Ending a Lease Cleanly

Leaving a student house well is a sequence, not a mood. Notice, inspection, keys, meters, deposit. Skip one and the others become arguments. ManjeProp would rather a dull handover than a dramatic disappearance with a remote still in a backpack in Pietermaritzburg.

This is practical sequencing. It is not legal advice. Your written lease and the Rental Housing Act still govern dates and money.

Start with the notice the lease asked for

Read the clause. Month-to-month and fixed-term agreements do not always end the same way. Some consumer fixed-term leases have Consumer Protection Act cancellation rules on top. If you are unsure, ask in writing early and, if a lot of money sits on the date, get advice. Do not rely on a housemate’s memory of “two weeks is fine.”

Send notice the way the lease says — email, address, form. Keep a copy. A WhatsApp tick is a weak file.

A booking end date on the desk is not notice.

Book the outgoing inspection

The Act expects a joint outgoing inspection at a mutually convenient time within three days before expiry. Answer the request. If you vanish, the landlord may inspect after expiry within the statutory window. You want to be in the room when the photos are taken.

Bring the incoming photos if you still have them. Walk the same order: bedroom, cupboards, bathroom, windows, any house furniture. Photograph as you go. Daylight.

Report anything still broken before the walk, on Report a fault, so it is not discovered as a personality. A lock that failed in June should not debut in November.

Clean to the standard the lease described

Ordinary wear is not a deep-clean invoice by another name. Food in a fridge, grease on a stove, a bin left closed for a week in January heat — those are not wear. Do the human clean. Do not paint a damp wall to hide a stain. Do not fill holes with toothpaste.

If the house uses a specified cleaner, that is a lease item, not a surprise on the day if it was in the document.

Keys, remotes, tags

Count them against the incoming list. Dead remotes still come back. Keys left with a friend are not returned. If you lost one, say so that morning, not after the new tenant cannot enter.

Do not change a cylinder on the last day and keep the old one. Unofficial locks are a problem, not a parting gift.

Meters

Photograph the water meter and any prepaid display you can see without forcing a lid. Same rules as always: square-on, serial in the frame, original file. That second reading is how a vacancy bill stays boring.

Forwarding and people

Give a number that will still work after you leave, for the deposit conversation. Remove your name from the wifi router if it was yours. Tell housemates the date in ordinary words. Take your guest with you.

Do not leave a cousin in the room as an informal sublet. That is occupancy, not a handover.

Money

Deposits are accounted for under the Act: interest, lawful deductions, receipts, statutory time limits. We will use inspection photos and repair invoices, not a feeling. You should do the same. If a large deduction appears without receipts, that is a dispute for advice or the Rental Housing Tribunal, not a plumbing ticket.

Pay the last rent the lease still requires. A fault form cannot reverse an EFT.

Staff close-out

On /manage/, vacancy is confirmed in the building. Keys in. Inspection filed. Repair logged if work is needed. Listing unpublished until the room is actually empty. Booking completed, not left as occupied. No identity numbers in the notes.

If a housemate is staying on, do not leave them your unofficial copies of keys. The count has to work for the people who remain and for the next official occupant.

Leaving cleanly is a checklist you start when you give notice, not when the taxi is in the road.

Questions about a future Durban room: properties. A lock or a leak while you still have keys: report-a-fault or +27 60 313 6961.