Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I sent an email & certified mail & a text message stating not to do so until we do her move out inspection. What, if any, would you do? Any particular deductions on her deposit??

If the lease doesnt state that the utilities are to be left on during her lease then she can certainly turn them off upon her move out. No one wants to continue to pay utilities when they dont live there. It would have been nice if she could have communicated that she was turning them off and then you could have simply transferred them to your name.

Posted by Lori G, OR on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

You completely missed the question. I wouldn't expect anyone to keep utilities in their name if they move??? That's crazy!!! Move out guidelines specifically says do not turn off utilities before you have your moveout inspection. The utilities were on when she looked at the property so I think it's standard to have it on during the inspection to make sure all is well for next tenant. My question is what kind of penalty is fair in this case.

Posted by Lisette A, TX on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

What's fair is what has been disclosed as to what the penalty is for not following the instructions. You asked what would I do if this were the case? Nothing unless I had provided the tenant with the penalty amount prior to entering the lease when all fees were disclosed.

Posted by Lori G, OR on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

I don't think you can apply a penalty. Tenant does not have to keep utilities on after they move. Consider making an arrangement with the utility companies to have the utilities placed in your name when tenant has them turned off. You probably have to put the utilities in your name any way to do clean-up.

Posted by Stan M, CA on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

we have rules & guidelines as landlords. One is to have a move out inspection & to schedule it before move out. Also keep utilities on so we can assess any damages if any, especially since the lease ends 7/7. I did send the inspection & procedures. I did let her know if all checks off on the inspection she gets a full refund. I did let her know items that don't check off will be subject to fees. And yes, we already discussed transferring utilities to me but she disconnected anyway. I guess I should rephrase: what would be a reasonable fee for not following this direction. Same for trash left behind? So that my next lease agreement will be clear

Posted by Lisette A, TX on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Lisette...CA requires a pre-inspection before tenant moves and than I do a final inspection. The purpose of a pre-inspection is to inform tenant of obvious corrections by a doing a walk thru (not moving furniture, etc). A letter is sent to tenant advising them of any items that require their attention. I that letter they are also reminded of what is expected of them. A final inspection is done (with or without tenant-their option) when all their belongings have been removed from the premises, including the garage. the final inspection may discover that were not obvious during the pre-inspection such as rug damage under sofa. It doesn't make sense to do an inspection (if its considered a final inspection) before tenant moves since additional damages can happen when moving. Consider my utility suggestion above. If tenant turns utilities off before they move-out date, you probably could deduct the cost of utilities until that date. Or, you can just chuck it up as cost of doing business. Hope the above helps.

Posted by Stan M, CA on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Yes that helps. Having a pre-move out eval seems like a good idea but also time consuming if not in The same city. I think I'm inclined to impose a fixed fee vs calculating expenses after the fact. I'm not looking for a payout more of having directions & procedures synchronized. I didn't have detailed fees associated with each item not complete, but the verbiage of the contract does state a full refund happens if all items are checked off, so leaving the disgression up to me I guess. Do you have a fee worksheet for your tenant? Or how to you charge or deduct for items you find during final inspection?

Posted by Lisette A, TX on Wednesday, July 5, 2017

The only set fees that are in the lease has to do with breaking the lease or 3-day notices. As for damages on move out, I can only charge for the cost of repairs and must give tenant receipts. Each State has their own set of rules. I like the pre-inspections. The last few I have had, tenants move out day 1, new tenants move in day 2. Having the pre-inspection and notifying tenant on what needs to be corrected (in visible) and reminding them on what will be inspected after they vacate has change my turn around from a few weeks to 1-4 days.

Posted by Stan M, CA on Wednesday, July 5, 2017