Move-Out Statement

What is a move-out statement?

A move-out statement is the itemized accounting a landlord or property manager gives a departing tenant showing the deposit held, deductions taken, and the amount refunded. Nearly every state requires it in writing within a set deadline, commonly 14 to 45 days after the tenant vacates. It is the most litigated document in residential property management and the easiest one to get wrong.

What can be deducted and what cannot

Unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, and contractually agreed cleaning or restoration charges are generally deductible. Ordinary wear such as faded paint, worn carpet at the end of its useful life, or minor nail holes generally is not. Deductions need documentation: dated move-in and move-out condition reports, photographs, and actual invoices rather than estimates. Charging a flat fee with no supporting cost rarely survives a challenge.

The deadline is the whole ballgame

Miss the statutory deadline and many states forfeit the landlord's right to any deduction, requiring the full deposit back regardless of actual damage. Several allow the tenant to recover penalties of two or three times the deposit plus attorney fees. Build a move-out checklist triggered on the vacate date, and work backward from the state deadline with time built in for repair invoices to arrive.