Move In Checklist for Tenants: Inspection Form and First Apartment List

Every room, and everything in it that works or can break. For a one-bedroom apartment the condition report above lists 74 items in 6 areas: entry and hallways; living room; kitchen; bathroom; bedroom; and heating, cooling, water and safety. In each room check the walls, ceiling and floor, the windows, doors and locks, the outlets and lights, and in the kitchen and bathroom the water pressure, hot water, drains and appliances. Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, and look for signs of pests, leaks and mold. A house adds the yard, the outside of the home and the garage.

Write it down and photograph it on the day you get the keys, before you unpack. Rate each item in the condition report above as good, fair or damaged, and describe every mark, stain, chip or leak in the notes. Take wide photos of each room and close-ups of each problem with something for scale, keep the camera's date on, and take a slow video through the home. Then send a copy of the report to your landlord in writing, keep proof you sent it, and keep your copy and the photos until your deposit comes back after you move out.

Your lease may require one, and in some states the deposit law ties a move-in checklist to the deposit. Among the laws quoted on this page, 11 states have a rule on a move-in checklist, inventory, damage list, condition statement or inspection report: Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, and Burlington, Vermont by city ordinance. In 4 of them the rule names a number of days after move-in: Kansas (5 days, a joint inventory); New Hampshire (5 days, your list of conditions needing repair); Wisconsin (7 days, the check-in sheet); and Minnesota (14 days, the landlord's notice of an initial inspection). For another state this page shows no such rule, which does not mean your state has none. Pick your state above to read its rule, and send your own dated report in writing either way.

The basics for each room, plus a few calls to make before you move. The first apartment checklist above has 38 items in 7 groups: utilities and services; insurance, address and keys; kitchen essentials; bathroom essentials; bedroom essentials; cleaning supplies; and tools and safety. Before move-in day, set up or transfer electricity and gas, book internet, forward your mail and check whether your lease requires renters insurance. Then buy the essentials room by room, starting with what you need for the first night: toilet paper, a shower curtain, sheets, a towel and a few cleaning supplies.

It depends on your state. Of the 51 places in our deposit limit table (the 50 states and DC), 23 set a limit we could read, 13 have no statewide cap in the sections we read, and for 15 we show no figure because we could not read the current official text. The limits that are a number of months run from one month's rent in 10 states to three months' rent in Nevada. Some cities set their own lower limit. Pick your state above, or use the security deposit limit calculator for pets, furnished homes and other cases.