“What should I do once I decide to move out of an apartment…?”
“I don’t know by when/whom I should contact regarding moving out…”
Many people may worry like this.
It’s easy to understand if you categorize the preparation of moving out into the following three stages.
・ A month ~ two months before
・ A week ~ two weeks before
・ On the day of moving out
Having said that, yet it’s still hard to imagine what exactly you should do.
So, we introduce the following this time:
・ A list of the things you should prepare for moving out
・ The things you should do for your new place
・ Key points in moving out of an apartment
You can avoid future trouble by knowing key points and necessary things for moving out beforehand.
Please refer to this article and start getting ready to move out.
The things you should prepare for moving out
Once you decide to move out of an apartment, we recommend to categorize the things you should do into the three stages: a month~two months before, a week~two weeks before, and on the day of moving out.
Here are the thing you should do during each stage.
[A month~two months before]
・ Notify a landlord or a real estate company
・ Organize furniture, home appliances, and daily necessities
・ Arrange a moving company
[A week~two weeks before]
・ Submit a moving-out notification and a moving-in notification
・ Go through procedures for National Health Insurance and National/Welfare pension (if you are self-employed or currently looking for a job)
・ Change of address for postal service
・ Notify your water, electric, and gas provider of when they need to stop their service for your old residence
・ Notify your new water, electric, and gas provider in a city you are going to move to of when you need their service for your new residence
・ Notify your workplace of your new address
・ Change fire insurance
[On the moving day]
・ Have a moving company come get your belongings and boxes
・ Receive your belongings and boxes from the moving company
・ Proceed with procedures for water, electric, and gas service
・ Say hello to a landlord
We go over each detail.
The things you should prepare for moving out: a month~two months before
Here are the things you should prepare for moving out a month~two months before
[A month~two months before]
・ Notify a landlord or a real estate company
・ Organize furniture, home appliances, and daily necessities
・ Arrange a moving company
First, you need to notify a landlord or a real estate company once you decide to move out. Many people wonder when they should give notification of moving out, but contacting a month~two months before moving out is a basic manner.
However, depending on a housing contract, many landlords set the deadline of two~three months before moving out for the notification. Please go through and check your housing contract carefully.
Moreover, you need to prepare “Notice of Withdrawal” in many cases, so please send it to the landlord or the real estate company.
The things you should prepare for moving out: a week~two weeks before
Here are the things you should prepare for moving out a week~two weeks before
[A week~two weeks before]
・ Submit a moving-out notification and a moving-in notification
・ Go through procedures for National Health Insurance and National/Welfare pension (if you are self-employed or currently looking for a job)
・ Change of address for postal service
・ Notify your water, electric, and gas provider of when they need to stop their service for your old residence
・ Notify your new water, electric, and gas provider in a city you are going to move to of when you need their service for your new residence
・ Notify your credit card company and bank of your new address
・ Notify your workplace of your new address
・ Change fire insurance
A registered address for the service that you are using now needs to be changed. Especially, the deadline for submission of a moving-out/in notification is within 14 days of your moving day, so we recommend you to go proceed as early as possible.
The following is necessary when you tell your water, electric, and gas service company to stop their service.
・ Contractor name
・ Contract type and plan
・ Old address
・ Moving day
You can go through the procedure online, but please note that you need to be with a staff from the gas company when they come close/open the tap for gas.
The things you should prepare for moving out: on the moving day
Here are the things you should prepare for moving out on the moving day
[On the moving day]
・ Have a moving company come get your belongings and boxes
・ Go through your old room with the landlord or the real estate company
・ Close the tap for gas
If you arrange a moving company, it all starts with having the company come get your belongings and boxes. However, in recent years, you can ask the company to come get them a few days before the moving day in many cases. We recommend you to do so because it would be easier if you can get it done beforehand.
Also, you need to go through and check your room condition with the landlord to see if there is any damage or stain.
An apartment is primarily for rent, so you have to fix the damage or stain that you cause. To do so, you need to put everything outside of the room and check the condition with your landlord.
It would take about 20~30 minutes and go through with your landlord or a staff from the real estate company.
If there is no problem, you return a key, and then leave. Please make sure you left nothing behind and move out.
By the way, in order not to be pointed out about the damage and stain, “cleaning” by the moving day is a key.
Please refer to the article below regarding cleaning before moving out.
The things you should do for your new apartment
We introduce the things you should do for your new apartment next.
[On the moving day]
・ Receive your belongings and boxes from the moving company
・ Open the tap for gas
・ Say hello to a landlord
Receive your belongings and boxes from the moving company, and finish opening the tap for gas on the very first day of your new apartment. You can use water and electric service on the moving day, but you need to open the tap for gas with a staff from the gas service company.
After you get everything settled, let’s say hello to a new landlord with a small gift. People used to say hello to the neighbors back in the old days, but it’s not common nowadays due to security reasons.
Especially if you are a woman, concerning about the security of the neighborhood, and think it could be dangerous, it’s totally fine not to greet.
Three key points in preparation for moving out of an apartment
Lastly, we introduce three key points in preparation for moving out of an apartment.
- Get a business card if a person who comes and checks your room with you on the moving day is a representative/agent of your landlord.
You need to have a person check your room on the moving day, but the person is not always your landlord. It might be a staff from a real estate company or a remodeling service company. In that case, you should get his/her business card to get to know who actually came. It will be easier to contact after any question arises in your head.
- Pay cleaning fees from the security deposit if you are responsible for the damage or stain in the room.
If your landlord points out the damage/stain when checking the room, you will be charged for cleaning fees. You are responsible for the repair cost if you cause the damage/stain, but it’s usually possible to cover the cost from the security deposit. So, when you are charged for the fees, you should ask if it’s possible to cover the fees from the security deposit first.
- Go talk to a specialized agency if any trouble arises in moving out
Trouble arises in moving out sometimes. Especially, you might be charged for cleaning fees for the damage/stain that you didn’t cause, and have a dispute about the payment. In that case, please go talk to the following specialized agencies.
・ National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan
・ Zenkoku Shohi Seikatsu Center (Consumer Affairs Center)
Zenkoku Shohi Seikatsu Center is in each prefecture, so you need to contact the center in your region.
Let’s find a solution by asking the specialized agency before it becomes a big problem.
Summary – You can avoid trouble by preparing for moving out of an apartment ahead of time
In this article, we explained about preparation for moving out of an apartment.
To sum up, you can get a better understanding if you categorize the things you should prepare before moving out into the following stages.
・ A month ~ two months before
・ A week ~ two weeks before
・ On the day of moving out
And we told you the following three key points in moving out.
- Get a business card if a person who comes and checks your room with you on the moving day is a representative/agent of your landlord.
- Pay cleaning fees from the security deposit if you are responsible for the damage or stain in the room.
- Go talk to a specialized agency if any trouble arises in moving out.
You can avoid trouble, such as being charged for cleaning fees, by preparing for moving out ahead of time.
Also, the guideline/rule for moving out of an apartment is written in a housing contract handed on the day of moving in. So, understanding the guideline/rules and key points for moving-in help you to prevent trouble.
Please check the article below for the moving-in procedure for an apartment.
