Domi Vera

Ending a lease

From notice to move-out statement — final readings, the last invoice, and settling the deposit.

Ending a lease is the workflow with the most to get wrong, because several things have to happen in an order that cannot be reshuffled afterwards.

Draft Active Ended occupation date vacation date nothing is billed deposit collected invoices generated interest accrues deposit settled unit freed first month pro-rata final month pro-rata
A lease is prepared as a draft, becomes active when the tenant takes occupation, and ends with a deposit settlement that frees the unit.

The order

  1. Capture final meter readings.
  2. Generate and approve the final invoice.
  3. End the lease and settle the deposit.
  4. Issue the move-out statement.

1. Final readings

If the lease has metered charges, take the closing readings on the day they move out — not before, and not a week later.

This is the one step nobody can redo. Once the unit is re-let, the meter has moved on.

2. The final invoice

Generate the final month’s invoice before ending the lease.

Decide how the final month’s rent is treated — full month, or pro-rata to the vacation date. The lease agreement, not the system, decides which is right.

Approve it so it is on the account.

Do this first. Ending the lease settles interest to the move-out date, and it needs the final charges to be on the account already. Invoicing afterwards means an account that was “settled” and then moved.

3. End the lease and settle the deposit

End the lease, recording the vacation date — when they physically moved out.

The settlement is itemised: the deposit held, less arrears pulled from the account automatically, less any deductions you enter.

Itemise every deduction, with what it was for. A deposit dispute is the most common thing a tenant escalates, and an itemised settlement drawing arrears from the actual ledger is the document that ends the argument. A round number with no breakdown invites one.

Deductions should be supported by the ingoing inspection. If there was not one, you are arguing from memory against a tenant arguing from theirs.

4. The move-out statement

The final statement goes out with the settlement. Interest is crystallised to the move-out date, so the closing figure is final.

Remember that South African law generally requires a deposit to be held in an interest-bearing account, with that interest belonging to the tenant. Domi Vera does not calculate what your trust account earned — add it at settlement.

Afterwards

The unit is free and can take its next lease. The tenant’s record stays, with its history, which is what you need if they apply again or query something in a year.

Related

  • LeasesThe agreement tying a tenant to a unit for a period, at a rent. It is what billing actually runs from.
  • DepositsMoney held against a lease, not income. It is tracked separately and settled when the lease ends.
  • StatementsA running account over time — everything charged, everything paid, and the balance. An invoice is one entry on it.
  • How late-payment interest worksInterest is worked out automatically, stays editable while it is provisional, and locks in when you send the statement.