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Renting

What to write down when you move out of a rental

A move-out record is the same rooms photographed from the same positions as on the day the tenancy started, plus the final meter readings, what was returned, and what was itemised against the deposit — so the two sets of photographs can be put side by side.

This page won't say whether a deduction was allowed, or what should come back. Deposit rules, itemisation and timing all vary by state.

What it does say is what the record needs to contain, because a deduction is argued the same way everywhere: against the condition at the start, the condition at the end, and how long the tenancy ran.

Both directions

A landlord or agent keeps the same record, taken the same way, and it is just as much use from that side. An itemised deduction supported by dated photographs is a different conversation from one supported by a recollection.

Write it down

The things to note, in your own words, while they are still exact.

  1. 01

    The date you handed the keys back

    Separately from the lease end date. They are often not the same day, and the difference is what several other questions turn on.

  2. 02

    The final meter readings

    Written down at the moment you leave, so the closing bill has a number to sit against.

  3. 03

    How long the tenancy ran

    Wear accumulates with time. The length of the tenancy is part of the description of the condition, not a separate fact.

  4. 04

    Everything you reported during the tenancy, with dates

    Pulled together in one list at the end. A repair raised in month three explains a condition at month thirty.

  5. 05

    What was charged, and for what, itemised

    Line by line as it was given to you. An itemised list can be compared to photographs; a single total can't be.

  6. 06

    What you returned, and to whom

    Keys, fobs, remotes, parking passes. Note who took them and when.

Save it while it exists

The things to capture before they are moved, cleaned, edited or deleted.

  1. 07

    Every room from the same spot as your move-in shot

    Same doorway, same angle, same framing. Two photographs taken from the same position are comparable; two taken from different positions are two opinions.

  2. 08

    Before and after the clean

    Both states of each room. The work done at the end is invisible in a photograph of the finished result.

  3. 09

    Any repair you made, in two shots

    How it was, and how it ended up. One shot of a repaired wall says nothing about what was repaired.

  4. 10

    The deposit statement or itemisation, as it arrived

    Photograph or save the document itself rather than retyping it. What it says, and when it arrived, both matter.

  5. 11

    Every message about the deposit, in full

    The whole thread, not the one line that matters. Context is what makes a screenshot readable to somebody who wasn't there.

Related

Words that turn up here, explained

Prefer to do it on your phone? The same list, as an app.

Open Rental Move-Out→

It saves to that device only, with no account and nothing sent anywhere. A new phone, a cleared browser or a lost handset loses everything in it. Export what matters and keep a copy somewhere else.

Reviewed September 12, 2026 · no statute cited · education on documenting, not legal advice