Free template
Move-in and move-out condition report format
A room-by-room move-in and move-out checklist for a rented home, with meter readings, keys and the deposit settlement worked out. Free Excel, no signup.
Free, no signup. Print it for whoever hands over the keys, or fill it in on a laptop as you walk round. Delete the rooms your home doesn't have.
What to record, room by room
Each line gets one of three words, at move-in and again at move-out: Good, Fair wear or Damaged.
Living and dining
- Walls and paint: marks, damp patches, cracks
- Floor: cracked or hollow tiles, stains
- Main door, locks and windows, with glass, mesh and grills
- Fans, lights and switches (count them)
- Curtain rods and wall fittings
- Furniture provided: list each piece
Kitchen
- Countertop and sink: chips, stains, any leak below
- Cabinet shutters, hinges and drawers
- Taps and water purifier
- Chimney, hob and exhaust fan
- Wall tiles and grout
- Gas connection: cylinders and the connection book
Each bedroom
- Walls and paint
- Floor
- Wardrobe shutters, locks and keys
- Fans, lights, switches and AC, with its remote
- Windows, mesh and curtains
- Bed and mattress, if provided
Each bathroom
- Wall and floor tiles, grout, any cracks
- WC, flush and health faucet
- Taps, shower and geyser
- Washbasin, mirror and accessories
- Drain runs freely; no damp on the wall outside
Balcony and utility
- Floor and drain
- Grill and clothesline
- Washing machine point and tap
Fittings and appliances
- Inverter and battery
- Water pump and overhead tank
- Appliances provided (fridge, washing machine, TV): make, and working
- Doorbell, intercom or CCTV
Outside, for an independent house
- Compound wall and gate
- Well, motor and pump house
- Car porch and sit-out
- Terrace: waterproofing, no standing water, drain outlets clear
- Roof tiles or sheets: none cracked or missing
- Garden and trees near the house
Readings, at both ends
- Electricity meter
- Water meter
- Gas meter
- Keys, cards and remotes
Settling the deposit with it
- On the day the tenant moves in, walk every room together and mark each line Good, Fair wear or Damaged. Photograph anything that isn't Good, and write the photo's number in the note.
- Take the meter readings and count the keys, cards and remotes. Both of you sign the move-in column and keep a copy. If you're abroad, whoever hands over the keys signs for you and sends you the photos that day.
- At move-out, walk the same list in the move-out column. The sheet marks a line Worse only where the condition dropped since move-in.
- Deduct only for lines marked Worse, and only beyond fair wear: paint faded after three years is wear, a hole in the wall is damage. Write each deduction against its line number and the sheet works out the refund.
- Send the tenant the filled sheet with the refund, within the days your agreement allows.
Photos with no list, or a list with no photos
Two hundred unlabelled photos prove nothing at move-out: the tenant says the stain was already there, and nothing shows it wasn't. A list with no photos is only your word. What settles a deposit is both: every line marked, every photo numbered against a line, and the tenant's signature from the day they moved in.
In Houscade you, or whoever has the keys, do this on a phone: photos room by room, sent to the tenant to confirm on their own link. At move-out it lists the rooms that came back worse and works out the deposit refund from them. See how it works for owners abroad.