Moving out smoothly and getting your deposit back

This guide is for tenancies that began on or after 15 January 1989. If you have an older, protected tenancy, see Moving out if you're a protected tenant.

When you are ready to move on, a little planning makes it easy, and helps your whole deposit come back to you.

Giving notice

Since 1 May 2026, assured tenancies, the usual kind of private tenancy in England, run on a rolling basis with no end date (gov.uk). You end yours by giving notice.

• In writing. A letter, email or text is fine, and a landlord cannot insist on a particular method. Keep a copy.
• How much notice. Your tenancy agreement should say. The most a landlord can ask for is two months, and if your agreement says nothing, you give at least two months (gov.uk).
• Which date. Gov.uk says your notice should end the tenancy on a day when rent is due, or the day before (gov.uk). Citizens Advice or Shelter can help if you're unsure.
• Want a different date? Ask us. You and your landlord can agree a shorter notice period or an earlier end in writing.
• Joint tenancy? One tenant giving notice usually ends it for everyone, so talk to each other first.
• Changed your mind? You can stay if we agree in writing.

If your tenancy started before 1 May 2026, the notice period in your agreement usually still applies: if it says one month, one month is enough (gov.uk).

Leaving your home ready

Your tenancy agreement says how the home should be left. Ours ask for the home, and anything we provided, to be handed back in as good a condition as at the start, apart from fair wear and tear, and free from rubbish.

• Leave the whole home, inside and out, as it was when you moved in. Your check-in inventory is the record of how that was.
• Take away everything you brought, including furniture, curtains and blinds, light fittings you added, and any rubbish, unless we have agreed in writing that something can stay.
• Clean throughout, to the standard it was in when you moved in.
• If you have a garden, leave it tidy, with the grass cut and any rubbish cleared.
• Check it against your inventory, and take your own photos once it is empty (Tenancy Deposit Scheme).
• Return every key.

Normal wear from everyday living, such as faded paint, small scuffs or worn carpet, is fair wear and tear, and a landlord cannot charge you for it (Tenancy Deposit Scheme).

The final details

• Read your meters on the day you leave and give the readings to your suppliers (Citizens Advice).
• Tell the council and your water company you are moving.
• Give us your forwarding address, so your deposit and any final letters reach you.

Getting your deposit back

Your deposit is protected in a government approved scheme, as the law requires, and the deposit information you were given tells you which one. Once we agree with you how much comes back, it must be returned within 10 days (gov.uk). If we cannot agree, your scheme offers a free dispute resolution service. There may be a time limit for raising a dispute, so contact the scheme promptly (gov.uk).

Find out more

• How to end your tenancy (gov.uk)
• Tenancy deposit protection (gov.uk)
• Deposit disputes and problems (gov.uk)
• In disputes, be fair: wear and tear (Deposit Protection Service)