant party guest drops a drink on the new carpet, staining it.  The tenant drops a heavy planter and cracks the tile floor, or is cleaning the light and the fixture falls and breaks, or accidentally leaves the bathtub faucet on, flooding part of the property and staining wood floors and carpeting.  Even though the tenant didn’t purposely damage the property, management will be able to withhold the cost of repair from the security deposit.

OTHER FACTORS

In evaluating whether property damage exceeds ordinary wear and tear, there are some other factors to keep in mind.  They include:

Extent of damage.  The exact type of damage may be as important as the extent of the damage when evaluating whether it’s ordinary wear and tear or not.  For example, two or three nail holes in a wall may be considered ordinary wear and tear.  But dozens of nail holes may be considered abuse.  A few scratches on a wood floor are unavoidable.  But a missing wood plank is negligence or abuse.

Length of residence.  Certain things wear out over time.  But over how long?  The ordinary wear and tear on a property from a tenant who has lived there only a short time should be considerably less than that of a tenant who has lived there for a long time.  As an example, assume the landlord installed new carpet before renting a home.  It may be reasonable to expect that if a tenant lives there 10 years before moving out, everyday usage would leave it somewhat damaged.  But if a tenant moves out after only three months and the carpet is ripped and stained, that’s unreasonable, and the management can probably charge the tenant for the damage.

Character and construction of building.  An older building may be expected to undergo greater and more rapid deterioration than a newer building.  For example, wooden window sills in an older building may dry out, rot, or crack over time through no fault of the tenant.  But if the building is new, it unlikely that the window sills would crack without some carelessness on the tenant’s part (e.g., standing on the window sill to put up drapes).

EXAMPLES OF WEAR AND TEAR VS. DAMAGES

WEAR & TEAR

Peeling or cracked paint

Worn enamel in old bathtub

Worn or cracked linoleum in place where appliances had been

Cracked window pane due to faulty foundation and settling of building

Carpet worn thin by people walking on it

Door that sticks in humidity

Small piece of wall plaster chipped

Faded tile

Faded lampshade

Fire damage due to faulty wiring

Sink drainage slow because of old pipe system

Floors need new coat of varnish

Corner of piece of wallpaper coming loose because the glue has aged

Sliding closet doors stick

Paint faded on kitchen walls

Shower rod somewhat rusted

Dirty or faded window

WEAR & TEAR DAMAGES

Drawings on the walls (e.g., murals)

Chipped and broken enamel in bathtub

Broken window caused by resident slamming window shut

Holes in carpet from cigarette burns or carpet damaged by rust and mildew stains from tenant’s plant containers

Large chunk of plaster ripped out of wall

Painted-over kitchen or bathroom tile

Missing fixtures; hole in ceiling where fixture had been removed

Toilet backed up because tenant flushed cardboard down it

Floors gouged when moving furniture

Wallpaper missing where tenant tore it off wall

Sliding closet doors off track because track bent

Walls burned in kitchen from burner turned too high when pot on stove

Shower rod missing

Tiles missing or cracked

Torn window shade

Grouting in bathroom tile loose

 

Please do everything necessary to return the property in good, clean condition.   We hope you enjoyed your stay, and wish you all the best in the future.