Move-In Condition Checklist: What to Photograph and Document

Document before furniture hides the condition

Walk through the rental when access begins, preferably before moving furniture and boxes inside. If possible, a tenant and landlord can review the same observations together. Record the property, unit, date/time, timezone, people present, and whether the unit was empty, partly furnished, or still being cleaned. If some areas were inaccessible, say which ones and make a separate dated entry when they become available.

Use any move-in form your lease or property process calls for, and keep a copy alongside your notes and photos. Check the relevant process and local requirements rather than assuming a universal deadline. If you only notice a mark after moving in, record the actual discovery date and circumstances. Do not backdate an observation to make it appear earlier.

A condition walkthrough does not replace reporting an active repair problem. For a leak, unsafe condition, or a device that appears damaged, use the appropriate contact process and preserve the report. The guide to documenting a tenant repair request explains how to keep that response chronology separate from the starting-condition record.

Pair wide photos with detail photos

Start each room with wide views from the doorway and an opposite corner. Include enough of the floor, walls, and ceiling to show the room's layout. Then photograph each relevant mark closer up. A middle-distance view connects the detail to the larger room; a close-up shows the surface. Use ordinary lighting and take another image if glare or shadow hides the subject.

For a small mark, include a nearby fixed feature or, if safe and useful, a ruler for scale. Avoid blocking the mark with the ruler. A photograph of a scratch without its location is hard to match later. Note “bedroom north wall beside closet” or “kitchen floor near island” so the files can be understood without guessing from the camera angle.

Keep the original photos at full available quality. If you annotate an image, preserve the unedited version and label the annotated copy. A long walkthrough video can supply context, but still take specific photos and write descriptions; do not make someone scrub through several minutes to locate a cabinet chip.

Room-by-room move-in condition checklist

Work in a repeatable order: entry, kitchen, living spaces, bedrooms, bathrooms, then included exterior or storage areas. For each row, record what you observed, the relevant file names, and anything you did not inspect. This is a visible-condition checklist, not a building inspection or a certification of safety or compliance.

Record ordinary undamaged areas too. A record containing only close-ups of defects can lack the broader baseline needed to locate them. Use “no visible mark observed in these views” where accurate, rather than a broad statement that a room has no defects at all.

Floors, walls, doors, and windows

For floors, note the room, surface, and location of dents, scratches, stains, cracked tiles, or lifted edges. Photograph a wide area before concentrating on details. Avoid diagnosing the cause from appearance alone. “Six small dents near island” is a useful observation; “previous tenant wore heels” assumes a history the photo does not establish.

For walls and ceilings, identify chips, holes, visible staining, patches, and uneven or damaged surfaces. Locate them relative to a doorway, window, or fixture. Do not identify a stain as mold or a leak source without an appropriate basis. Report an active concern through the repair process and preserve the response separately.

For doors and windows, include frames, handles, locks, glass, screens, and blinds. If you safely try ordinary operation, record the result: “bedroom window opens; screen has tear at lower corner.” If you cannot check it, mark it unchecked. Do not force a stuck item or climb to photograph something you cannot safely reach.

Kitchen, plumbing, bathrooms, and appliances

Open accessible cabinets and photograph shelves, doors, hinges, pulls, and counters. Note chips, missing fittings, staining, and visible dampness beneath sinks. Describe the location rather than guessing whether a stain is new. If a brief ordinary check reveals dripping water, contact the landlord through the normal process; do not disassemble plumbing to complete a checklist.

In bathrooms, record visible condition of the tub or shower, sink, toilet, tile, grout, mirror, and fixtures. If you safely check normal operation, state what you checked and what you saw. “Water drained during brief sink use” is narrower and more accurate than “plumbing is fine.” Keep odors or dampness as separate observations if photographs cannot show them.

For appliances, photograph visible exterior damage and accessible interiors. Capture a visible model or serial label when it helps identify which refrigerator, range, or washer was present. Do not move heavy equipment or expose wiring to find a label. Record whether operation was checked, and under what conditions; a photograph of a clean oven does not show whether every function works.

