A good pre move in inspection checklist does more than help new roommates spot chipped paint and mystery carpet stains. It gives everyone a shared record of what the apartment looked like before anyone rolled in a couch, hung a shelf, or claimed the good kitchen cabinet. When three people inherit one scuffed living room, the question later is not usually whether the scratch exists. The question is who caused it, who noticed it, and whether anyone can prove it was there on day one.
That matters because roommate homes carry two kinds of risk at once. There is the landlord side, where security deposits, repair requests, and lease obligations live. Then there is the roommate side, where people bring different furniture, different budgets, different cleaning standards, and different tolerance for the phrase "we should probably write that down." The inspection is where those worlds meet.
Shared living is common enough that it deserves a real system. Pew Research Center reported that nearly 79 million U.S. adults lived in shared households in 2017, and young adults were especially likely to live in someone else's household. The U.S. Census Bureau has also reported rising renter housing costs, with median renter housing costs increasing from 2022 to 2023. When rent and deposits already take a serious bite, documenting move-in condition is not fussy. It is basic household protection.
Why roommates need a written move-in inspection
Roommates often treat move-in day like a logistics sprint: keys, elevator reservations, boxes, utilities, Wi-Fi, and one heroic pizza at 10 p.m. The problem is that the apartment's condition is easiest to prove before the boxes arrive. Once beds are assembled and area rugs are down, old damage blends into new life.
Your deposit depends on evidence, not memory
A landlord or property manager may provide a condition form, but that form only helps if it is complete. A vague note like "walls marked" is not as useful as "two nail holes and gray scuff on east bedroom wall, 18 inches above outlet, photo 014." Roommates should treat the inspection as the opening record for the lease. Every bedroom gets documented, but common areas matter most because no single person controls them.
Security deposit rules vary by state and city, so this is not legal advice. The principle is consistent: the better your dated evidence, the easier it is to separate existing damage from damage charged later. Cornell's Tenant Advocacy Program notes that tenants should document rental condition before moving in and moving out, using checklists, pictures, and videos of defects. That is especially important when several tenants share responsibility under one lease.
Roommates create more gray areas than solo renters
Solo renters only have to answer one awkward question: did I cause this? Roommates have to answer three: was it already here, did one of us cause it, or did a guest cause it? That is why the move-in inspection should belong to the household, not to the most organized roommate by default.
One roommate can take the photos, another can read the checklist, and another can mark repair requests. If someone cannot attend, share the finished record and ask them to confirm it in writing. That may sound formal, but it is calmer than reconstructing six months of kitchen cabinet history during move-out week.
The point of a roommate inspection is not suspicion. It is giving the household one version of the truth before ordinary life starts covering the evidence.
The inspection also protects roommate relationships
Condition records are not only for landlords. They help roommates decide what is worth reporting, what everyone can live with, and what should become a house rule. A loose towel bar is a repair request. A cracked freezer drawer is a landlord note. A stained living room rug might become a shared decision: replace it, cover it, or record that it came with the unit.
If your household is also sorting furniture, cookware, tools, and shared purchases, use the inspection to start a simple shared property record. Vorby's guide to apps for tracking shared apartment items is useful once the apartment starts filling with things that are half yours, half theirs, or somehow everyone's.
Before you inspect: set up the record
The best inspection is boring because everything is ready before the door opens. Do not rely on one person's camera roll and a half-filled paper form in a tote bag. Build the record like something you may need to search later.
Bring the right tools
- Phone with storage and battery: Take more photos than you think you need, and shoot short videos for rooms with multiple issues.
- Flashlight: Use it inside cabinets, under sinks, behind appliances, and along baseboards.
- Outlet tester: A basic plug-in tester can reveal dead or miswired outlets, but do not touch anything electrical beyond normal consumer testing.
- Tape measure: Measure large dents, stains, missing blinds, and spaces where furniture will go.
- Painter's tape or sticky notes: Mark issues temporarily while the person recording catches up.
- Lease and move-in form: Keep the landlord's official form nearby, then attach your detailed notes and photo list.
- Shared folder or inventory app: Store photos, videos, receipts, serial numbers, and the signed checklist where every roommate can find them.
Agree on file names and ownership
Photos are only useful if you can find them later. Use a simple naming pattern: room, surface, issue, date. For example, "kitchen-sink-cabinet-water-stain-2026-08-22" beats "IMG_3847" by a mile. If you are using a shared drive, make one folder for the apartment condition and another for belongings.
If you use Vorby or another inventory system for belongings, keep the apartment condition record separate from personal property records. The apartment record documents what belongs to the landlord. The household inventory documents what belongs to the roommates. Mixing them together creates confusion later, especially when someone moves out before the lease ends.
Inspect before furniture blocks the view
Do the main walkthrough before beds, sofas, boxes, and rugs come inside. If that is impossible, leave common walls, closets, under-sink areas, windows, and appliance fronts visible until the inspection is done. It takes minutes for move-in chaos to hide the exact scratch you will later wish you photographed.
