Move-in and move-out inspection checklist (free PDF)

1. Before the resident moves in, walk every room with the checklist and mark the move-in column. Photograph each line, including the ones in good condition, and write the photo number.
2. Review it with the resident. Ask them to note anything they see differently and sign. Give them a copy.
3. At move-out, use the same sheet. Fill the move-out column line by line, photographing the same subjects from the same spots.
4. Compare the two columns. For every line that changed, record what changed, and keep the move-in and move-out photos together with any repair estimate or invoice.

Keep the completed checklist with the tenancy it belongs to, not in a general property folder. That is the difference between a record you can find in a year and one you have to reconstruct. For classifying the changes, see normal wear and tear vs damage.

Photograph every room from the doorway, then every line on the checklist. The move-in photos that matter at move-out are almost never the interesting ones: the clean carpet in the corner, the cabinet door with nothing wrong with it, the wall beside the bedroom door.

• One wide shot per room, taken from the doorway, so the room can be recognized later.
• One photo per checklist line, close enough to see the surface.
• A closer photo of anything already worn or damaged, with a note.
• Appliance interiors, under sinks, and inside closets, which are easy to skip.

A paper checklist records a rating, but the rating is only as good as the photo behind it, and on paper the photos live somewhere else: a phone, a shared drive, a text thread. Eleven months later someone has to match “Living room walls: G” to the right photo from the right day.

Running the same checklist in an app keeps each photo attached to its line and keeps the capture time on the photo. At move-out, each line can then be shown beside its move-in counterpart instead of searched for.