Moving in and out
How do I document the condition of my apartment when I move in?
Updated By the Housing Rocket moderators
Short answer
Take photos and a slow, narrated video of every room before you unpack, including close-ups of any damage, then email them to your landlord so there is a dated record they received. Keep copies in cloud storage until your deposit is fully settled. This evidence decides most deposit disputes.
- Start at the front door and move through each room in the same order, filming walls, ceiling, floor and fixtures.
- Say what you see as you film, for example "small stain on the carpet near the closet, about two inches."
- Take close-ups of every flaw with something for scale, like a coin or your hand.
- Open appliances, cabinets and closets and photograph inside them.
- Photograph the electricity, gas and water meters if you pay those bills.
Your phone stores the date in each photo's file data, but that can be stripped when images are compressed or shared. Emailing the landlord a link to the full-resolution folder, or uploading the files to the resident portal, gives you a timestamp that doesn't depend on your phone.
Repeat the same shots on move-out day after cleaning, so each room can be compared side by side. If something is damaged and repaired while you live there, photograph it before and after, and keep the repair request.
Want the whole picture? Read Renting Your First Apartment: Applications, Leases and Move-in Costs.