Handing back a leased unit: making good before surrender

Start with the lease clause on surrender or yielding up, and the condition record from when you took the unit. Those two documents define what you owe. Everything else is a list of tasks that gets you there.

In practice making good comes down to four things: repair what you damaged, remove what you installed, return the finishes to a matching state, and hand back every key and credential. Do them in that order and record each stage with photographs.

Find out what the landlord will measure against

Ask for the landlord's expectations in writing before you start. Some landlords send a schedule of dilapidations or a surrender checklist, and some only walk the unit and send a bill. A checklist in advance turns a dispute into a task list.

Compare it with your entry record. Damage that was there on day one is not yours to fix, and a dated photograph from the start of the term is the evidence. If you have no entry record, photograph the unit now, empty, before you touch anything.

Landlords check the same things in the same order, which is the order our article on the tenant turnover punch list follows from the other side of the table. Reading it tells you what the person holding the clipboard is about to look for.

Remove what you installed

Take down signage, shelving, wall-mounted screens, brackets, hooks, rails and anything fixed for your operation. Removal leaves holes, ghosting and screw pops, so removal comes before repair, not after.

Exterior and fascia signage deserves attention because it leaves the most visible mark. Anchor holes in masonry or stucco need filling and sealing, and the unpainted rectangle where a sign hung shows from the street.

Check above the ceiling and behind fitted counters. Cable runs, data points and equipment mounts get forgotten there. Cabling and anything connected to the electrical system is covered below.

Patch the walls properly

A small hole and a large one are different repairs. Nail and screw holes take filler and sanding. Anchor holes and cut-outs take a patch, joint compound in coats, and feathering wide enough to disappear. The finish has to match the surrounding wall, and our article on drywall finish levels explains why a patch that is flat to the touch can still show under side light.

Corners and door edges take the most damage in a working unit: carts, pallets and furniture leave dents and gouges at knee and hip height. Metal corner bead that has been crushed needs replacing, not skimming over.

Allow drying time between coats. Rushing the last coat the day before the walk-through is how a repair that looked fine under work lights gets listed in daylight.

Repaint to match

If the lease says the original color, find the original color. The landlord's records or the paint on a concealed surface will tell you. A near match that is a shade off is more visible on a repaired section than a deliberate full-wall repaint.

Sheen matters as much as color. A flat patch on a satin wall reflects differently and shows from across the room. Our guide to matching paint over a repair covers color, sheen and where to stop the new coat, and the short version is that a whole wall, corner to corner, is almost always safer than a patch.

Wash scuffed walls before painting, and cut in cleanly around trim, switches and door frames. Painting over dirt makes the coat peel at the edges, and peeling shows up on the list.

Trim, doors and hardware

Replace damaged baseboard and door casing, and refix anything loose. Check every door: hinges tight, closers working, handles secure, latches catching, thresholds and weatherstripping intact. A door that drags or does not latch is a defect on any list.

Cabinet doors, drawer runners and shelving brackets are quick to fix and quick to be charged for. Ceiling tiles that are stained, cracked or missing get replaced like for like.

Return the unit to working order, not to perfect order. The test is whether each element does its job and looks consistent with the rest of the space.

Keys and credentials

Return every key, fob and card, and list what was issued as well as what is coming back. Remove any lock, keypad or padlock you added, and put the original cylinder back if you changed it. Our article on what to secure when a tenant moves out explains why the landlord will probably rekey regardless, and why your issue list protects you when they do.

Items that need a licensed contractor

Landlord lists often include a missing outlet cover, a light fixture that was swapped, a faucet that drips, or an air handler that needs servicing. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC work is carried out by licensed contractors in Florida at any size of job, and tenants should not attempt it to save a visit. We coordinate those contractors and document the result, so the list closes with one record.

Lighting is a good example of the split. Replacing lamps and refixing a fixture that has come loose on its bracket is finish work. Anything touching wiring, ballasts or drivers is electrical.

Who does the finish work

Drywall patching, painting, trim, tile, door and hardware repair, glass repair and rekeying are performed by our own technicians, on our payroll and background checked, and we carry general liability and workers' compensation. One visit can cover patching, painting and hardware, which helps when the days before surrender are short. See our carpentry and finish work for the scope.

Record it

Photograph every wall, door, ceiling and floor after the work is done, with the date visible in the file. Walk the unit with the landlord's representative if you can, and ask for sign-off on the checklist in writing. Where the landlord adds items afterward, your photographs show the condition on the day you left.