Check your termination notice, in your agreement it’s number 41, page 8. It says “the Tenant shall have the right to terminate this Tenancy by giving one month's notice in writing to expire at any time on or after six months from the Commencement Date such notice to be delivered by hand or first class post by the...Tenant to the Landlord”.
Let the agent or landlord know IN WRITING and make sure you have proof of delivery of the letter, eg send it recorded delivery or deliver by hand and get a receipt with a signature and the person who signs to print their name.
Request, again IN WRITING, that the agent or landlord has received your correct moving out date and confirm you are giving the required notice and a list of things you need to do to secure your full deposit back, for example, professionally clean the property, ensure the property is in the same state and has the same items that are noted in the inventory; ensure any gardens are clean and tidy. Check the cooker, it often gets overlooked!
Agree with the agent or landlord if and how they are going to carry out viewings for potential tenants and what notice you require. Also ask them to confirm that they, not you, will be showing potential tenants around the property.
Ask for a copy of the inventory if you haven’t got one and go through room by room checking that the right items are in the right rooms and that there are no more stains or marks than those noted on the inventory. If you have made any agreed alterations, make sure you have IN WRITING confirmation that you could make the changes.
Take a look at our Tenant Check Out checklist
So the rules are you need to make sure you follow the process and dates and notification periods in the agreement.
With regards to your deposit, that, by law, had to have been protected in the tenancy deposit scheme. This means you will have to apply (or the agent/landlord may do this for you) to the deposit scheme to get your money back.
Have a read of our How to avoid a Rogue Landlord checklist
Your landlord can request for money to be withheld and if you agree, you will be sent the balance. If you don’t you will have to go through their (free) dispute resolution service before you can receive your deposit.
If things are all ‘OK’ then you should have your money back within the period of time set out by the dispute service (10 days) of agreeing on the amount to be repaid.
Not sure where your deposit is held? Shelter have a really good look up system which is free of charge to use.
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