submitted by Bucks County Consumer Protection Agency

Q. The lease on our apartment will be ending in August. My husband and I are thinking of moving our family to another apartment complex because of several issues that we cannot clear up with our apartment manager. 

We would like to move to a better and cleaner apartment complex. Can you give us some suggestions on making our move a good experience?  G.M., Morrisville

A. First of all look for an apartment that will fit your family’s needs. Check to make sure the apartment is in a good area. Since you have children, check into the school district to see if that is where you would want to enroll your children. 

Check the different apartment complexes that you are interested in to make sure they have an apartment with the number of bedrooms that you would need. If none are open, ask how long the waiting list is for that particular apartment. 

While checking apartments, ask around to see what the people who are already living there think of the accommodations. 

Make sure the apartment’s rent is something you and your husband can handle. Check what is included in the rent and what you would have to pay on your own. 

Inspect only the apartment that you will be renting, not just a model apartment. When you find the apartment you want to move to, make sure you give your current landlord the notice to vacate in writing in the amount of time the lease asks for. Also keep a copy of your notice to vacate for your records. 

When it becomes time to clean out your apartment, make sure you clean out all cabinets, the inside of your refrigerator, and inside the stove. After all of your belongings are out of the apartment, repair any holes left behind, even where you hung pictures. 

Take pictures or video of the whole place including inside the refrigerator, stove, shower area, counters, windows, rugs, etc. You don’t have to develop the film, but hold onto it. 

It’s like having an insurance policy in case management states that something is wrong with your apartment and tries to keep you security deposit. Management has 30 days from the time you hand over the keys and your forwarding address to return your security deposit. 

Consumers can go to www.buckscounty.org and click on Consumer Protection for a copy of the Landlord/Tenant Act or call 1-800-942-2669.

Consumers can also call our office to see if there are any complaints against a particular apartment complex.