Access devices, detectors, and visible HVAC condition

List the keys, fobs, remotes, and other access devices received, with counts and handover date. Note a missing or nonworking item and report it. For a packet that will be shared, avoid exposing door codes, detailed key patterns, or other unnecessary access information. Keep sensitive details in a separate appropriate place.

Record visible smoke and carbon monoxide detector locations, visible damage, and any check actually performed according to the device instructions and property process. Do not describe this as a compliance inspection or infer that a device works from its appearance. If a device seems missing or damaged, raise the concern promptly through the appropriate contact process.

Photograph the visible thermostat and accessible equipment exterior or grilles. Note the display, observed setting, and visible condition. Say if operation was not checked. Do not open equipment panels, disturb wiring, or attempt a technical HVAC inspection as part of documenting move-in condition.

Describe odors, moisture, pests, and outside spaces neutrally

Some observations need words more than pictures. Record the room, date/time, and what you directly noticed: “musty odor inside hall closet” or “small insects visible near bathroom window.” A photo may show a damp patch or an insect, but avoid claiming an infestation, hidden leak, or specific species from an uncertain observation. Note any report made and the response.

Include any balcony, patio, assigned storage, parking space, or other area included with the rental and safely accessible. Photograph visible condition and identify which space belongs to the unit. If a balcony or storage area is unsafe or locked, document the limit and contact the landlord instead of entering it for a photograph.

Example: documenting pre-existing kitchen floor damage

Kitchen floor: approximately six small dents near island; wide photo plus three close-ups taken before furniture moved in.

Attach that observation to the unit and actual walkthrough date. For example, in a fictional September 1 walkthrough, the files could be 2026-09-01_3B_kitchen_floor_wide.jpg and three clearly numbered close-ups. Preserve the camera originals as well if you make renamed organizational copies. The description gives an approximate count and a location without asserting who caused the dents.

If the landlord replies “received; these marks are included in the starting-condition record,” preserve that acknowledgment with its own date. If the landlord disagrees or identifies another mark, record the reply and any additional photos. Do not silently edit the tenant's original observation to make the accounts match.

Organize the record so it can be compared later

Use one property/unit folder with room subfolders, or one condition record with clearly labeled entries. Keep a simple index: room, observation, date, photo references, report sent, acknowledgment, and any next action. Back up originals independently. Share a readable copy through the agreed channel and keep the sent message and any reply.

At move-out, use the same room names and comparable viewpoints. Keep that later record separate and dated, then refer back to the starting views. Record changes without assuming their cause. Maintenance during the tenancy belongs in the rental repair history, which can explain intervening work without replacing either condition record.

Security-deposit rules, forms, and deadlines vary by jurisdiction and tenancy. These organizational habits can make observations easier to review; they do not determine permitted deductions or guarantee the return of a deposit.

What to avoid

• Deleting originals after uploading, sharing, cropping, or exporting them.
• Keeping only screenshots or compressed messaging copies when originals are available.
• Taking close-ups without a wider view or location description.
• Editing files or descriptions without retaining the earlier version and context.
• Backdating a late discovery or claiming an upload timestamp is the camera's capture time.
• Calling an ordinary walkthrough a safety inspection or deciding the cause of damage from a photo.
• Waiting to report an urgent problem until the checklist is complete.

Using IssueLedger for a condition record

If the landlord uses IssueLedger and provides a submission link, a tenant can submit a condition issue with notes and photos without a separate account. The landlord can review the files and add acknowledgment or later repair notes to the same issue timeline. The tenant page shows that workflow; the sample report shows an exported record.

A timestamp records when an entry is submitted or logged; it does not establish when the camera captured a photo. Describe the capture context and keep independent originals. IssueLedger helps organize the record, while the walkthrough, observations, reporting process, and interpretation remain the people's responsibility.