Inventory checklist for check-in and check-out

What is a property inventory?

A property inventory is a written and photographed record of what is in a rental home and what condition and state of cleanliness everything is in when the tenancy starts. At the end of the tenancy a check-out report compares the home against it, item by item.

The two documents together are what decide most deposit questions. If a scratch, stain or missing item is not in the check-in report, it is hard to show it appeared during the tenancy. If it is described vaguely (“good condition”), it is hard to show anything at all. The rest of this page is about making both reports specific enough to settle a disagreement without argument.

What to record for each room and item

For every item record what it is, its condition, how clean it is, and a photo that proves both.

• Description: type, colour, material and size where it matters. “Three-seater sofa, grey fabric” beats “sofa”.
• Condition: a defined word from your scale, then the specifics: what, where and how big. “Two chips to front edge of worktop, 200mm from left end, each about 5mm.”
• Cleanliness: recorded separately from condition, because a clean item can be damaged and an undamaged one can be dirty.
• Photo reference: the number of the photo that shows it, next to the line it supports.

Define your scales at the front of the report and use them consistently. There is no official scale; the table below is one workable example.

Meter readings, keys and alarms

Photograph every meter with its serial number and reading in the same frame, list every key and fob and try each one, and test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm on day one.

The alarm check is a legal duty as well as good practice. In England, landlords must make sure each required alarm is in proper working order on the day a new tenancy begins. The GOV.UK guidance on the alarm regulations says it is the landlord’s responsibility to keep a record of when alarms are tested, and suggests having the tenant sign the inventory to confirm the alarms were tested and working. That makes the inventory the natural place to record it.

Getting the check-in report agreed

A check-in report is only strong evidence if the tenant has seen it and had a fair chance to disagree.

1. Give the tenant a copy on or before move-in day, in a format they can open and keep.
2. Set a short, reasonable period for comments and say how to send them.
3. Attach the tenant’s comments and photos to the report rather than editing the original.
4. Record signatures or written acceptance, with dates.

How to compare at check-out

Walk the property in the same order as the check-in report, compare each line, and classify every difference before you think about money.

For each item, decide whether it is unchanged, shows fair wear and tear, is damaged, needs cleaning, or is missing. Photograph each change from the same position and distance as the check-in photo, so the two can sit side by side. Note how long the tenancy lasted and how many people lived there, because both affect what counts as reasonable wear. Judge cleaning against the standard recorded at check-in, not against an ideal. Take closing meter readings, count the keys back in and test the alarms again.

Fair wear and tear: how deposit schemes look at it

Fair wear and tear is the deterioration that comes from reasonable use over time, and it cannot be charged to the tenant.

The Deposit Protection Service’s guidance on fair disputes describes it as “deterioration in condition of the property due to reasonable use”, and says its adjudicators consider the length of the tenancy, the number and age of occupiers, and the original quality and condition of each item. It also sets out two principles that shape most outcomes:

• No betterment. A landlord cannot claim to end up with a property better than it was at the start, such as new for old, or a higher standard of cleaning or decoration than at check-in.
• Residual lifespan. Adjudicators take account of an item’s age and remaining life, so a tenant is not left with the full cost of replacing old furniture that was already near the end of its life.

The same guidance gives a useful example: after a tenancy of five years or more, an adjudicator is unlikely to award redecoration costs, because the landlord would probably have needed to redecorate anyway. Damage caused by negligence, such as an iron burn or spilt nail varnish on a carpet, is a different matter. A good check-out report records these distinctions in words and photos, so the conversation is about evidence rather than opinion.

Deposit protection: where the inventory fits

In England, a tenant’s money deposit must be protected in a tenancy deposit protection scheme approved by the government within 30 days of the landlord receiving it, and returned within 10 days of both sides agreeing how much.

GOV.UK’s tenancy deposit protection guide names the three approved schemes for England and Wales (the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme) and notes that assured periodic tenancies replaced assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026. Wales uses the same schemes under its own tenancy law, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate schemes. Within 30 days of receiving the deposit, the landlord must also give the tenant set information, including why they might keep some or all of it and what happens in a dispute.

If landlord and tenant cannot agree, the deposit stays protected until the dispute is settled. Each scheme offers a free dispute resolution service; both parties must agree to use it, both are asked for evidence, and the decision is final. That is where the inventory, the check-out report and the photos do their work. GOV.UK’s Renters’ Rights Act overview for landlords also explains that where a tenant paid a deposit, a court will only make a possession order if the deposit was protected and the right information given, the deposit has been returned, or a court challenge about it has been decided, settled or withdrawn. That is another reason to keep the paperwork straight from day one.

Common inventory mistakes

• Blanket phrases like “good condition throughout” with no specifics or photos.
• No photos inside the oven, fridge, washing machine or cupboards.
• Meter readings without serial numbers, or readings with no photo.
• Condition and cleanliness recorded as one thing.
• No record that the tenant received the report or had a chance to comment.
• A check-out written from scratch instead of against the check-in, so rooms and items do not line up.
• Claims for costs with no quote or invoice, or with no allowance for the age of the item.

Doing inventories in PropertySurvey Pro

PropertySurvey Pro handles inventories and check-outs on iPhone, iPad and Android, works without signal, and creates the PDF on the device. Photo captions are numbered in the report, so each line can point at its evidence, and with Pro you can mark up photos with circles, arrows and labels.

At the end of a tenancy, start the check-out as a follow-up visit from the finished check-in, so you work through the same rooms. Voice dictation and “Talk through a room” speed up the long descriptive parts, and AI Polish can turn shorthand into draft wording that you check and edit; it never decides what is wear and tear or what should be charged. The free app runs real inventories and exports PDF reports with the app’s watermark, with 3 free uses a month of each AI tool and up to 25 surveys on the device. Pro adds cloud sync, your own branding and the full AI allowance; see pricing.