HOW TO END YOUR SHARE HOME’S LEASE WITHOUT DRAMA
Share houses are a wonderful rollercoaster of experiences, relationships, memories and even a light dusting of trauma for some. They can also be wildly unpredictable – especially when it comes to who lives in them. Housemates will come and go – this is an inevitable part of share house living but managing the transition when everyone decides it’s time to move out doesn’t have to be difficult. Equally, the conversation around whether to renew or not should be handled carefully and respectfully.
Discuss the impending situation
If only one of the tenants wants to move out, this can be easily resolved in most cases. Obviously, they’ll need to be replaced and if they are leaving before the lease is up, it’s really on them to cover any costs involved in finding a new tenant. The household should discuss and agree on when the departure date will be (in terms of rent being covered) and when the new person can move in. There should also be discussion about a replacement tenant and what options might currently be on the table. Sometimes word of mouth is the best solution and often those strangers become lifelong friends.
Similarly, if the lease is about to end a discussion should be had about whether to renew or not, who will stay on and who might move out and so on, well in advance of the lease renewal date. If things have been rough for a while, the end of a lease often presents a great opportunity to cut losses and allow everyone to move on. If this is the case, your tenancy agreement will outline how much notice you must provide to vacate before the lease ends.
Tenants over housemates
In social circles we would never introduce a person we live with as a co-tenant, but an ideal share house will be established with everyone’s names on the lease. Ensuring this dynamic of co-tenants first will protect everyone involved in the event of a tenant going sour, experiencing hardship, causing damage to the property, or just flat out disappearing. As far as your property manager and the courst are concerned, those named on the lease are responsible for all the items outlined in the lease agreement. A housemate who is not on the lease may as well not exist and the tenants who are, will have to pay for their mistakes. It’s also useful to have an equal distribution of ownership across utility bills – if a utility can’t be in the name of multiple tenants, then each tenant could be responsible for a single utility. In the event of one housemate moving on, the new housemate should also replace their name on bills. It’s worth making sure all of this is clear to the potential new tenants in advance of them agreeing to move in and put themselves on the lease.
A clean getaway
If one person is moving out, it’s on the rest of the household to make sure they leave the room clean and habitable for the new tenant. The previous tenant will want their bond back on vacating so paying attention to the part of the condition report that covers their living space is important. Other tenants may never see the deep insides of a housemate’s bedroom
until they’ve left and by then it’s too late. Be clear on their departure date and what they intend to do regarding cleaning the room. You could even arrange a time for your property manager to do a vacate inspection of that room (this may not be available everywhere). If the relationship is good, the departing housemate and one or two current tenants could do this together, take photos of the clean and empty living space in support of the departing tenant getting their bond back. The household can then provide (and keep a record of) updated information to the condition report, on the date of the new tenant signing to the lease.
If everyone is moving out, in almost every case the best solution is to pool your finances and arrange an end of lease clean by a professional cleaning company. The property will be cleaned to the same standard throughout and there’ll be no arguments or grudges about who put in the most or least effort. Most importantly however real estate agencies tend to look more favourably on properties that are professionally cleaned – especially if you use a company they recommend. This makes for a seamless departure and bond return process in most cases.
The fair and just laying of blame.
As mentioned previously, damage happens to properties, and we don’t necessarily know about it if it exists in a space we never spend time in or have access to. How could you possibly know about the cigarette burns in the floor under your housemate’s bed? The broken tiles in their ensuite? The hole punched in the back of a door you only see the front of? Scuff marks on walls and scratches on floors are to be expected as general wear and tear in a rental property. These are incidental things that happen when people live their day to day lives in a property. There is however excessive damage to consider however, and this refers to things that are broken in ways that will be costly to repair, and that have happened outside the range of normal day to day living, or when damage was caused maliciously. The sheer scale of things housemates choose to do in the privacy of their rooms is astonishing – the possibilities are endless when the property doesn’t belong to you. Whatever the nature of the departure is, a thorough inspection will determine if damage exists that should be taken care of by the offending party, before they split, and the mess becomes yours.
Life happens but remember the lease conditions.
It’s amazing how many tenants only pretend to read their lease and then sign away without thinking or sign on knowing full well they intend to break the conditions of it. If this is one of your housemates, you’ll definitely realise it when they decide to move out. Things such as making alterations without approval, using the property for illegal purposes, or moving other people in without permission, can all be considered lease violations. If you have all understood the conditions of lease and what each party’s obligations are, the departure should be smooth and trouble free. Vacating a property with a full bond refund, a great reference and a happy property manager should be every tenant’s goal.