MOVING IN
When you visit your apartment for the first time, please fill in the apartment check card you've received. You can fill it in via the link which you have received to your email or on paper, which is in your information folder you got from the housing office. The apartment check card is your insurance. If the apartment is in bad condition make the required remarks on it. Otherwise the damage occurred in the apartment is regarded as effected by you and you will become liable for the damages. By filling in the apartment check you will avoid the responsibility for the damage caused by the previous tenant.
It's important to check in the room:
- floor, roof and walls for cracks and holes
- doors and windows (locks etc.)
- that cupboards are unbroken
- that thermostat on the radiator is unbroken
- that light buttons and sockets are unbrokenIn common areas you could also check:
- door bell, letter slit and coat rack
- stove and refrigerator
- kitchen cupboards and sink
- toilet washbasin and seat for small cracks
- toilet mirror, bathroom cabinet and toilet paper holderIf you have a room with furniture, check that there is all furniture mentioned in apartment card.
UNCLEAN APARTMENT
The previous tenant is responsible for doing a final clean-up when moving out. If the apartment has not been cleaned, or there are other serious faults in the place, contact VOAS immediately. VOAS can send the checker who can order cleaning and repair services if necessary, the work will be done as soon as possible. If you clean the apartment yourself, VOAS will not give you any compensation in the rent. Cleaning is generally charged from the tenant, but VOAS cannot charge the previous tenant for cleaning that is done by the new tenant.
When moving into shared apartment, your new flat mate is likely to already have settled in and made the place their home. You can expect to find their things in the common cupboards and signs of living in the common spaces. Talk to your flat mates about the practicalities of sharing a flat: cleaning, cooking and borrowing things etc., so that living together would go as smoothly as possible.
When you check the cleanliness of the apartment, try to determine whether it was in fact the cleaning that was insufficient or if the marks are due to normal wear and tear. For example, there is often grime around the hotplates that simply cannot be removed by cleaning. This does not affect the functioning of the hotplates. However, you can expect to do some small-scale wiping of the surfaces and floor.
Insufficient final cleaning after the last tenant moved out does not, as a rule, prevent a new tenant from moving in. The new tenant can clean the apartment to match their own requirements. There are limits in everything, and cleaning up the chaos left by the previous tenant is not the new tenant's responsibility. Since the concept of "full chaos" is understood differently by different tenants, you can ask VOAS to send their apartment checker to determine the need for cleaning. If you know yourself to be very exacting in terms of cleaning, it is worth examining the shortcomings of cleaning in the context – VOAS' apartments are rarely new and may contain traces of living.
Also, keep in mind that the initial condition of the apartment does not justify skipping your own final cleaning. That is, when you move out, you cannot leave the apartment dirty, claiming that was how it was when you moved in.
Feedback: asuntotoimisto@voas.fi