Why one sheet with two columns
Most condition forms are filled in twice on two separate pieces of paper, and then somebody has to compare them at the point where there is already a disagreement.
One row per item, with a move-in column and a move-out column, does the comparison for you. The question a deposit dispute actually turns on is not what condition is this in — it is what changed during the tenancy, and that is what a two-column sheet shows at a glance.
Keep the same sheet for the whole tenancy. It is the only document in a rental that both parties will want at the end.
Describe, do not grade
The single most common way a condition report fails is that both parties wrote “fair” and later remembered different things by it.
Weak Walls: fair
Carpet: good
Oven: OK
Strong Walls: 2in scuff left of window, small nail holes x4 above the desk
Carpet: worn along the doorway, 3in stain near the radiator
Oven: clean, right rear burner slow to light
The second version takes about ninety seconds longer per room and is worth several hundred dollars at the end of a tenancy. It also works in both directions: a landlord with that level of detail can demonstrate damage, and a tenant with it can demonstrate that a mark predates them.
Record what is missing or broken, not only what is damaged. A missing window screen, a dead bulb, a blind that will not close and a mislaid remote all appear as deductions later.
Photographs settle it, the form organises it
The form’s job is to make sure you walk the property in a systematic order and to give both parties something to sign. The photographs are what decides a dispute.
- A wide shot of every room, from two corners
- A close-up of everything you wrote down
- The meters
- The keys you were given, laid out
Take them all the same day, and email a copy to the other party that day. An email is a timestamp neither side controls, which is exactly what a memory is not.
If the landlord will not do one
Do it anyway.
Fill in the sheet, photograph everything, and email a copy on the day you move in with a short line: this is my record of the property’s condition at move-in. You do not need agreement for this to be useful. In a dispute, the party who documented at the time is in a substantially stronger position than the party recalling it afterwards, and an unanswered email from day one is hard to argue with.
Wear and tear
The distinction that most disputes are actually about:
| Usually wear | Usually damage |
|---|---|
| Carpet worn along a hallway | A burn, a tear, a pet stain |
| Paint faded, small scuffs | Crayon, holes, an unagreed colour |
| Small nail holes (in many states) | Anchors, large holes, mounted shelving left behind |
| Grout discoloured with age | Cracked tiles, mould through the silicone |
| Worn hinges and seals | A broken door, a missing fitting |
It varies by state and by how reasonable the parties are. What does not vary is that the argument goes better for whoever has a dated photograph.
At the end of the tenancy
- Do the move-out inspection after everything is out and cleaned.
- Attend if you can. Many states give tenants that right, and being present changes what gets written down.
- Take the same photographs again, from the same corners.
- Give a forwarding address in writing — most deposit deadlines run from a written address.
- Keep any receipt your lease required, particularly carpet cleaning.
Do the systems section even if you skip a room. Meter readings, the water shutoff, the water heater’s age and whether the heating actually works are the four things a tenant most needs on day one and most often has to discover during a crisis.