A signed baseline before the first night: room-by-room ticks, meter readings, key counts and photos — the record that keeps deposit disputes honest.
Quick answer
Complete and sign it before the tenant's first night: room-by-room condition, meter readings, key counts and photos set the baseline every later inspection is judged against. Its weight comes from being dated and jointly signed — an unsigned or photo-less checklist is weak evidence in a deposit dispute.
Disclaimer: a joint record of condition at handover; statutory inventory or deposit-scheme documentation may still be required where you operate.
Room order and ratings follow standard check-in report practice.
A tenancy's most important document is written before its first night: the honest baseline of what the property looked like. This checklist walks rooms in order, ticking condition, counting fixtures and keys, photographing anything notable, and recording meter readings — with both parties signing the same dated record. Move-outs compare against it automatically; nobody argues about a scratch that was already there.
Sample form preview (fillable once the app is published).
Everything you need to run this template.
Clean, undamaged, working — per area.
What leaves in how many copies.
Electric, gas, water readings.
Every notable mark on record.
From copy to deliverable in four steps.
Open it at handover, both present.
Kitchen to bathroom, tick as seen.
Numbers into the record.
PDF to tenant and file.
Pick your role — see how it fits your workflow.
The scratch you did not make stays unclaimed.
Deposit maths from evidence.
One professional handover script.
What makes this template work as a professional deliverable.
A preview of real questions — the full version lets you customize every field.
