The Renter’s Guide to Moving When the Lease Ends

With Sunshine Coast rents up more than 50% in five years and vacancy near record lows, more locals than ever are moving not because they want to — but because the lease renewal came with a number that didn’t work. End-of-lease moves have their own rhythm, and a few tricks make them far less painful.

The overlap is everything. Even two or three days between getting the new keys and handing back the old ones transforms the move: you can shift totes in car-loads, clean an empty home properly, and avoid paying a removalist to wait around. When you book totes, set delivery a few days before the overlap starts so packing’s done before the clock runs.

Pack around the bond clean, not after it. Empty each room fully, then clean it, then close the door — stacked totes in the garage keep cleaned rooms pristine for the exit inspection. (Uniform totes photograph a lot better in an inspection-day hallway than a leaning tower of banana boxes, for what it’s worth.)

And on cost: after absorbing a rent rise, a bond and possibly a removalist, buying cardboard you’ll bin in a fortnight stings. One flat hire fee, delivered and collected around your dates, keeps the move’s cost — and your sanity — contained.

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