Giving Notice to Terminate / Moving Out
Notice of Termination If you are on a fixed-term lease and you do not intend to stay for a second year, you must provide the landlord with a Notice of Termination 60 days prior to the end date. If you are on a month-to-month lease you still must give Notice 60 days prior to leaving. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act a Notice from tenant to landlord must: be in writing, identify the dwelling, specify the date the dwelling is to be vacated and be signed by the tenant. It can be delivered personally or sent by regular or registered mail. If the Notice is sent by regular mail, the Act assumes it is delivered on the third day after the date of mailing. Otherwise, you will continue to be a tenant beyond the end date of your lease...and that means paying rent! Six Per Cent Interest on Last Month's Rent Under the Landlord and Tenant Act, as long as a security deposit (last month's rent) is held by the landlord, he or she must pay the tenant annually interest at the rate of 6% of the amount. The landlord does not have to pay this to you before your one-year tenancy is up. To jog the landlord's memory, write the landlord a month before you are leaving. State simply that, under the Landlord and Tenant Act, 6% interest is owed on [$ amount of security deposit]. In the letter, include the computations, provide a name for the cheque to be made out to, and the new address for that person. When the cheque comes, don't forget to split it with your former housemates. If no cheque comes within a few weeks of leaving, pursue the matter! Moving Out Well in advance of moving out, review your lease or rental agreement. Verify the end date of your agreement and give your landlord 60 days written notice to terminate. Note any special considerations about moving out that may be included in the agreement. Also well in advance, clarify with the landlord and the incoming tenants when you will be out. Aim for no later than 2:00 pm of the day after your lease ends...earlier is better. Clarify with your new landlord at what time your new place will be available. Arrange to have your mail redirected. This will cost approximately $35 at the Post Office (in the JDUC). Send your change of address to your bank, credit card companies, etc. Arrange to move/cancel your utilities contract(s), your telephone and cable. (http://www.queensu.ca/quic/housing/pdf/utilities.pdf) If your furnace operates on oil, your lease may state that you must leave the oil tank full. If this is the case, arrange to have it topped up. Packing With a bit of effort the move will go more easily and there's less chance of your possessions getting lost or broken. Approximately one month before your move out date, visit bookstores and grocery stores for strong boxes of various sizes. Buy a roll of packing (NOT masking) tape to reinforce box bottoms. Get a bold marker pen.
During study breaks start packing those items you won't need before your departure. Label the boxes clearly (for example "Noriko's winter stuff"). Identify those items that the household owns jointly. You may agree to try selling them or donate them to a shelter or charity. Remember, pack like with like. A box with a skillet at the bottom and glassware on top is poorly balanced...and if it flips in the truck the glassware won't survive. Use small boxes for heavy items. This is especially true for books. Many small boxes of books are easier to carry and easier to pack into a van than one huge, ripping box! To ship electronic equipment, you may wish to engage a shipper to do the packing. If they pack it, their insurance covers any damage. Remember to ensure that the insurance covers replacement cost and not a dollar amount per pound (or kilo). Cleaning and Damages When you move out leave the place clean --this includes the oven, stove, toilets, tubs, basins, fridges, freezers, floors, and storage areas. If you leave the place damaged or dirty the landlord has the right to bill you--or take you to Small Claims Court--to recover costs. It may be worth it to your household to get a professional cleaner. If everyone shares the cost, you could hire someone at a reasonable price to do the vile stuff (oven cleaning, bathroom, fridge, while everyone shares the smaller cleaning duties. Look under 'Maid's and Butler's Service' in the Yellow Pages and get an estimate. Caution: Don't be the housemate left behind to do all the work. The last person out often gets the worst deal...everyone should pull their weight. At the end of April the city waives fees for you to take your large garbage (dead couches) to the tipping station near the 401; contact the Town-Gown Office http://www.queensu.ca/dsao/towngown/towngown.htm or the AMS http://www.myams.org/ for more information on disposing of your unwanted but still usable articles and garbage. Also: take unperishable food to the food bank drop-offs sell or give away unwanted but reusable stuff--clothing, furniture, plates, pictures, etc. to organizations such as: (Please check the Kingston phone book for contact information.) Salvation Army March of Dimes (MOD Shop) Goodwill make full use of your Blue Box in the weeks leading up to your departure make full use of your garbage days--if it fits in a bag without the bag ripping, put it out! Keep in mind that you can only put 2 bags out for pick-up. If you will be putting out extra bags, please visit
http://www.city.kingston.on.ca/residents/waste/garbage/index.asp#bagtags to learn how to purchase extra bag tags.
collect Household Hazardous Waste and take it to Kingston Area Recycling on the assigned days; batteries, caustics, chemicals, paints, solvents, etc. are hazards. For more information about waste disposal, lease visit http://www.city.kingston.on.ca/residents/waste/garbage IMPORTANT NOTE: Even if you have signed a fixed-term lease (one with a predetermined end date) you must still give 60 days written notice to your landlord stating your intentions to move out at the end of the lease period; failure to do so may result in your being charged an extra month(s) rent. For more
information on lease agreements, please visit Lease Information (http://www.queensu.ca/quic/housing/leaseinfo.htm) Sample Notice to Terminate Lease (by tenant) http://www.orht.gov.on.ca/userfiles/page_attachments/Library/3/1458359_N9.pdf