Move-In Inventory Checklist for UK Renters

The inventory is the check-in record of the property. When a deduction is proposed later, it is the usual comparison point: what the place was like at the start, and what it is like at the end.

The time you spend on it at move-in is the part you cannot recreate after the boxes are in. This is how to spend it.

This is general information, not legal advice. It describes a practical record for renters in the UK. It is not a statement of what an adjudicator or a court will decide.

You are allowed to disagree with it

Most renters treat the inventory as a form to sign. It is a document you are being asked to agree with, and you can decline to agree with parts of it.

You will usually be given a period to review it, comment and return it. Use the time you are given. The number of days, if any, should be on the inventory or in the agent's email. This guide does not set a legal deadline. Walk the property with the document open and check it line by line against what is actually in front of you.

Where it is wrong or vague, say so in writing, in your own words:

"Living room carpet described as 'good condition'. There is a stain about 20cm across near the radiator. Photographed and attached."
"Kitchen: the inventory does not mention the chipped worktop edge to the left of the sink. Photographed and attached."
"Bathroom: 'sealant good'. Sealant behind the bath is discoloured and lifting at the corner. Photographed and attached."

Send it by email so it is dated and you keep a copy. If you are given a paper form only, photograph every page after you have annotated it, and email that.

Vagueness is the thing to replace. "Good condition" is an opinion. "Some wear" can mean anything. Describe what is there: where it is, roughly how big it is, and that you photographed it.

Our guide to check-in and check-out inventory reports explains how those two reports are read together.

Keep your rental evidence in one place.Move-in and move-out photos, dated and organised by room. Free to start.

Start my record

If there is no inventory at all

Most landlords and agents provide an inventory. Some do not, particularly on a single property. This guide does not say whether your landlord is legally required to produce one. Your tenancy agreement and your scheme's rules are the place to check that.

If there is no check-in record, make one yourself. A later conversation about damage is easier to follow when someone has a dated description of the start. If neither side has anything, the conversation is two accounts.

So make your own. Photograph the property before you move anything in, write your own room-by-room description, and email the whole lot to the landlord or agent on the day you move in. A line you can adapt:

"As there is no inventory, here is my own record of the property's condition today, [date]. Please let me know if you disagree with anything in it."

An unanswered email is not agreement. It is a dated record that they were given the chance to disagree. Keep the sent email.

Photograph before the boxes

Unpacking first and photographing later hides the floor under the sofa and the wall behind the bed. Those are surfaces a check-out inspection will look at. Do the photographs while the property is empty, even if that means the removal van waits.

For each room, in this order:

[ ] One wide shot from the doorway, showing the whole room
[ ] One wide shot from the opposite corner
[ ] A medium shot of each wall
[ ] Close-ups of every mark, each preceded by a wider shot that shows where the mark is

Clean the camera lens first. A smudge can look like a mark on a wall, and you will not be able to tell the difference later.

For angles and what to keep, see how to take photos for a deposit dispute and how to photograph rental damage.

Printable room checklists

Tick these on the day. Add a note wherever something is marked, cracked, stained, loose or missing. Photograph that note's subject before you move on.

Entrance and hallway

[ ] Front door, outside and inside, including the frame
[ ] Locks, chain and spyhole
[ ] How many keys, fobs and permits you were given, and for which doors
[ ] Intercom or entry panel
[ ] Walls at handle height, where scuffs collect
[ ] Flooring, including the mat well
[ ] Meter cupboard, if it is in the hall (readings are in the next section)
[ ] Smoke alarm in the hall: photograph it, and note whether the test button responded

Living room

[ ] Floor covering: stains, burns, lifted edges, worn path
[ ] Walls, including behind where furniture will stand
[ ] Ceiling, including any water marks
[ ] Windows: glass, frames, handles, locks, and whether they open and close
[ ] Curtains, blinds, tracks and pelmets
[ ] Radiators, including the wall and floor behind them
[ ] Sockets, switches and any scorch marks
[ ] Fireplace, hearth and any supplied furniture
[ ] Doors, doorstops and the condition of the paint on the edges

