Signature Rental Inspection Checklist Made Easy

Rental inspection form

hi my name is Candace Fisher McLane and I'm a housing and environmental design specialist with the University of Missouri Extension any time you're moving into a new apartment is important to perform a thorough inspection of the apartment with your landlord present before you move into the unit a rental inspection checklist should be filled out and signed by both you and your landlord a copy of the rental inspection checklist can be found at our website the rental condition checklist will give you a chance to move room-by-room through your apartment and note the specific conditions of each room before you move into the unit any damages noted before you move in can then be compared to the condition of the unit when you move out of the apartment you may want your landlord to fix some damages that you note on the checklist before you move in for example if there's like a small hole in the wall you may want them to patch that before you move into the apartment other conditions can just be noted on the checklist for example if there's scuffs on the painting or if there's a stain on the carpet that should just be noted on the checklist so that you are not held responsible for those damages so as you walk into the unit you should first take a look at the front door what does the overall condition of the door look like does it look like there's any damages and then go ahead and take a look at the doorknob in the lock do the lock in the knob seem like they're secure make sure they're not coming loose from the door go ahead and open and shut the door make sure the door shuts securely also make sure it's not sticking when you open and close it go ahead and you can turn the lock on the knob make sure that's lock blocking properly you want to make sure that all of your locks are working properly on your front door because this relates directly to the security of your unit on the outside there's a spot for a key you should have the key with you put the key in the lock and make sure that your key is working properly go ahead and look at the condition of the inside of the door as you can see on this one it looks like the knob is a little bit loose so that's something that you should discuss with your landlord note the condition on the checklist maybe take a picture of it it looks like this apartment was just freshly painted so there aren't any holes in the walls from pictures posters artwork or mirrors but if there is if that's something that you should know on the checklist so take a look at the flooring in the living room and throughout the entire unit what kind of materials are proposed in the floor and what kind of condition is it in so is the floor made of hardwood laminate carpet tile vinyl in this room they have carpet and so you want to look at the overall condition of the carpet does it look like in general that it's clean can you see any stains on the carpet are there any spots that are worn that for that are torn or that are coming loose if there are you should discuss that with your landlord and you should also note the condition of the flooring in the room on the rental condition checklist so if the flooring is composed of hardwood or laminate you just want to look at the condition of the floor are there any large scratches or dents on the floor are there any boards that are loose rotted or or warped coming loose if there is take a picture of that discuss it with you and make sure that it's noted take a look at the ceiling and the light fixtures in the room is there it look like there's any visible the image to the ceilings are there any stains on the ceiling that may be potentially could have been caused by water damage are the light fixtures in the room do they look like they're in good condition you can see this light fixture is on it looks like all the light bulbs are in place and that it looks like it's it's working properly go ahead and turn the light switch on and off just to make sure that the right is working properly and go ahead and do that in every room just to see all the lights are working properly go ahead and take a look at the windows in the room make sure that there isn't any broken glass but there aren't any screens that are damaged go ahead if there are blinds on the window you want to make sure that the blinds are in good repair go ahead and look at the trim around the window make sure that the trim is not rotted or is not damaged in any way the trimmer and this window looks like it's in really good shape in the kitchen we're going to go ahead and look at the floor because the flooring is different in the kitchen than it was in the living room and here they have sheep this is called sheet vinyl so you just want to look on it and look at the overall condition of the sheet vinyl make sure there aren't any spots that are ripped torn damaged or stained in any places if there is any major damage discuss that with your lien Lord if you think that it needs to be fixed immediately if not go ahead and just note the condition on the checklist take a picture of it so that you are not held responsible for any damages when you move out if your kids who don't happen to have ceramic tile you want to look at the ceramic tile and make sure that there aren't any tiles that are chipped or broken or loose for a ceramic tile it's not a better get absolute app on the title if you hear a hollow sound the tile is probably damaged and coming loose from the mortar underneath which means it's going to cause a problem later you also want to look at the grout lines between the tile and just make sure there isn't any grout that's missing