RENTER RESOURCES
Moving In and Moving Out of an EPG Rental
Keys change hands once the lease is signed, the move-in invoice is paid and the move-in inspection is done with you present. At the other end, Maryland law gives us 45 days after you leave to return your deposit with interest and an itemized list of any deductions. This page walks through both ends of the lease and the basics in between. Keep it with your lease.
The short version
Before keys: lease signed, move-in invoice paid, inspection signed.
First week: renters insurance proof within 5 days, utilities in your name within 7 days.
Every month: rent due on the 1st, late after the 5th. How to pay rent.
Moving out: written notice, written forwarding address, every key returned, deposit back within 45 days.
STEP ONE
Before move-in day
Utilities
Put electric, gas and water in your name unless your lease says a utility is included. The lease gives you 7 days after you receive keys to make the switch, and doing it before move-in day avoids a gap in service. The Renter Resources pages list the utility companies for each county, with the phone numbers and what each one needs from you.
Renters insurance
The lease asks for proof of an active renters insurance policy within 5 days after you receive keys. The owner’s policy covers the building, not your belongings, and it does not cover a neighbor’s claim if a fire or a leak starts in your unit. Most insurers quote in minutes online. Send us the declarations page once the policy is active.
Lease and move-in invoice
You sign the lease first in DocuSeal at sign.eastern.properties, then we countersign. The move-in invoice covers the security deposit and the first month’s rent and is paid through the secure link in the invoice email. We do not take cash or personal checks, and there is no holding deposit. Your approval letter sets the deadline to sign and the deadline to pay.
Deposit limits and the documents you receive
Maryland caps the security deposit at one month’s rent, and you receive a written receipt for it. With the receipt you also get the current Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights and, for a home built before 1978, the lead paint certificate and the notices that go with it. Read more in our guide to Maryland security deposit rules.
STEP TWO
Keys and the move-in inspection
Keys are released only after three things are complete: the lease is signed, the move-in invoice is paid, and the move-in inspection is done and signed with photographs of the unit’s condition. Someone from our team meets you at the home, walks it with you and hands over the keys.
Take your own photos too, dated, of every room, the floors, walls, appliances and any mark you notice. Under Maryland Real Property 8-203.1, your deposit receipt must tell you that you may ask for a written list of existing damages within 15 days of moving in. Use that right if anything was missed on inspection day. Those photos protect your deposit as much as they protect the owner.
Your welcome kit includes a how-to sheet for the home, the Maryland documents listed above and a 30-day check-in from us to catch anything the first month turned up.
STEP THREE
During the lease
Rent
Rent is due on the 1st and late after the 5th. Pay through the link in the invoice email from Eastern Properties Group. There is no portal and no login. If anyone asks you to pay another way, call us before you send money. If you are going to be short, call (240) 916-6008 before the 5th; it is easier to work something out before rent is late. Details: how to pay rent.
Repairs
Repairs go through the maintenance request form, with photos if you can take them. For a major leak, no heat, no power, a sewage backup or anything that is damaging the home, call (240) 916-6008 and choose the emergency option, any hour, then send the form too. Fire or a gas smell: leave and call 911 first. Our guide to maintenance emergencies and after-hours repairs explains what counts as an emergency and what to try before you call.
Alarms and access
Do not remove or disable smoke or carbon monoxide alarms. Tell us if one chirps or fails a test and we will replace it. We confirm a time with you before anyone enters the home, unless you told us we may enter or it is an emergency.
STEP FOUR
Giving notice
Read the term and the notice clause in your lease first. They control how much notice you owe and when the lease ends. Put your notice in writing, by email to the office, and keep a copy. If you have a Housing Choice Voucher, tell your caseworker at the same time you tell us.
For a month-to-month tenancy, Maryland Real Property 8-402 requires the landlord to give 60 days’ written notice to end it, and lets a tenant end it with at least 30 days’ written notice. A fixed-term lease ends on the date it says unless it is renewed, so watch for our renewal offer and reply in writing either way.
STEP FIVE
Moving out
Cleaning, keys and your forwarding address
- Remove everything, including items in the basement, attic, shed and yard.
- Clean the kitchen and bathrooms, wipe out the fridge and oven, sweep and mop, and take out all trash. Normal wear is not charged. Dirt and damage are.
- Keep the utilities on through your move-out inspection so lights, water and heat can be tested.
- Return every key, fob and garage remote at the move-out inspection.
- Give us your forwarding address in writing. The deposit and any itemized list go by first-class mail to that address.
The move-out inspection
Our move-out checklist mirrors the move-in checklist, and someone from our team meets you at the home to complete it. Maryland law gives you the right to be present. To lock that in, send us written notice by certified mail at least 15 days before your move date. We then set the inspection within five days before or after that date and confirm the time in writing. A landlord who ignores that request loses the right to withhold anything from the deposit (Real Property 8-203).
Getting your deposit back
Within 45 days after the tenancy ends, we return the deposit with simple interest, less any damage beyond normal wear and tear and any unpaid rent. Interest is the greater of 1.5% a year or the one-year Treasury rate set on the first business day of the year, on deposits of $50 or more held at least six months. If anything is deducted, you receive a written, itemized list of the damage and the cost within the same 45 days, by first-class mail.
A landlord who withholds without a reasonable basis, or misses the 45-day list, can owe up to three times the amount withheld plus attorney’s fees. The move-in and move-out photos are what settle any disagreement, which is why we take them with you there.
Common questions
After the lease is signed, the move-in invoice is paid and the move-in inspection is done and signed. All three happen before keys change hands.
Insurance proof within 5 days after keys. Utilities in your name within 7 days after keys, where the lease requires it. Earlier is better for both.
No. Rent invoices, payments and maintenance requests all run through email and this website. You never need a login. See how to pay rent.
Yes. Send written notice by certified mail at least 15 days before you move and we schedule the inspection within five days either side of your move date.
Within 45 days after the tenancy ends, with interest, by first-class mail to the forwarding address you gave us.
Holes in walls, broken fixtures, stained carpet, missing keys and trash left behind. Faded paint, light carpet wear and small nail holes are normal wear and are not charged.
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Already rent from us? Send a maintenance request or see how to pay rent. Questions: call (240) 916-6008.