Your Tenant Just Moved Out and Left a Mess: A Landlord's Next Steps

The tenant is gone, but the apartment is still full of furniture and belongings. Once it is clear what can be removed, the physical clearance can be scoped.

Establishing the physical scope

The first step is going through every room and noting what is actually left behind, rather than estimating from memory. This gives an accurate picture before anything is quoted.

What to send for a quote

For a quote, it helps to send photos or video of every room, note the floor and whether there is a lift, and flag anything unusually heavy or fixed in place.

A real job: what was left behind

One real job involved a 3-room apartment on the 3rd floor of a building with a lift. The previous tenant had left beds, a sofa, a mattress, wardrobes, a large amount of clothes and shoes, and other household belongings. The apartment also had IKEA wardrobes and drawers the tenant had installed themselves.

A washing machine and a shower cabin stayed in the apartment. The IKEA units were dismantled before removal. Two workers handled the job, which took about 3 hours.

When furniture needs to be taken apart

Items assembled on site, like the IKEA wardrobes in that case, may need to be partly dismantled before they can be carried out. The same applies to items that are too large to pass through the stairwell or doorway intact.

Documenting the result

Photos were taken before and after the clearance, giving a clear record of the apartment's condition at each stage.