or coming loose from the tile and again just go ahead and note the overall condition on the checklist so go ahead and look at the cabinets and the drawers in the kitchen and make sure that they all open and close easily make sure that the hinges are not loose that the door seems like it's nice and secure make sure there aren't any knobs or handles that are loose or missing go ahead and open the cabinet doors and just make sure that they look like they clean that there's no evidence of any insect or rodent droppings and that all of the shelves are secure and that they are all in place and again see on this one the magnetic latch is a little bit loose um again that's something you could discuss with your landlord or simply just noted on the rental checklist now let's go ahead and turn on the kitchen sink make sure that it seems like the sink is draining properly is there any leaks around the faucet make sure that the water is coming out clear that the water is coming out of pot and that there is good water pressure it looks like the water pressure here it's pretty good go ahead and check properly if there's a garbage disposal go ahead and turn the system on just to make sure that that is working properly while the water is on go ahead and look underneath the kitchen sink just to make sure that there's no water that is dripping from the pipes underneath look at sack at the bottom of the cabinet I don't need to sink to see if it looks like there's any signs of past water damage and again go ahead and discuss any problems with your landlord and notes the overall condition on the rental checklist so now take a look at the stove and know whether the stove is gas or electric this stove happens to be an electric stove if the stove would happen to be gas you just want to turn the burners on and make sure that there is a nice even blue flame now go ahead and turn the burners on just to make sure that they are working properly you can feel heat coming from this burner and you can see that the light is on go ahead and open the oven and make sure that turn the oven on make sure the oven is working properly make sure that the oven is as clean and the wraps are present in the oven look at the gasket around the door the gasket is the part that is going to make the door seal with the rest of the unit make sure that is in good repair and just go ahead and note the overall condition of the stove in the oven make sure there aren't any major dents or scratches and note the condition of the units on the rental condition checklist if there's a dishwasher in the kitchen open the dishwasher and make sure the divert opens and closes properly one into the pen pull the racks out to make sure that correctly check the arm of the dishwasher to make sure that it's spinning correctly and there's nothing stretching the arm in the dishwasher go ahead and note the overall condition of the dishwasher on the inside um it's also probably a good idea to turn the dishwasher on just to make sure that it is working properly also look around the bottom and the sides of the dishwasher to make sure that there aren't any signs of visible leaks or water damage from previous use go ahead and open and close the door to the refrigerator make sure that's a good repair check the gasket again around the inside of the door to make sure that it's not ripped torn or damaged in any way because again this is what is going to make the door seal with the rest of the unit make sure that all of the shoes and the drawers are in zip condition but they're all present make sure there's no major scratches or dents in the bathroom there should be an exhaust fan so let's make sure that the exhaust fan is working properly there should also be a GFCI outlet next to the sink and we just want to test that to make sure it's working properly go ahead and note the condition of the mirror above the sink and make sure that that's working properly that all the shelves are in place and in the medicine cabinet so now we're going to talk about the toilet so you just want to again note the overall condition of the toilet make sure that it's flushing properly wait to listen after it closely to make sure that the toilet doesn't continue to run it doesn't curve to open the lid to the toilet and just make sure you may be difficult to know what you're looking at but just make sure that make sure that there aren't any visible damages or cracks to the lid or the tank of the toilet look around the base of the toilet picture the toilet doesn't feel like it's coming loose in any way this toilet is pretty sturdy and secure to the floor make sure that there's no signs of visible water damages around the water damage around the base of the toilet not to ask the landlord where the furnace in your apartment is located and when was the last time that it was cleaned and serviced we also want to ask the landlord who is going to be responsible for changing the filters in the furnace is that going to be your responsibility or will a landlord take care of that you also want to find if there happens to be a washer and dryer in your unit which some apartments do and some don't but again you just want to make sure that the washer and dryer are operating correctly and that the overall condition of the washer and dryer looks like it's in good condition finally as you walk through the rest of the apartment note the floor even though the walls the ceilings the overall condition of the spaces just as we discussed in the living room in the kitchen and notes any damages on the rental condition checklist if you have any additional questions you can contact the University of Missouri Extension at our website