Move-out inspection checklist for rental units

A move-out inspection has two jobs. The obvious one: find everything that needs fixing, so the turn starts right away. Every day the unit sits is money gone (do that math once and you'll never dawdle on a turn again). The less obvious one: create the record. If you withhold any part of the deposit, the tenant may dispute it. That dispute is not settled by who remembers harder. It's settled by who has dated proof. This checklist covers both jobs.

Before you start: three rules

• Walk the same order every time. Entry → kitchen → baths → bedrooms → living areas → systems → keys. A fixed route is why you won't miss the closet water heater. Or the second bathroom's fan. That habit is the checklist working.
• Photograph every room, even when it's fine. This is the rule people skip and regret. A photo of an undamaged wall feels pointless in the moment. Then a tenant claims the damage "was already there." Or, in reverse, you're accused of inventing damage. Now that photo is the whole case. The empty-unit photos ARE the deposit record. Take a wide shot of each room from the doorway. Then close-ups of anything notable.
• Inspect empty, after keys are back. Furniture hides floors and walls. Your state may require offering the tenant a walkthrough (several do). Do that too. But the record inspection is the empty one.

The room-by-room checklist

Entry, doors, and locks

• Front door: closes, latches, and locks smoothly. No new damage to the door or frame.
• All exterior locks work. Plan the rekey or lock change either way (standard practice between tenants).
• Doorbell or intercom works. Peephole intact.
• Interior doors: open, close, latch. Hinges tight. No holes. Closet doors on track.

Kitchen

• Refrigerator: clean inside. Shelves and drawers present. Gaskets intact. And pull it out. Check the floor and wall behind and beneath it. Look for leaks, mold, or signs of pests.
• Stove/oven: burners ignite or heat. Oven heats. Racks present. Check under and behind the unit. Drip pans and hood filter clean, or marked for replacement.
• Dishwasher: run a short cycle if time allows. Check the kick panel area. Check the floor in front for warping (slow leaks live here).
• Sink and disposal: hot and cold run clear. Sprayer works. Disposal spins. Open the cabinet below. Touch the trap and shutoffs: dry, no stains.
• Cabinets and drawers: doors aligned. Shelves intact. No leftover food or grease film.
• Countertops: burns, gouges, lifted edges.
• Microwave (if provided): heats. Turntable present. Inside clean.

Bathrooms

• Toilet: flushes fully, refills, doesn't run. No rocking at the base (a rocking toilet often means a failing wax ring).
• Tub/shower: drains fast. No chips. Tiles secure.
• Caulk and grout: check around the tub, shower, and sink. Cracked or moldy caulk gets cut out and redone during the turn. Not painted over.
• Exhaust fan: it pulls air (tissue test). A dead fan is future mold.
• Sink and vanity: drains clear. Stopper works. Cabinet base dry.
• Mirror, towel bars, and TP holder: present and secure.
• Check water pressure and hot water at every fixture.

Bedrooms and living areas

• Closets: rods, shelves, and doors intact. Nothing left behind.
• Ceiling fans and light fixtures: they work. No wobble. Globes present.
• Every outlet and switch: no scorch marks. Covers present. (A cheap outlet tester is worth carrying.)
• Blinds and window coverings: present and working. Slats unbroken.

Walls, floors, ceilings, windows: every room

• Walls: nail holes. Count them and note the size (a few small ones are normal wear in most states). Anchor holes. Scuffs versus gouges. Paint colors you never approved.
• Ceilings: water stains. Photograph even old ones, so you have them dated. Cracks. Smoke stains.
• Floors: carpet stains, burns, and odor. Scratches and lifted boards on hard flooring. Check under where furniture sat.
• Windows: they open, close, and lock. Screens present and intact. Glass uncracked. Sills free of rot or mold. Note any fog between panes (a failed seal).

Safety devices

• Smoke detectors: present in every required spot. Press the test button. Batteries in. Photograph each one. A missing or disabled detector is a liability issue, not a cleaning issue.
• Carbon monoxide detectors: present and tested where required.
• Fire extinguisher (if provided): present, charged, not expired.
• GFCI outlets in the kitchen and baths: test and reset buttons work.

Systems, utilities, and meters

• HVAC: heat and cool respond at the thermostat. Check the filter. Note its state; it says a lot about the tenancy. Vents unblocked.
• Water heater: no leaks or corrosion at the fittings. Pilot lit (gas).
• Washer/dryer (if provided): run them briefly. Check the hoses and the pan. Dryer vent clear.
• Under-sink shutoffs and any valves you can reach: no drips.
• Meter readings: photograph the electric, gas, and water meters with the date. That makes for clean utility handoffs. And no surprise bills.
• Balcony/patio, storage, garage: emptied, no damage.

Keys, remotes, and access

• All keys returned: unit, building and common area, mailbox. Count them against what was issued.
• Garage remotes, fobs, parking permits, laundry cards returned.
• Forwarding address collected. Most states require you to mail the deposit statement to it within a deadline. Know yours.

Deposit disputes: dated proof beats memory

Almost every deposit fight follows the same pattern. The tenant remembers the unit as perfect. You remember it as trashed. The truth is somewhere in between. Records decide it: in a demand letter, in mediation, or in small-claims court. Three things put you on the right side of that:

• A move-in record to compare against. Move-out photos only prove the condition now. Move-in photos prove the change. Same route, same shots, both dated. If you don't photograph move-ins yet, start with the very next lease.
• Timestamps you didn't type in. Photos that date themselves. An inspection tied to the unit and the date it happened. Proof that was made at the time, not put together for the argument.
• Wear vs. damage, honestly. Faded paint is normal wear. So are light carpet wear in walkways and a few small nail holes. In most states you can't deduct for those. Pet stains, holes, broken fixtures, and left-behind junk are damage. Deduct with photos attached to an itemized statement. Most disputes end before they start.

Running inspections as jobs

Every checklist fails the same way: the filing. The walkthrough happens. The photos land in a camera roll. Eight months later, nobody can match them to the unit. It's the same disease as unprovable contractor work: proof that exists but isn't tied to anything. In RQ200, you run the inspection as a job on the unit. Whoever walks it attaches the photos as they go, then submits it for review. The manager approves it. That leaves a dated, photographed, approved record on the unit's history. The fixes it finds become jobs on the same unit, so the turn starts the same day. When the deposit question comes, the answer is on file. Not in someone's phone.