It's that time of year when students are saying goodbye to old apartments and hello to new ones. The excitement of getting new digs and new roommates can cause us to forget about some details involved in ending a lease. Here are some do's and don't's to keep in mind when moving out of an apartment:

Do give your landlord proper notice that you intend on moving out. While landlords often send tenants letters to check if tenants plan on renewing the lease for another term or plan on moving out, it is always a good idea to take charge and communicate your intentions. With your last month's rent, go ahead and include a signed letter stating that is your last month and provide a date by which you intend to vacate and return the keys to the landlord.

Don't stay in the property after the lease term expires. In Pennsylvania, there is no automatic conversion of a lease into a month-to-month tenancy. Instead, if the lease naturally expires, you continue to stay and pay rent and the landlord accepts your actions, the lease automatically renews for a like term. What is a like term? If the original lease was for a year, the lease is automatically renewed for a year, subject to the same terms and conditions.

Sometimes, lease agreements have automatic termination clauses and holdover tenant provisions. If you stay in the property after the original lease term has expired, you are a holdover tenant. Being a holdover tenant puts you on the hook for additional rent charges and penalties. If, as a holdover tenant, you prevent the landlord from giving possession to a new tenant and the landlord must cancel that new lease, you can be liable for the landlord's losses in rental income and additional costs in locating a new tenant. If your new place isn't ready yet or you don't know where you're living next, save yourself a potential legal headache and crash on a friend's couch.

Do give your landlord a forwarding address and make sure you give it in writing. While you may not want to be Facebook friends with your landlord, you certainly want the landlord to know where to send the refund of your security deposit.

Don't forget to check your lease agreement for move-out instructions. Generally, the tenant is responsible for any changes in the condition of the property beyond "normal wear and tear." In Pennsylvania, unless the tenant agrees to a specific clause in the lease agreement that the property will be returned in "as good of condition as received," the landlord cannot deduct for damages that are the result of "normal wear and tear." However, many lease agreements include clauses specifying what a tenant must do in order to return the property in good, clean condition. For example, tenants often are required by the lease agreement to do everything from having carpets professionally cleaned to replacing all of the light bulbs. Terms of the lease agreement control the obligations for returning the property in good condition upon move out. Ignoring those obligations might mean you're in for an unpleasant surprise in the form of countless deductions from your security deposit.

Do get a receipt when you return your keys to the landlord and then watch the calendar. According to Pennsylvania's Landlord Tenant Act, a residential landlord must either return the full security deposit or provide a list of damages charged against the security deposit and return the remaining balance of the deposit.

This must be done within 30 days after the termination of the lease term or the surrender and acceptance of the property (whichever happens first). Assuming you've provided your forwarding address in writing, landlords who fail to comply with this statute are slapped with a double damages penalty and prohibited from raising a claim for damages against you.

Keeping these simple things in mind could help you avoid legal problems. Check here next week for do's and don'ts when moving into your new pad.

Jennifer Kristin Wagner has practiced real estate and landlord-tenant law in State College since 2007. In addition to her law practice, she is a Ph.D. Candidate in anthropology. For more information on landlord-tenant law, visit her blog at palegalpad.blogspot.com.