A renter's move-out checklist, built around getting your deposit back

Renters move a lot. About 22 million people living in rented homes in 2024 had moved within the previous year, or 21.6% of them, according to the US Census Bureau. Among people in owned homes, it was 6.2%. The biggest money at stake in most of those moves is the security deposit, and the steps that protect it are easy to skip in a rush. Here's the order to do them in.

1. Give notice in writing, and keep a copy. Check your lease for how much notice it requires and how it has to be delivered. Email may not count if the lease says otherwise.

2. Ask for a pre-move-out inspection. Some states give tenants the right to one. In California, the landlord has to tell you about the option, and on your request, inspect the unit no earlier than two weeks before you leave and give you an itemized list of proposed deductions so you can fix them first. If you do, the landlord generally can't later deduct for problems that weren't on that list. New York's attorney general says tenants there can also ask for an inspection before move-out and be present for it. Even where it isn't required, asking can turn up surprises while you still have time to deal with them.

3. Clean and fix what you broke, not normal wear. Deposit laws generally let landlords charge for damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, which is California's wording, plus cleaning to the condition the unit was in when you moved in. Faded paint and worn carpet from normal use usually fall on the landlord. See what a landlord can deduct from a security deposit.

4. Take dated photos and video of every room. Get closets, appliances, floors, and walls, ideally after cleaning and before you hand over keys. Compare them with any move-in photos or checklist. California now requires landlords to photograph the unit at move-out too, before making repairs they plan to charge you for.

5. Don't use the deposit as last month's rent. Some states bar it outright. Texas law, for one, says a tenant may not withhold the last month's rent on the grounds that the deposit covers it. We explain the risks in whether you can use your deposit as last month's rent.

6. Return every key and get a receipt. Include garage remotes, mailbox keys, and fobs. A signed note or email confirming the date you returned them shows when the unit was back in the landlord's hands.

7. Give your forwarding address in writing. In Texas, a landlord isn't obligated to return a deposit or itemize deductions until the tenant gives a written forwarding address, though the tenant doesn't lose the right to a refund by skipping it. Elsewhere, it's how the check or itemized list reaches you.

8. Shut off or transfer utilities and update your address. Set utilities to end on your move-out date so you aren't billed for the next tenant, file a change of address with the post office, and move or cancel your renters insurance.

Then watch the calendar. Deposit deadlines vary by state.

If the money or the itemized list doesn't arrive in time, or the deductions look wrong, see how to dispute a security deposit deduction and how to get your security deposit back.

Sources

• US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2024, table B07013, geographic mobility by tenure
• California Civil Code 1950.5
• New York Attorney General, Residential Tenants' Rights Guide
• Texas Property Code, Chapter 92, sections 92.103, 92.107, and 92.108
• Florida Statutes 83.49
• Revised Code of Washington 59.18.280