An apartment walk-through checklist is a written, room-by-room record of the unit’s condition at move-in, and filling one out carefully is the single most effective way to protect your security deposit. The form creates a shared baseline so neither you nor the landlord can later argue about damage that was already there or damage that wasn’t. Work through it slowly, describe every flaw specifically, photograph everything, and get both signatures on the finished document.
Budget 30 to 45 minutes for a one-bedroom and more for anything larger. Bring the blank form, a pen, and a phone with a charged battery.
What to Inspect, Room by Room
Start at the front door and move through the unit in a fixed order so you don’t skip anything. The goal in every room is the same: find anything less than perfect and write down exactly where it is and what it looks like.
Walls, Ceilings, and Floors
Look at every wall surface in direct light. Note scuffs, nail holes, paint chips, cracks, and water stains. Ceilings get the same attention. Water-damage rings on a ceiling are easy to miss and expensive to be blamed for later. On floors, check hardwood for scratches and gouges, carpet for stains and worn patches, tile for cracked or missing pieces, and linoleum for peeling edges or cuts. Record the location of each defect (“north wall of bedroom, two-inch crack near baseboard”) rather than just writing “crack.”
Kitchen and Bathroom
Turn on every faucet and let it run. Check water pressure and how fast each sink drains. Flush all toilets. Open and close every cabinet and drawer to catch broken hinges or missing handles. In the kitchen, test each burner, run the dishwasher through a short cycle, confirm the refrigerator and freezer are cooling, and run the microwave. Look under sinks for leaks or mold. In the bathroom, check the caulking around the tub and shower for gaps or mildew, and confirm the exhaust fan works.
Windows, Doors, and Locks
Open and close every window. Confirm locks engage, screens are intact, and no glass is cracked. Do the same for interior and exterior doors, noting sticking, damaged frames, or missing hardware. Deadbolts and chain locks matter both for your security and because a broken lock noted on move-in can’t be charged against your deposit later.
HVAC, Electrical, and Safety Equipment
Switch the thermostat to heating, then to cooling, and wait for air at the supply vents. A system that clicks on but barely pushes air may have a clogged filter; pull the filter, photograph its condition, and note it on the form. A heavily loaded filter on day one is the landlord’s problem, not yours. Test every light switch and outlet (a phone charger is enough for a quick outlet check). Press the test button on each smoke detector and carbon monoxide alarm. If one fails to sound, write that down. Check the manufacture date stamped on the back of each alarm. Detectors older than ten years are generally due for replacement.
Closets, Storage, and Outside Spaces
Open every closet to check shelving, rods, and doors. If your unit includes a balcony, patio, assigned parking space, or storage locker, walk those areas too. Note cracks in concrete, rust on railings, missing handrail sections, and damage to garage or storage doors. These are the easiest places to overlook on move-in day and the easiest for a landlord to add charges for at move-out.
How to Fill Out Each Line
Most checklists use a rating scale: excellent, good, fair, poor, damaged. Pick the most accurate rating, but don’t stop there. The rating is shorthand; the description next to it is what matters in a dispute. “Fair — two-inch paint chip above outlet” tells the whole story. “Fair” alone tells nobody anything six months later.
Fill in the full names of every adult tenant and the landlord or property manager doing the inspection. Date the form with the actual inspection date, which should fall on or very close to your move-in day. If a field doesn’t apply, say the unit has no dishwasher, write “N/A” rather than leaving it blank. Empty fields invite someone to add notes after the fact.
If the form includes utility meter readings, record the numbers for electric, gas, and water before you move anything in. When a meter sits in a locked utility room you can’t access, ask the property manager to confirm the reading in writing. That number prevents disputes over final utility bills that overlap with the previous tenant’s usage.
Photos and Video to Back It Up
A written checklist is strong evidence. A written checklist paired with time-stamped photos is almost bulletproof. Photograph every room, including the ones in perfect condition. Proving something was undamaged at move-in is just as valuable as documenting a scratch. For each defect, take a wide shot showing the room and location, then a close-up showing the detail. Smartphones embed date and time into photo metadata automatically, and you can also turn on a visible date stamp in your camera settings or use a dedicated app.
