The rental inspection checklist: room by room, item by item

Most landlords already know they should inspect a unit at move-in and move-out. Far fewer do it the same way twice. One inspection is a careful hour with 60 photos; the next is fifteen minutes and a note that says 'unit looks good.' That inconsistency is what makes inspections useless later. You cannot compare two records that were never built the same way. The fix is boring and it works: one checklist, one rating scale, applied to every unit every time.

Start from a template, not a blank page

A blank inspection is an invitation to skip things. Build a template once, covering the rooms a typical unit has and the items inside each room, then apply it to every inspection. When you arrive at a unit, you're not deciding what to inspect. You're working a list. Add or remove rooms for the specific unit (a den, a second bathroom, a parking spot) and get on with it.

This also solves the handoff problem. When a colleague, a contractor, or a new hire runs the inspection instead of you, the template is the instruction. You get the same record back regardless of who walked the unit.

Use one rating scale and stick to it

Free-form notes like 'fine' or 'a bit worn' are worthless in a dispute two years later. Pick a fixed scale and apply it to every item. A five-point scale covers almost everything:

• Excellent: as new, no visible marks or wear.
• Good: sound and fully functional, minor cosmetic marks consistent with normal use.
• Fair: visible wear that does not affect function. Describe it specifically.
• Poor: significant wear or partial failure. Describe it, and note whether it needs work now.
• Damaged: broken, missing, or unusable. Photograph it heavily and flag it.

The rating is only half the record. Anything below Good gets a sentence: not 'Fair,' but 'Fair: 4cm chip in the baseboard trim, southwest corner of the living room.' That sentence is what makes the photo mean something.

The room-by-room list

This is the base template. Trim it to the unit, but don't trim it for speed.

Every room

• Walls and ceiling: scuffs, holes, nail marks, water staining, cracks.
• Flooring: scratches, burns, stains, lifting, loose boards or tiles, carpet wear at doorways.
• Baseboards and trim: chips, gaps, separation from the wall.
• Doors: open and close each one. Check the handle, latch, hinges, and the door face.
• Windows: open and close each one. Check the glass, screens, locks, sills, and seals for fogging.
• Light fixtures and switches: turn every one on. Note dead bulbs and missing covers.
• Outlets: confirm they work. A cheap outlet tester takes seconds and catches wiring faults.
• Heating and cooling: vents, radiators, baseboard heaters, thermostat, and any in-unit AC.

Kitchen

• Test every appliance rather than just noting that it is there. Run the stove burners and oven, the dishwasher through a cycle if you can, the fridge and freezer for cold, the range hood fan and light.
• Record the make, model, and approximate age of each appliance. This matters enormously when one dies mid-tenancy.
• Sink, taps, and drain: run the water, check the pressure, look under the sink for leaks and water damage.
• Countertops: burns, chips, and seam separation.
• Cabinets: open every door and drawer. Check the interiors, the runners, and the alignment.

Bathrooms

• Toilet: flush it, check for movement at the base and for running.
• Tub and shower: run the water, check the drain speed, the diverter, and the shower head.
• Caulking and grout: this is where slow water damage starts. Photograph it even when it's fine.
• Sink, vanity, and mirror.
• Exhaust fan: turn it on and confirm it moves air.
• Look for any sign of past moisture: bubbling paint, soft drywall, staining on the ceiling below an upstairs bath.

Safety items you should never skip

• Smoke alarms: confirm one on every storey and outside sleeping areas, and press the test button on each.
• Carbon monoxide alarms: required near sleeping areas where there is a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.
• Fire extinguisher, if the unit has one: check the gauge and the inspection tag.
• Egress: confirm windows and exits open and are not blocked.

Photograph each alarm with its test light visible if you can. Alarm compliance is one of the few inspection items that can turn into a prosecution rather than a money dispute, and 'I'm sure I checked' is not evidence.

Everything else in the lease

• Storage locker, parking space, garage, or shed: if it's in the lease, it's in the inspection.
• Balcony, patio, or yard, including railings and any landlord-supplied furniture.
• In-unit laundry: run a short cycle on both machines.
• Keys, fobs, remotes, and mailbox keys: record how many of each were handed over.

How many photos is enough

More than you think, and organised by item rather than dumped in a folder. A workable rule: one wide shot per room so the overall condition is visible, plus a close-up of every item rated Fair or worse, plus a photo of every appliance's model plate. A typical one-bedroom lands somewhere around 40 to 60 photos. That sounds like a lot until the first time you need one.

• Attach photos to the specific item, not to the inspection as a whole. A photo filed under 'Flooring: Fair' proves something. The same photo in a folder of 60 proves very little.
• Get the date recorded. Phone photos carry it in EXIF data, but that gets stripped by messaging apps, which is exactly how most landlords send them.
• Take the close-up from far enough back that the location is identifiable. A tight crop of a scratch could be anywhere.

Do it with the tenant, and give them a copy

Walk the unit together whenever you can. Confirm each item out loud, let the tenant point out anything you missed, and have both parties sign the finished report. A record the tenant participated in and signed is far harder to dispute than one you produced alone. Hand over their copy the same day, not 'when I get a chance.'

If the tenant won't attend, do the inspection anyway. Note the date, note that the tenant was offered the inspection and did not attend, photograph thoroughly, and deliver the report. The offer itself becomes relevant context if they later object to an item.

Inspect between move-in and move-out too

Move-in and move-out are the two that matter for damage claims, but a routine inspection once or twice a year catches the things that get expensive quietly: a slow leak under a sink, a failing exhaust fan, a window seal that's gone. You need lawful entry to do it (see the entry-notice guide below), but a mid-tenancy inspection is usually the cheapest maintenance decision you'll make all year.

• Inspections in Kera
• Move-out inspections: damage vs. normal wear and tear
• Entering a rental unit: the 24-hour notice rule
• Why move-in condition reports matter