How to end a lease and return the deposit

2 August 2026 · KX Estate Team

A lease ends in one of three ways: the term runs out, both sides agree to end it, or one side exits early on terms the contract allows. The deposit goes back after the space is handed over and mutual obligations are settled, with deductions limited to what the contract actually provides for. Exact grounds and deadlines come from your contract and the Civil Code of Moldova.

The three ways a lease ends

Keeping these apart matters, because the route determines who has to do what.

The term expires. The simplest case. There is one trap: many contracts renew automatically unless one side gives notice N days before the end. Miss the notice window and you have bought yourself another term.

Both sides agree. Tenant and owner sign a termination agreement and fix the move-out date. This is the calm route, because everything is negotiated up front rather than argued afterwards.

One side exits early. Possible where the contract grants that right, or where the law provides grounds, such as a material breach by the other party. This is where most disputes start, which is why the wording in the contract carries more weight than any amount of correspondence after the fact.

One caveat worth stating plainly: the procedure and the grounds depend on your contract and on the Civil Code of the Republic of Moldova. A contested situation is a conversation with a lawyer, not something to settle by analogy with someone else’s case. Treat this article as a practical guide, not legal advice.

What should have been in the contract already

Most move-out conflicts are not bad faith. They are gaps in the contract. Check whether you have these clauses, and put them in the next lease you sign:

1. The notice period and the channel for delivering it. “In writing” without naming a channel turns into an argument about whether a messenger reply counts as notice.
2. What the deposit is for. Does it cover damage and arrears, or can it be applied to the final month’s rent? Those are different things and both need naming.
3. The deadline for returning the deposit after the handover record is signed. Without one, “we will send it once we have worked it out” stretches into months.
4. How the condition of the space gets recorded at move-in: a written record with a description and photographs.
5. What counts as fair wear and tear. The single most common ground for disagreement.
6. Who pays utilities up to the handover date and how meters get read.

Worth saying: the move-in record matters more than the move-out one. Without it, two years later nobody can prove whether the scratch on the floor predates the tenant or arrived with them.

The procedure, step by step

1. Reread the contract. Find the notice clause: how many days, in what form, to which address.
2. Send written notice and keep proof of delivery. Even where electronic form is allowed, document that it arrived.
3. Agree the handover date. It has to fall inside the contractual window, otherwise rent keeps accruing.
4. Read the meters on the day of handover and record the figures with both signatures.
5. Settle the accounts. Closed payments, charges for the final period, utilities, and any penalties the contract provides for.
6. Sign the handover record describing the condition of the space.
7. Return the deposit within the contractual deadline, less any agreed deductions. Every deduction needs a reason and a document.
8. Hand over keys and access and remove the tenant from access systems if the building is secured.

Do not reorder steps 4 through 6. The deposit goes back once the condition of the space and the final account are both known, not when the tenant announces they are leaving.

What goes in the handover record

This is the document people read when things go wrong, so it needs specifics:

• Date and time of handover.
• Address, unit number, floor area.
• All meter readings on the handover date.
• Condition of finishes, building systems, and any equipment handed over with the space.
• A list of damage found, with photographs attached.
• The set of keys, access cards and remotes returned.
• An explicit statement of whether either side has outstanding claims.

Shoot the photographs from the same angles used at move-in. A before and after comparison closes half the questions before they turn into claims.

What can be withheld from the deposit, and what cannot

Formally the contract decides, but in practice a fairly consistent line has emerged.

The line between fair wear and damage is where most of the disagreement lives. Laminate worn dull after three years of office use and a burn hole through it are different categories, even though both read as “the floor is ruined”.

The practical approach: back every deduction with a document. A quote, an invoice, a record, a photograph. A figure arrived at by eye almost always ends either in a refund or in a dispute.

Mistakes both sides make

Landlords:

• Sitting on the deposit without explaining why. That damages the relationship faster than the amount withheld ever could.
• Withholding for wear that accumulated across years of tenancy.
• Skipping the move-in record, then trying to prove damage later.

Tenants:

• Giving notice verbally or by message when the contract requires writing.
• Moving out before the handover record is signed and leaving the keys at reception.
• Not reading the meters, then disputing the final month’s charges.
• Assuming the deposit automatically covers the last month. If the contract does not say so, it does not.

How KX Estate handles it

When a tenant moves out, you need the whole history for that unit in one evening: which payments are closed, whether anything is overdue, what the deposit was, and whether the handover record is signed. KX Estate keeps those connected: the lease, the payment schedule, statuses and arrears, documents filed against the property, and calendar reminders for lease end dates. The reminder arrives early, so the notice window for non renewal does not slip past unnoticed, and by the time the deposit conversation happens you already have a reconciled account rather than a pile of loose files.

In short: ending a lease is a sequence. Notice, handover against a written record, then settlement, and only then does the deposit go back. Deductions rest on the contract and on supporting documents. Check the grounds and deadlines for your own case against your contract and with a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

How much notice is needed to end a lease? The contract sets the period. Where it is silent, the Civil Code applies, and that is worth a legal opinion, because the answer depends on the type and duration of the lease.

Can the deposit be used for the final month’s rent? Only where the contract expressly allows it. By default a deposit secures performance and is returned after handover. It does not stand in for rent.

How soon must the landlord return the deposit? Within the period stated in the contract. Where none is stated, it should follow within a reasonable time after the handover record is signed and accounts are settled, which is precisely why the clause is worth fixing in advance.

What if the landlord withholds the deposit with no explanation? Ask for a written justification with a calculation and supporting documents. If nothing comes back, the next steps depend on the contract terms and are worth discussing with a lawyer.

Is fair wear and tear a valid reason to withhold? Generally no. Wear that is natural for the length and type of use differs from damage. Contested cases resolve far more easily when a photographic record was made at move-in.