When looking to move out of your apartment, it is your legal obligation to give the landlord notice of your intent to leave. This should be a written notice. The letter should include your name, the unit you are occupying, and the date on which you are intending to move out. You should also include your future address so your landlord will know where to send your security deposit after you move out.

If you have a written lease, it will usually tell you when you must give this notice (usually 1 to 3 months before the month you would like to leave). If you do not have a written lease, you must give notice 30 days in advance. One thing to keep in mind is that these periods of time are counted from the day rent is due.

For instance, let's say that your lease requires that you give 30 days notice, and you pay rent on the first of each month. You are interested in moving out on November 14th. However, this does not mean that you give notice on October 14th. Rather, you would give notice on or before October 1st, 30 days before November's rent is due. It is up to your landlord whether you would be required to pay all of November's rent or a pro-rated amount, or would have to move out by the end of October.

While you are not obligated by law, you should inspect your apartment for your own protection. Before you turn in your keys, send a letter to your landlord asking them to inspect the apartment with you. Our office provides a Rental Inspection Checklist and online that you may want to use. After the inspection, ask the landlord to sign a note that says that you left the apartment clean and undamaged. If you cannot get them to do this, then you should have a friend inspect your apartment. The friend should take photographs, and sign and date them. This will help you in case you have trouble getting your security deposit back.

Returning your keys may seem like an obvious step in moving out of your apartment, but there are a few things you should keep in mind.

The first thing is to be sure that you hand over the keys by the end of the lease; if you don't, the landlord might continue to charge you rent and/or charge you for a lock change. Also, it is best to give your keys over in person, so there is no doubt that your landlord received them.

By this point, you should also have given your landlord, in writing, your forwarding address where your security deposit can be sent. This address should be given to your landlord in person or sent by certified mail.