What to check and photograph in every room on move-in day.
7 rooms, 45 things to check. Tick them off on your phone, or print it and take it with you. Do it before you unpack, while the marks that were already there are easy to see.
- Walk through before any furniture or boxes go in: marks are easier to see in an empty room.
- Use daylight where you can, and turn every light on.
- Take one wide photo from the doorway of each room, then close-ups of anything worth noting.
- Put something for scale next to small marks: a coin, a key or your hand.
- Keep a copy of your tenancy agreement (lease) and any inventory or condition report the landlord gave you.
Photograph anything you would not want to be charged for later.
After the walkthrough
- Write down anything that needs repairing and send it to your landlord or agent in writing, with photos.
- Keep their reply. A dated message is part of the record too.
- Check your tenancy agreement for a deadline to return a signed condition or inventory report, and meet it.
- Keep everything together, in one place, until the deposit has been returned.
Questions, answered.
More in the renter guides, including what to capture before you move out.
When should I do the move-in inspection?
Before you move your things in, or as close to it as you can. Marks that are there on day one are easiest to show before furniture hides them.
How many photos should I take?
Enough that someone who has never seen the place could understand its condition: a wide photo of each room from the doorway, then close-ups of every mark, stain or fault, with something for scale.
Is the landlord’s inventory report enough?
It is the landlord’s record. It helps to have your own as well, made by you, with your photos and the date you took them.
Does a checklist guarantee I get my deposit back?
No. What happens to a deposit depends on your tenancy agreement, the facts and the law where you live. A careful, dated record makes the condition at move-in easy to review rather than easy to dispute.
Free move-in checklist from RentSeal · rentseal.app/move-in-checklist