A move-in inspection protects a renter only when it records the home before boxes, rugs, and furniture cover the evidence. Complete the landlord’s form before its deadline, photograph each room from wide and close views, test fixtures and included appliances where safe, and describe every defect by exact location and condition.
This checklist takes you through the first walk from keys to a saved, dated record. It also separates condition evidence from repair requests, so the landlord can act on leaks, unsafe conditions, missing keys, or failed equipment without losing the record of what existed when the tenancy began.
Inspect before cleaning or unpacking
Ask for the move-in condition form and its deadline before receiving the keys. Walk through with the landlord or property manager when possible. If the unit is dirty or work is unfinished, document the original condition before cleaning, accepting a repair, or placing furniture over it.
Bring a charged phone, flashlight, charger, simple measuring tape, the lease, the inspection form, and a way to label rooms. Do not open electrical panels, move installed appliances, enter unsafe spaces, or attempt a repair during the inspection.
Use wide photographs and close details
Begin each room with wide photographs that show the walls, floor, ceiling, windows, doors, and installed fixtures. Add close photographs for every stain, scratch, crack, hole, leak, broken part, pest sign, or area of incomplete cleaning. A slow video can preserve context, but it should supplement—not replace—written notes and still photographs.
Keep original files and timestamps. Name or group the files by room and item so the same location can be photographed at move-out. Never edit the only copy. Save the submitted report, email, upload receipt, and any reply acknowledging it.
Room-by-room move-in inspection
Record meters, keys, and access
If the lease makes you responsible for a separately metered utility, photograph the meter number and reading on the possession date. Confirm which meter belongs to the unit with the property manager or utility; do not guess from location alone.
List every key, fob, remote, parking permit, mailbox key, gate code, and storage lock received. Test access while management is available. Note missing items in writing so they are not treated as lost at move-out.
Separate condition evidence from repair requests
A condition report proves what existed at move-in. It does not always create a maintenance request. Submit leaking plumbing, failed heat or cooling, broken locks, unsafe wiring, missing detectors, pests, damaged appliances, and other repair needs through the property’s stated maintenance channel as well.
For each repair, describe the location and observable problem without diagnosing the cause. Ask for the planned response and keep photographs before and after the work. Do not agree that an unresolved condition is repaired merely because it appears on the inspection form.
Escalate urgent safety and habitability concerns
Report fire, gas, active flooding, exposed electrical hazards, inability to secure the home, loss of essential utilities, or other immediate dangers promptly using the emergency contact in the lease. Leave an unsafe area and contact emergency services when appropriate.
Landlord-tenant duties, repair deadlines, deposit rules, and required forms vary by state and city. Use your state housing agency, attorney general, local tenant handbook, or legal-aid service for the rules that apply to the address. Do not withhold rent, arrange a deduction, or break the lease based only on general internet advice.
Send a complete, readable record
Use the lease’s required delivery method and meet its deadline. Send the signed checklist, room notes, photo index or shared folder, meter readings, access inventory, and repair requests. Ask the landlord or manager to acknowledge receipt and sign corrected information when possible.
Keep a copy outside the property-management portal in case access later changes. Store the lease, deposit receipt, inspection, photographs, maintenance history, and notices together through the end of the tenancy and the deposit-return period.
Make move-out easier on day one
Use the same room names and photo angles at move-out. Compare the unit with the move-in record before the final cleaning and again after the rooms are empty. This makes normal wear, preexisting damage, new damage, and completed repairs easier to discuss with evidence.
Schedule the inspection beside Moveline’s apartment moving checklist, before movers cover the unit. Keep the final condition file with the dates, contacts, and receipts from the complete moving checklist so it remains available at move-out.
