PaperChore guide · Renting

Move-out photo checklist

The deposit argument usually comes down to one question: what did the place look like when you got it, and what did it look like when you left? Photos answer it best when they have reliable dates and show the same spots both times. Here's how to take them. It takes about 20 minutes per visit.

Download the printable checklist (PDF)

Before you start

• ☐ Use your phone's camera app. Don't send photos to yourself through a chat app or take screenshots: that often strips the date stored inside the photo.
• ☐ Make sure the phone's date and time are set automatically.
• ☐ Turn on every light and open the blinds. Clean the lens.
• ☐ Move-out: shoot after you've finished cleaning and moved everything out, ideally right before you hand back the keys.

The routine for every room

• ☐ Wide shot from the doorway, so the room is recognizable.
• ☐ Each wall, standing in the middle of the room and turning.
• ☐ The floor: carpet, wood or tile, including corners and in front of doorways.
• ☐ Close-ups of anything already worn, stained, chipped or broken. Put something in the frame for scale (a coin, a pen).
• ☐ Remember where you stood. At move-out, stand in the same spots so the photos can be compared side by side.

Room by room

• ☐ Kitchen: inside the oven, stovetop, inside the fridge and freezer, under the sink, countertops, cabinet doors and the inside of drawers.
• ☐ Bathroom: tub or shower (grout and caulk), toilet, sink and vanity, mirror, exhaust fan, floor around the toilet.
• ☐ Bedrooms and living areas: carpet, walls near the bed and couch, closet doors and shelves, window sills and screens.
• ☐ Everywhere: blinds, light fixtures, outlets and switch plates, doors and handles, baseboards, smoke detectors.
• ☐ Outside and storage: balcony or patio, parking spot, storage unit, mailbox.
• ☐ Utilities: meter readings, the thermostat, and every key, fob and remote you're returning, laid out together.

Optional: a walk-through video

A slow, continuous video through every room, narrating the date, is a good backup. Keep it under a few minutes and don't cut it.

After you leave

• ☐ Back up the originals (cloud photo library, or copy them to a computer) the same day.
• ☐ Give your landlord a forwarding address in writing (a text or email counts as a record) and keep a copy.
• ☐ Keep every message with your landlord, the lease and any move-in checklist you signed.
• ☐ Put a reminder in your calendar for the deadline in your state. In California, it's 21 days after you move out for the landlord to return the deposit or send an itemized statement.

This is general information, not legal advice. See the rules and sources for the full summary and citations.

We organize your files. We're not a law firm, and this isn't legal advice. This checklist is general information, not legal advice.