Reference the photos on the checklist itself. A note like “see photo IMG_4032, kitchen ceiling” ties the written description to the visual proof. Store copies in cloud storage or email them to yourself so the backup isn’t sitting on one device. If you take video, a slow walkthrough narrating each room with a visible clock or newspaper date is the gold standard. Photos are far better than nothing.
Normal Wear vs. Damage You’ll Be Charged For
The line between normal wear and tenant damage is where most deposit disputes live, and knowing it before you fill the form out tells you what’s worth documenting. Normal wear and tear is the gradual deterioration that comes from ordinary daily use, and a landlord cannot deduct from your deposit for it. Tenant damage goes beyond that baseline. It’s the result of neglect, accidents, or misuse, and it’s your financial responsibility.
HUD’s guidance uses specific examples. Normal wear includes fading or peeling paint, small nail holes, carpet worn thin from foot traffic, loose grouting, slightly scratched enamel in sinks and tubs, and a door that sticks from humidity. Tenant damage includes gaping holes in walls, doors ripped off hinges, broken windows, burns or large stains in carpet, missing fixtures, and heavily chipped enamel in bathtubs.
The practical takeaway when you’re filling out the checklist: document anything that could later be mistaken for tenant damage. The faded carpet patch in the hallway? Note it now or risk paying for carpet replacement later. A few small nail holes in the living room wall? Write them down. You’re building a record that distinguishes what was already there from what you caused.
Signing, Submitting, and Storing Your Copy
Both you and the landlord should sign and date the completed checklist. Get your copy immediately, not a promise to send one later. If your landlord uses a digital tenant portal, upload the form and confirm it’s time-stamped. If you’re exchanging paper copies, sending yours via certified mail with return receipt requested gives you a delivery date and a signature proving the landlord received it. Keep your signed copy for the entire tenancy and for at least a year afterward, since deposit disputes can surface well after you’ve moved out.
Some states require both parties to sign the checklist and require the landlord to give the tenant a copy at the start of the tenancy. Even where the law doesn’t mandate signatures, a signed document is dramatically harder to dispute than an unsigned one. If your landlord resists signing, note the date and method you tried. That paper trail still helps if the dispute reaches court.
Timelines vary by state. Virginia, for example, requires the landlord to submit a written damage report within five days of occupancy, and the tenant has five days after receiving it to object in writing.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1214 – Inspection of Dwelling Unit; Report Check whether your state sets a similar window.
Using the Same Checklist at Move-Out
Pull out your move-in checklist and walk the unit with it before you hand back the keys. Go through every item and record the current condition in the move-out column. Run the same photo routine: every room, every defect, every clean surface. That side-by-side comparison is exactly what a judge or mediator will look at if your deposit is disputed.
Many states give you the right to request a preliminary inspection before your final move-out date. In California, the landlord must notify you in writing of your right to request an initial inspection, which happens no earlier than two weeks before your lease ends. The purpose is to give you a list of problems you can fix yourself before the landlord totals up the deposit. If your state offers this, use it. A weekend of spackling nail holes and scrubbing grout is almost always cheaper than whatever the landlord’s contractor will charge.
Try to schedule the move-out walkthrough with your landlord present. If the landlord won’t participate or won’t sign a move-out report, your documented move-in records and photos become your primary evidence. Courts generally view a tenant’s thorough, time-stamped records favorably when the landlord created none of their own.
If the Landlord Skips the Checklist
In states that require a written move-in checklist, a landlord who collects a deposit without providing one faces real consequences. In Washington, a landlord who skips the checklist is liable to the tenant for the full deposit amount, and the tenant can also recover court costs and attorney fees.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 59.18.260 – Moneys Paid as Deposit or Security for Performance by Tenant Other states bar the landlord from making any damage deductions without a completed checklist on file, which effectively makes the entire deposit refundable regardless of the unit’s condition at move-out.
Even in states without a checklist mandate, the absence of documentation shifts the burden of proof. A landlord claiming you caused damage has to prove it, and without a move-in record, that’s difficult. The reverse is also true: without your own records, you’ll have a hard time proving the damage was pre-existing. The party who skips the checklist is the one left guessing in court.