Resource Guide · For Landlords & Hosts
Every turnover is a dispute waiting to happen, and both kinds, the deposit fight and the insurance claim, are decided by the same thing: dated, signed documentation of what was there and what condition it was in. Here is the record that ends arguments.
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The direct answer: a tenant move-in checklist documents every room’s condition and every landlord-owned appliance, with photos, serial numbers, and both parties’ signatures, then gets repeated at move-out on the same sheet. It is the evidence that makes deposit deductions stick and insurance claims pay.
Room-by-room condition record with move-in AND move-out columns, appliance serial capture, the wear-and-tear line, and the storage steps that make it hold up.
One walkthrough, together, before the keys change hands. Document these and the record does the arguing for you later.
Every room’s surfaces: walls, ceilings, flooring, windows, doors, with a condition code per line
Every landlord-owned appliance with brand, model, and the SERIAL PLATE photographed
Fixtures, detectors, locks, and the count of keys and remotes issued
Dated, wide photos of each room plus close-ups of any existing damage
Both parties’ initials on every page, one copy each
The same sheet repeated at move-out, so differences are undeniable in either direction
Wear and tear
Faded paint, carpet worn along walkways, small nail holes, loose hinges after years of use. Generally NOT deductible from a deposit, and never an insurance claim; it is the cost of running a rental.
Charging for it is how landlords lose disputes and reviews. Documenting it at move-in is how you avoid paying for the previous tenant’s living twice.
Damage
Broken doors, burns, pet stains, holes in walls, the missing refrigerator. Deductible from the deposit, and when it is theft, vandalism, or a covered peril, an insurance claim on top.
Both paths pay on the same evidence: the signed move-in record and dated photos that prove the before. Without them, everything defaults to argument.
The short version: the building, your liability, often your lost rent after a covered loss, and the contents YOU own in the unit. Paid, as always, on proof.
The fridge, range, washer, dryer, window coverings, and any furnishings you provide are landlord-owned contents. Covered perils pay to replace them, at documented value, for documented items.
A home warranty covers mechanical breakdown: the fridge that dies. Theft, vandalism, fire, and water losses are INSURANCE claims: the fridge that vanishes between tenants. Different contract, different proof, same record.
Your policy never covers the tenant’s belongings; that is their renters policy. Requiring renters insurance in the lease protects both of you, and our renters guide explains their side of it.
Coverage structure per the Insurance Information Institute; exact perils and contents limits vary by policy form, so confirm yours with your agent.
Furnished units, guest damage, and the proof platform claims demand.
Read the guide → 11Your landlord covers the building. Your belongings are on you.
Read the guide → 09The full step-by-step method, plus our free room-by-room checklist.
Read the guide →Every room’s condition, surface by surface: walls, flooring, windows, doors, and fixtures, plus every appliance with its brand and serial number, keys issued, and detector status. Each line gets a condition code, dated photos, and both parties’ initials. The same sheet gets a move-out column so differences are undeniable in either direction.
Several states require a written condition report at move-in or make deposit deductions harder to enforce without one, and the details vary widely. Treat the checklist as mandatory regardless: it is the evidence deposit deductions stand on, and it costs one walkthrough. For your state’s specific deposit rules and deadlines, check your state’s landlord-tenant statutes.
Wear and tear is what normal living does: faded paint, carpet worn in walkways, small nail holes. It is generally not deductible. Damage is what incidents do: broken doors, burns, pet stains, missing appliances, and it is deductible, sometimes claimable, when you can prove the before and after. The signed move-in record plus dated photos is that proof.
Often yes for sudden damage to the building and to landlord-owned contents, subject to your policy’s perils and deductible, and insurers pay on documented proof. Intentional tenant damage and theft claims especially turn on evidence of what existed and its condition. Normal wear and tear is never covered; that is maintenance, not a loss.
Generally yes: appliances and other landlord-owned contents used to service the unit, the fridge, range, washer, dryer, and window coverings, fall under a landlord policy’s contents coverage when a covered peril takes them. A home warranty is different: it covers mechanical breakdown, not theft, fire, or water losses. Serial numbers and photos make either claim clean.
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