Free Rental Walkthrough Checklist (Printable Move-In Inspection Form)

One sheet, one walk, done before your sofa arrives. This free rental walkthrough checklist puts 17 room-by-room checks on one printable page, each with a circle-the-letter condition rating (P for poor, G for good, F for fair) and a notes line. Below the form: a 6-row photo log, a utility meter reading box, four tips for running the walk, and a three-line note you can send to the landlord. It pairs with the move-out cleaning checklist - one records the place as you found it, the other gets it back to that state.

How to use this page: print one copy per move-in and walk each room with a pen. Circle P, G, or F for every line and write what you saw next to it - "carpet stain near door" beats a circled F you cannot explain later. Photograph anything you rate P or F, then log the photo on the sheet. Keep your copy with the lease.

Record sheet, not legal advice. This walkthrough checklist is a record-keeping aid. Tenancy rules vary - what your landlord must fix, what counts as wear, and how deposits are handled depend on your location and your lease, so check your local tenancy laws and read your lease. This page records conditions; it does not promise any particular outcome with a deposit.

The walkthrough form

Seventeen checks across five rooms. The point is condition, not cleanliness - you are writing down how the place looked the day you got the keys, while it was still empty. Circle one letter per line; F means "usable, but marked". Notes are where the value is.

Kitchen (5)

Item	P / G / F	Notes
Countertops and cabinets	P G F
Sink, faucet, drains	P G F
Oven and stovetop	P G F
Fridge and freezer	P G F
Floor and walls	P G F

Bathroom (4)

Item	P / G / F	Notes
Tub, shower, tiles	P G F
Toilet	P G F
Sink, vanity, mirror	P G F
Fan, lights, drains	P G F

Bedroom (3)

Item	P / G / F	Notes
Walls, doors, closet	P G F
Windows and locks	P G F
Floor and carpet	P G F

Living area (3)

Item	P / G / F	Notes
Walls and ceiling	P G F
Windows, tracks, sills	P G F
Floor and carpet	P G F

Entry (2)

Item	P / G / F	Notes
Front door, lock, peephole	P G F
Mailbox and intercom	P G F

Utility meter readings

Write the numbers down on move-in day so nobody's estimate becomes your bill. Copy them off the meters themselves, not the last tenant's paperwork.

Utility	Meter number	Reading
Electric
Water
Gas
________________ (other)

Photo log

One wide shot per room plus close-ups of anything you marked F or P. Row 1 is an example; overwrite it.

Note to the landlord

Three lines, neutral tone. Fill the blanks and send it the same day as the walk. Keep it to what you saw and when - leave out blame, requests, and anything about deductions.

1. Hi ________________ - I walked through the apartment today, before moving anything in, and noted the condition of each room.

2. Photos are attached with timestamps on; items marked F were already like that when I collected the keys.

3. Happy to walk through it together if that is easier. Thanks, ________________

Record-keeping aid only - not legal advice. Tenancy rules vary - check your local tenancy laws and your lease.

4 tips for running the walkthrough

Opinions from moves done both ways - with a form and without one. The without-one version is why the with-one version exists.

1. Walk it before the truck arrives

An empty room shows its floors, walls, and windows. Do the full pass the moment you get the keys, before boxes and furniture pile against the baseboards. The one day the apartment is completely bare is move-in day; after that, you are photographing around your own stuff for a year.

2. Shoot a slow video pan in each room

Stand in the doorway, pan left to right, then hit the close-ups of anything you marked F or P. Photos prove details; the pan proves where the details are. Thirty seconds per room, and the phone's timestamp does the record-keeping for you.

3. Email the note, do not just mention it

A spoken "yeah, the blinds were already bent" disappears. The same sentence in an email, dated and sitting in your sent folder, does not. Send the three-line note above with photos attached, and keep the thread until you are settled in - a searchable copy beats a paper copy stuffed in a folder.

4. Test the boring things

Every tap, the flush, the breaker box, both window locks, the stove's four burners. They take ten minutes and they are the items nobody photographs until they fail. Mark anything that sputters, hums, or does nothing on the form - that is exactly what the notes column is for.

What the full Renter Deposit Kit adds

16 pages, A4 and US Letter, undated so it works for any move, any year. Print at 100%. Templates only: not legal advice, and deposit rules differ by location.

one-time · PDF, instant download · print at 100% · templates only, not legal advice

#	Area	Photo #	Timestamp
01	Kitchen window (EXAMPLE)	03	move-in day, 9:14 am
02
03
04
05
06