Spring means it is time to clean your place for the end of the year and take care of any damages that may have occurred during your time there. Many students living in apartments have trouble getting their deposits back from their property owners due to damages, and those in residence halls are subject to fines if rooms aren’t cleaned.

Managers and office staff are in charge of inspecting the housing after the tenants move out. They are uniformly trained and use an inspection sheet that shows charges for each area in the housing and the inspector circles the correct condition the area is left in.

“The charge is the amount of labor required to clean or repair an item,” said Alexander Sidorowych, assistant manager of Campustown Property Management.

After the inspection is finished the form is given to management who decides the final deductions from the deposit. The management team compares the “pre-existing condition sheet” that residents filled out at move in with the form the inspector of the residence completed and final deductions are made.

“Turn in your pre-existing condition sheet at move in, this shows the condition of the unit at move in and is compared at move out by the managers so that there are no unfair charges,” Sidorowych said.

He said this is the best way to ensure you don’t end up losing money. It is common for residents to forget to fill these out and then they are charged for damages they did not do.

When move out time comes, strictly follow an inspection sheet that outlines how to leave your housing. Your property owner should provide expectations of the housing after move out. If not, ask for one to be sure that you are completing all of these required tasks.