California Move-In Move-Out Inspection Form

What this inspection kit is for

A California security deposit dispute is usually decided by one question: what did the unit look like when the tenant moved in? Since AB 2801, landlords have to answer it with photographs. Civil Code section 1950.5(g) now requires photos of the unit at the start of every tenancy beginning on or after July 1, 2025. It also requires photos after the tenant returns possession but before any repair or cleaning that will be deducted, and again after that work is done. Those photographs must go to the tenant with the 21-day itemized statement. The same law restricted professional carpet and cleaning charges, and AB 414 added, from January 1, 2026, a duty to return deposits electronically when the tenant paid electronically.

This kit organises all of it in one file. The room-by-room checklist records condition at move-in and move-out side by side, with photo numbers on every line, so each photograph ties to an entry. Three photo logs match the three photo requirements. Then come the written notices section 1950.5 requires at the end of a tenancy: the notice of the right to an initial inspection, with the statutory paragraph quoted word for word, the 48-hour inspection notice and waiver, the statement of proposed deductions with the text of subdivision (b) the law says it must contain, and the AB 414 electronic return notice with the tenant's designation form. It ends with a wear-and-tear guide and a 21-day checklist.

When to use it

Start at move-in, before the tenant brings in furniture, ideally walking through together. Complete the checklist and the move-in photo log, have both sides sign, and give the tenant a copy. Use the second half of the kit as soon as either side gives notice to end the tenancy or a fixed-term lease nears its end. That is when the initial inspection notice and the electronic return notice are due. Then use it again on the day you get the keys back.

The kit suits individual landlords, property managers and tenants who want their own record, for apartments, houses, condos and ADUs anywhere in California. Local rent ordinances in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland add their own rules but don't change these state requirements. Pair it with our California residential lease, which already provides for these photographs.

What's inside

The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.

1. Photo rules at a glance

   • Move-in photos
   • Move-out photos before repairs
   • After-repair photos
   • Photos with the itemized statement

2. Room-by-room condition checklist

   • Entry
   • living and dining
   • Kitchen and appliances
   • Bedrooms
   • Bathrooms
   • Systems
   • safety and exterior
   • Keys and access devices
   • Move-in and move-out signatures

3. Photo logs

   • Move-in log
   • Move-out log with matching move-in photo
   • After-repair log with statement line

4. Notice of right to an initial inspection

   • Tenancy end date
   • Right to request and be present
   • Two-week window
   • Statutory abandoned property paragraph
   • Tenant's request

5. 48-hour inspection notice

   • Inspection date and time
   • Optional waiver

6. Electronic deposit return notice

   • AB 414 notice
   • Tenant's return method designation
   • Statement delivery by email or mail
   • Split between adult tenants

7. Proposed deductions statement

   • Repairs and cleanings listed
   • Photo references
   • Text of section 1950.5(b)(1) to (4)
   • Delivery

8. Wear and tear guide and 21-day worksheet

   • Wear versus damage examples
   • Carpet cleaning rule
   • 21-day deadline
   • Receipts and hourly rates
   • Photos
   • Good-faith estimates
   • $125 threshold

Preview pages

How to complete the inspection

1. Photograph before the tenant moves in. Take wide shots of every room and close-ups of every existing defect, numbering them MI-001 onward.
2. Walk through room by room. Give each item a condition code and specific notes ("2-inch chip, left front of countertop"), then add the photo numbers.
3. Sign the move-in checklist together. Give the tenant a copy and record the keys and fobs handed over.
4. Send the notices when the tenancy is ending. Send the initial inspection notice (Part 4), plus the electronic return notice (Part 6) if rent or the deposit was paid electronically.
5. Hold the initial inspection if the tenant asks. Give 48 hours' notice unless waived, no earlier than two weeks before move-out, and leave the proposed deductions statement (Part 7).
6. Inspect and photograph at move-out. Do this before any repair or cleaning, matching each photo to its move-in photo.
7. Photograph the completed repairs. Link each photo to its line on the itemized statement.
8. Send everything within 21 days. Send the statement, the receipts or hourly charges, the photographs and the refund, by the method the tenant designated.

Example: a completed checklist excerpt

A fictional Sacramento landlord, Rosa Delgado, rents a two-bedroom apartment to Kevin Tran from August 1, 2025.

Bedroom 1, walls and ceiling. Move-in: G, freshly painted July 2025, no marks (MI-014, MI-015). Move-out: P, 11 anchor holes and a 6-inch gouge behind the door (MO-022 to MO-024). Beyond normal wear: Yes. Living room carpet. Move-in: G, cleaned July 28, 2025, invoice on file (MI-004). Move-out: F, worn in walkway, no stains (MO-006). Beyond normal wear: No.

Kevin gives notice on May 30, 2026 to move out June 30. Rosa sends the initial inspection notice and the electronic return notice on June 2, because Kevin paid rent through an online portal. Kevin asks for an inspection on June 20. The proposed deductions statement lists the anchor holes and gouge. Kevin doesn't fix them, so Rosa photographs the wall on July 1, has it patched and painted, takes after-repair photo AR-001 on July 6, and deducts $240 under an invoice from her painter. She sends the statement, invoice and photo link by email on July 10, and returns the balance by bank transfer to the account Kevin designated. She makes no carpet cleaning deduction, because the carpet shows only normal wear.

California rules to know

All of these are in Civil Code section 1950.5, as amended by AB 2801 (2024) and AB 414 (2025).

• Photographs (subdivision (g)). Move-in photos for tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025. Move-out photos before repairs or cleaning, and after-repair photos, since April 1, 2025.
• Permitted deductions (subdivisions (b) and (e)). Unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, cleaning to the move-in level, and restoring personal property if the lease allows. No deductions for pre-existing conditions or ordinary wear, and professional cleaning only when reasonably necessary.
• Initial inspection (subdivision (f)). Written notice of the right to request it, with the statutory paragraph. Held no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends, with 48 hours' notice unless waived, followed by an itemized statement that includes the text of subdivision (b)(1) to (4).
• Return and itemized statement (subdivision (h)). Within 21 days, with receipts, invoices, hourly charges and photographs. Electronic return where the tenant paid electronically, and a check payable to all adult tenants unless they all agree otherwise in writing.
• Deposit limit (subdivision (c)). Generally one month's rent for deposits taken on or after July 1, 2024. A small landlord, meaning a natural person or an LLC of natural persons owning no more than two properties with four units in total, may take two months.
• Bad faith (subdivisions (h)(7) and (m)). Loss of the right to keep the deposit, and statutory damages of up to twice the deposit.

Mistakes that lose deposit disputes

Landlords lose in small claims court when the move-in record is vague ("carpet OK"), when there are move-out photos but no move-in photos to compare them with, and when after-repair photos or invoices are missing from the statement. Others are charging for carpet cleaning as routine, skipping the initial inspection notice, and mailing a check to a tenant who paid electronically and was owed an electronic refund. Tenants lose when they don't note existing damage at move-in. Specific entries with photo numbers on every line protect both sides.