Give yourselves one focused hour for a small apartment and two for a larger place. Assign roles: one person photographs, one reads the checklist, one writes notes and repair requests. Rotate if needed, but do not let everyone wander off inspecting different rooms with different standards.
The room-by-room pre move-in inspection checklist
This checklist is designed for roommates, so it covers both private rooms and the shared spaces where disputes usually start. Move clockwise through each room. Photograph the whole room first, then each issue close up, then one context photo that shows where the issue sits.
Entry, locks, doors, and safety
- Front door: Test the lock, deadbolt, peephole, chain, door sweep, frame, hinges, and weather stripping.
- Keys and fobs: Count every key, mailbox key, garage opener, parking pass, and building fob. Record who has each one.
- Windows: Open, close, lock, and photograph cracked glass, damaged screens, missing latches, and signs of forced entry.
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: Confirm alarms are present where required, test buttons if permitted, and note missing or chirping units.
- Lighting: Test entry lights, hallway lights, exterior lights, switches, and motion lights.
Safety issues should move to the top of the repair list. A scratched wall is documentation. A broken exterior lock is an urgent request.
Kitchen and appliances
- Refrigerator and freezer: Check temperature, shelves, drawers, seals, lights, ice maker, water line, and existing odors.
- Stove and oven: Test burners, oven light, knobs, racks, broiler, range hood, fan, and filter.
- Dishwasher: Look for standing water, broken racks, loose seals, musty smell, and leaks after a short cycle if you can run one.
- Sink and disposal: Run hot and cold water, check pressure, inspect under the sink, test the stopper, and note rust or swelling.
- Cabinets and counters: Photograph chips, peeling laminate, water stains, loose hinges, missing handles, and sticky drawers.
- Flooring: Record cracked tile, lifting vinyl, stains, soft spots, and gaps near appliances.
The kitchen becomes shared territory immediately. It also holds the highest number of expensive surfaces and appliances in most apartments. If the freezer drawer is cracked before anyone buys groceries, say so now.
Bathrooms, laundry, bedrooms, and living areas
- Bathrooms: Check toilets, flush strength, shower pressure, drains, caulk, grout, vanity, mirror, fan, towel bars, and signs of mildew.
- Laundry: Inspect washer hoses, dryer vent, lint trap, machine doors, detergent residue, floor stains, and water shutoffs.
- Bedrooms: Photograph walls, ceiling, closet rods, shelves, doors, blinds, windows, outlets, carpet stains, and baseboards.
- Living room: Record wall damage, flooring, built-ins, balcony doors, screens, blinds, fireplace condition, and cable or internet ports.
- Storage areas: Check closets, garage spaces, basement cages, bike rooms, and assigned storage lockers for damage, moisture, pests, and existing items.
For bedrooms, have each roommate inspect their own room plus one other person present. That avoids a later argument about whether the bedroom occupant simply missed something. For shared rooms, everyone should sign off because everyone will use the space.
Roommate-specific items most checklists miss
Generic apartment checklists are written as if one tenant controls the whole unit. Roommates need a second layer: what belongs to whom, who is allowed to use what, and which existing conditions could become shared blame later.
Document common-area furniture and landlord-provided items
If the apartment is furnished, photograph every provided item before anyone sits down. Capture the sofa, dining table, chairs, beds, mattresses, desks, lamps, rugs, curtains, TV mounts, remotes, and small appliances. Note stains, tears, missing screws, wobble, smoke smell, pet odor, or broken parts.
Do the same for landlord-provided supplies: trash bins, recycling bins, window AC units, shower curtains, microwave plates, fire extinguishers, and parking equipment. If something is present at move-in, record it. If something listed in the lease is missing, report it before the household quietly replaces it and forgets.
Separate personal, shared, and landlord property
Roommate apartments accumulate objects with uncertain ownership: a coffee table from one person's parents, a vacuum everyone paid for, a shelf the last tenant abandoned, a router on a shared bill, and five pans no one can identify. The inspection is a great time to sort these into three buckets.
- Landlord property: Anything included with the unit or lease, such as appliances, fixtures, keys, blinds, and furnished items.
- Personal property: Items owned by one roommate, even if others can use them with permission.
- Shared property: Items roommates buy together or explicitly agree to share, such as a vacuum, couch, dining set, or kitchen equipment.
For personal belongings and proof of ownership, see Vorby's digital home inventory guide for renters. For insurance context, the Insurance Information Institute explains that renters insurance protects personal possessions and recommends a home inventory to make claims faster and easier.
Decide what counts as shared damage
Some damage clearly belongs to one room. Other damage belongs to the household because it happens in shared space. Agree now how you will handle common-area deductions if the landlord charges for something later and no one knows who caused it.
A practical rule is simple: document existing common-area damage at move-in, report new damage when it happens, and split unresolved common-area deductions according to the roommate agreement. The exact split is up to the household, but the process should be written before money is on the line.