Kitchen

[ ] Worktop edges, joins and any chips or burns
[ ] Sink, taps, plug and the seal where the sink meets the worktop
[ ] Under the sink: leaks, swelling, mould or a sagging cabinet base
[ ] Oven, inside and the door glass
[ ] Hob and extractor, including the filter if you can see it
[ ] Fridge and freezer, inside, including shelves and the seal
[ ] Washing machine or dishwasher: door seal, detergent drawer, and any standing water
[ ] Cupboard doors, hinges and drawers
[ ] Tiles and grout
[ ] Floor, especially in front of the sink and appliances

Bathroom and WC

[ ] Sealant around the bath, basin and shower tray
[ ] Grout and any cracked tiles
[ ] Discolouration or mould, with a wide shot that shows where it is
[ ] Toilet, seat, lid and cistern
[ ] Taps, shower head and hose
[ ] Extractor fan
[ ] Bath or shower screen, including chips
[ ] Flooring at the edges, where water sits
[ ] Cabinet, mirror and towel rail

Bedrooms

[ ] Floor, walls and ceiling
[ ] Windows, as in the living room
[ ] Wardrobes, inside and out, including rails and shelves
[ ] Any bed, mattress or other furniture the landlord supplies
[ ] Drawers and fitted cupboards
[ ] Marks behind where the bed will go

Everywhere else that is yours

[ ] Second WC, utility room or cupboard, using the same pattern
[ ] Heating and hot water: note whether they came on, and the date
[ ] Carbon monoxide alarm, if there is one: photograph it and note the test
[ ] Garden, balcony, shed, bin store or parking space, if they are part of the let
[ ] Fences, gates and outdoor taps
[ ] Anything the inventory lists that you cannot find

Ordinary wear — a traffic path on a carpet, faded paint, tired sealant after a long tenancy — is a different question from a new chip or a burn. Our fair wear and tear guide is about England and Wales. It is useful background. It is not a decision on your case.

Meter readings

[ ] Electricity: reading and serial number both legible in the photo
[ ] Gas, if there is a gas meter, same standard
[ ] Water, if you can read it, same standard
[ ] Date and time written in the email, not only in the photo
[ ] Taken on the day you take possession, not the day after

A reading with no serial number is hard to tie to a particular meter. Our guide to meter readings when you move covers the shots.

Keep it where you will find it

A record you cannot locate two years later is not a record you can send.

Camera rolls are the usual failure. By the time a tenancy ends, move-in photographs sit under thousands of other images and are hard to send as one set.

Whatever you use, the test is simple: could you, later, produce a dated set covering every room and hand it to someone who has never seen the property?

When the tenancy ends, our move-out checklist takes you back through the same rooms. The end of tenancy checklist covers the weeks before that day. If a deduction is proposed, deposit dispute evidence is about what people send with a dispute. None of these decide the outcome.

The checklist, condensed

[ ] Review the inventory line by line, within the time you are given
[ ] Replace vague descriptions with specific ones, in writing, by email
[ ] If there is no inventory, email your own record on day one
[ ] Photograph every room before anything comes in
[ ] Wide shot, then medium, then close-up — not a close-up on its own
[ ] Meter readings with serial numbers visible
[ ] Test and photograph smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
[ ] Note the number of keys
[ ] Store everything somewhere organised and dated

For a room-by-room version you can work through on the day, use our move-in checklist.

Our move-in inspection checklist is a shorter US-oriented walk-through. The lists above are the UK inventory version.

Where RentSeal fits

RentSeal is for the storage problem at the end of that list: one tenancy, photos by room, notes and documents, dated as you add them, which you can export as one pack. You can see how it works before creating anything.

It documents condition. It does not decide who is responsible for a mark, and it is not legal advice.

Before you act

This is general information, not legal advice. Inventory practice and scheme rules differ, and your tenancy agreement matters. For your situation, check your scheme's guidance or speak to Citizens Advice or Shelter.

Useful documentation, not legal advice. RentSeal explains practical record-keeping. Tenancy laws and deposit procedures vary by location and change over time — always seek qualified local advice when you need it.