• Room by room

  A row for each area you choose, numbered when there is more than one, plus keys and controls and safety equipment.

• Move-in and move-out

  Two columns for each area, completed by hand during the inspection.

• Repairs and damage

  Tables for repairs to be completed and damage noted at move-out, each with tenant's initials.

• Acceptance

  A block where the tenant says whether they agree the report is fair, with reasons, signed by the tenant and the landlord.

• Deductions

  An authorization block for an amount and the deposit it comes from, marked for review.

• Your own areas and comments

  Add areas the list does not have, and comments in your own words.

• A lawyer reviews it before it is used

  Your answers are prepared into a draft and reviewed by a qualified lawyer, rather than handed back to you as a finished form.

A rental inspection report records the condition of a rental property room by room, so that landlord and tenant have the same record at the start and the end of a tenancy. It has a column for the condition at move-in and one for move-out, a place to list repairs, a place to note damage found at move-out, and a signed acceptance.

This builder asks for the property's address, which interior and exterior areas will be inspected and how many of each (bedrooms, bathrooms, garages and so on), any other area you want to add, whether the inspection is for move-in or move-out and when, the inspector (landlord, property manager or sublessor) and the tenant or tenants. The condition columns are left blank for you to complete during the walk-through, and you can add comments.

The form does not say what the law requires of an inspection, whether a deposit may be deducted from, or that safety equipment was tested. Those depend on your state, and a lawyer can tell you.

Not sure? Talk to an attorney about your situation first.

These are separate documents, for different jobs.

• Residential lease agreementsSet the terms for renting a home.View document
• Security-deposit agreementsSet how a security deposit is held and returned.View document
• Notice-to-enter documentsGive a tenant notice before entering the property.View document
• Rent receiptRecord a rent payment: what was paid, when, for which period, by whom.View document

• Recording the condition of a house before a tenancy
• Walking a flat with the tenant on the day they leave
• Noting damage found at move-out

• Residential lease agreementsSet the terms for renting a home.View document
• Commercial lease agreementsSet the terms for renting business premises.View document
• Roommate agreementsAgree how housemates share rent, bills and space.View document
• Short-term rental agreementSet the terms for letting a property to a guest for a short stay.View document