Clearing a rented property at the end of a tenancy

Whether you are the tenant trying to protect a deposit or the landlord trying to re-let by the first of the month, an end-of-tenancy clearance is a deadline problem before it is a rubbish problem.

Tenancies in Salford, Fallowfield, Stockport and most of Greater Manchester turn over in tight windows. Keys go back on one date and new tenants arrive shortly after, which leaves very little room for a van that cannot come until next week.

If you are the tenant

Everything you leave behind is still your waste, and leaving it is usually the fastest way to lose part of a deposit. Bagged rubbish in the yard counts. A mattress against the back wall counts, and in most boroughs it is the item that generates a fly-tipping report.

Photograph the property empty, and keep whatever documentation the clearance produced. In a deposit dispute, a dated transfer note and a set of photographs settle the argument quickly.

If you are the landlord or agent

Waste left by a departing tenant becomes your problem the moment you take the keys back. If you are clearing it commercially (because the property is let as a business) it is not household waste any more, so the household recycling centres will not take it and a van permit will not help. It needs a registered carrier and a transfer note.

A workable order of work

• Book the clearance for the day after keys are returned, not the same day
• Walk the property first, including loft, shed, garage and any outside store
• Separate anything the incoming tenant is keeping, and label it
• Photograph each room before and after
• File the transfer note with the tenancy paperwork

The bits people forget

• Lofts and under-stairs cupboards
• Garden waste behind the shed
• The inside of the oven

None of them are visible on a walkthrough done in a hurry, and all of them turn up in the check-out report.

If the timing is genuinely tight, say so when you book. An urgent house clearance can usually be completed within twenty-four hours of the request, and we work weekends and out of hours at no extra charge, which is normally what makes a handover date survive.