Move-In Checklist

1. Fill in the rental and pick the layout. The number of bedrooms and bathrooms and any other rooms - garage, laundry, balcony. The checklist gets a table for each, with the items that room usually has.
2. Walk through together on move-in day. Landlord and tenant go room by room, write the condition of each item in the move-in column and note every scratch, stain, chip or thing that does not work. Take dated photos of anything that is not in good condition.
3. Sign and keep copies. Both sign the move-in part; each keeps a copy. At move-out, walk through again with the same sheet, fill in the move-out column and sign the move-out part.

Deposit fights are about what the place looked like on day one. A checklist both sides signed on move-in day, with photos, answers that question in a minute instead of a small claims hearing. For the landlord it backs up deductions for damage; for the tenant it proves the stain was already there. In Texas, for example, if a deduction is disputed in court the landlord has to prove it was reasonable (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109(c)) - the signed checklist is that proof.

In most states a move-in checklist is good practice, not a legal requirement - Texas and Florida, for example, have no statute that requires one. A few states do require something:

1. Georgia. Before the tenant pays a security deposit, the landlord must give a comprehensive list of existing damage; the tenant may inspect the unit to check it, and must sign the list or sign a written statement of the items they dispute (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-33). Pick Georgia as the state and the checklist prints that notice. Owners of ten or fewer units who manage them themselves are exempt (§ 44-7-36).
2. California. For tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025, the landlord must take photos of the unit at the start of the tenancy, and again at move-out before and after any repairs or cleaning charged to the deposit (Civ. Code § 1950.5(g)). The checklist is a good companion to those photos.

Other states have their own rules, so check yours.

Wear and tear is what happens to any home that is lived in carefully: faded paint, light scuffs, carpet worn along walkways, loose door handles, small nail holes from pictures. Damage is beyond that: holes in walls, burns, pet stains, broken blinds or windows, a carpet that has to be replaced early. Deposit deductions are for damage, not for wear and tear - many states say so in their deposit law, for example Texas (§ 92.104) and California (Civ. Code § 1950.5(b)).

Besides the rooms, the checklist records the keys, mailbox keys, remotes and fobs handed over and returned, whether the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms worked at move-in, the meter readings for electricity, gas and water, and the tenant's forwarding address for returning the deposit. Damage the landlord already knows about can be listed up front, so the tenant sees it before the walk-through.

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