How to capture photos, videos, and notes that hold up later
A camera roll full of random close-ups is better than nothing, but a clear evidence package is far stronger. Think like someone who was not there and needs to understand the condition in five minutes.
Use the wide, medium, close pattern
For every issue, take three shots. First, a wide photo of the whole room. Second, a medium photo showing the wall, appliance, cabinet, or floor area. Third, a close-up of the actual damage. If size matters, include a coin, tape measure, or sticky note near the damage without covering it.
Video is best for movement and function: a door that sticks, a drawer that falls off its track, a faucet that leaks, a burner that will not ignite, a window that will not lock. Narrate the date, room, and issue in a calm voice. Keep clips short so they are easy to upload and review.
Keep receipts and inventory separate from condition proof
Move-in inspection photos prove apartment condition. Receipts prove purchase and ownership. Both matter, but they answer different questions. If a roommate buys a shared couch after move-in, keep that receipt in the household inventory, not the landlord condition folder. If a landlord-provided couch has a torn seam at move-in, keep that photo in the condition folder.
The distinction becomes important after theft, fire, water damage, or a renters insurance claim. The Insurance Information Institute says renters should know the value of their possessions and create a detailed home inventory. Vorby's guide to a renters insurance claim inventory explains why the claim often needs more than a photo of the room.
Make the record shareable and hard to lose
Once the inspection is finished, put the final checklist, photo folder, video folder, repair email, and lease form in one shared location. Give every roommate access. If one person controls the only copy, the household record can disappear when that person moves out, loses a phone, or gets annoyed and cleans up the drive.
Export a PDF of the checklist and send it to the landlord or property manager by email. The email matters because it creates a timestamp outside your own files. If the property manager uses a portal, submit there too, then keep a screenshot or confirmation email.
Repairs, signatures, and the first week in the apartment
The inspection is not done when the last photo is taken. The next step is turning the record into repair requests, roommate agreements, and a short follow-up window for issues that only appear after showers, laundry, cooking, and normal use.
Prioritize repair requests
Sort issues into three levels. Urgent repairs affect safety, security, habitability, or water. Important repairs affect normal use, such as a broken dishwasher, nonworking outlet, cracked toilet seat, or missing bedroom blind. Documentation-only items are cosmetic or preexisting conditions you want recorded, such as paint scuffs, small dents, worn carpet, or stained grout.
Send urgent and important repairs promptly. For documentation-only items, make it clear that you are not necessarily asking for repair, you are recording move-in condition. That reduces back-and-forth and gives the property manager a cleaner paper trail.
If the property manager replies in pieces, keep those replies in the same folder. A promise to repaint one wall, replace a blind, or send maintenance for a leak should not live only in one roommate's inbox. Save the message, note the date, and add the repair status to the checklist. The record should show not just what you found, but what was reported and what the landlord agreed to handle.
Get roommate signoff before sending
Before sending the final packet, each roommate should review the shared areas and their own bedroom. This is the moment to add missed details, not three months later. If someone disagrees with a note, resolve it now. If the disagreement is about whether a mark is worth documenting, document it. Over-documenting a real condition is less risky than leaving a gap.
Use plain language in the email: "Attached is our move-in condition checklist for Unit 4B, including photos and repair requests found before move-in." List the most important repairs in the body of the message, then attach the checklist or link to the shared folder.
Do a seven-day follow-up
Some problems only show up after the apartment is used. The shower drain may back up on the third morning. The fridge may not hold temperature after a full grocery run. The dryer may run but never dry. The neighbor's leak may reveal itself after rain.
Schedule a short follow-up inspection seven days after move-in. Add newly discovered issues to the same record and send one follow-up email. This keeps the move-in file clean and gives roommates a shared rhythm for reporting problems instead of complaining into the group chat forever.
Keep the same record for move-out. Vorby's guide on how to inventory for moving out of a rental shows how the move-in file becomes your comparison point when the lease ends.
Frequently asked questions
Should all roommates attend the move-in inspection?
Yes, if possible. At minimum, every roommate should review the finished checklist, photos, and repair list before it is sent to the landlord or property manager.
What should roommates photograph before moving in?
Photograph every room, then close-ups of damage, stains, missing parts, appliance issues, locks, windows, floors, ceilings, plumbing areas, and landlord-provided furniture. Use wide, medium, and close photos so each issue has context.
Do we need a landlord's official inspection form?
Use the landlord's form if one is provided, but do not stop there. Add your own notes, photos, videos, and repair email so the record is specific enough to be useful later.
How soon should roommates send the checklist?
Send it before or immediately after move-in, ideally before furniture hides existing damage. If lease rules set a deadline, follow that deadline and keep proof that you submitted it.
Can a move-in checklist prevent roommate deposit disputes?
It can prevent many of them because everyone starts with the same condition record. Pair it with a written roommate agreement for shared damage, shared purchases, cleaning duties, and move-out expectations.
A shared apartment runs better when its condition and belongings are visible from the start. Vorby gives roommates one calm place to keep the record of what came with the home and what they brought into it. Start the apartment with proof, not guesswork.
