The end of a tenancy is where a good two years can cost you a month's rent, almost always for procedural reasons rather than because anything went wrong.
Give notice the way the lease says
Not verbally, not in a WhatsApp message to whoever you usually deal with, unless the agreement says that is enough. In writing, addressed to the party named in the lease, counting from the date the lease specifies, which is often the first of a month rather than the day you send it.
Keep proof that you sent it and, if you can, proof it was received. An emailed letter with a delivery confirmation costs nothing.
Keep paying until the end of the notice period
Withholding the last month's rent "because you have the deposit" is the single most common way to lose a deposit dispute. The deposit is security against damage and unpaid amounts; treating it as prepaid rent turns your position from strong to arguable overnight.
The last two weeks
- Fix the small things. A cracked cistern lid, a missing curtain rail, a door handle. Repaired by you at cost is almost always cheaper than deducted by them at their contractor's rate.
- Clean properly, including behind things. Cleaning charges are the most frequently applied deduction and the easiest to prevent.
- Get the utilities to zero. Any bill in your name paid and receipted. Ask for a final statement rather than assuming.
- Return everything. Keys, gate remotes, access cards, and anything that was in the inventory. Get a signed acknowledgment of what you handed back.
The handover itself
Do it in person if you possibly can, with the agent or landlord present, and with the unit already empty and clean.
Three things to capture on the day:
- Photographs of every room, empty. The counterpart to the ones you took on the day you moved in. That pair is what makes wear-versus-damage a comparison rather than an argument.
- Final meter readings, photographed with the digits legible, and stated in writing to the agency the same day.
- A signed handover note listing what was returned and any issues raised at the time. If nothing was raised on the day, that fact is worth having in writing.
Then ask for the statement
Request a written breakdown of the final position: rent up to the end date, any utilities outstanding, any deductions with what each one is for and what it cost, and the balance being returned.
You are entitled to know what a deduction paid for. A figure with no invoice behind it is an opening offer. Ask politely, in writing, and give the other side a reasonable period to respond before escalating anything.
If you are the agency
The same event from the other side is a handover checklist, a final meter reading, a deposit line that has been sitting as a separate balance since day one, and a closing statement produced from the ledger rather than assembled from memory. Done that way, the deposit conversation takes one message instead of six weeks.