How do you write check in and check out reports that stand up when money is at stake?

Most deposit disputes are not really arguments about what happened. They are arguments about what the property looked like at the start, and whether anyone can show it. A landlord who knows the carpet was already worn, the oven was already tired and the wall already marked is often right, but a feeling is not a record. The two documents that settle the question are the check in report and the check out report, and how well they are written decides how the conversation goes when money is on the table.

Why do these two reports carry so much weight?

Because a deposit claim is a comparison. You are saying the property has changed in a way the tenant is responsible for, and the only way to show change is to hold a clear picture of the before and the after. Deposit schemes expect the person making the claim to evidence it, and an adjudicator reads the documents rather than hearing either side tell their story. Without photos or a check in to compare against, the adjudicator is left with two opinions, and the tenant usually gets the benefit of the doubt.

What should a good check in report contain?

The aim is a report that a stranger could pick up in a year and understand without having been there. In practice that means a handful of things, recorded on or very near the day the tenancy starts.

1. A room by room description in plain words, covering walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors, fixtures and any furniture supplied.
2. Dated photos for every room, including close ups of existing marks, stains, chips and wear, because these are exactly what gets disputed later.
3. The working order of appliances, alarms and heating, noted rather than assumed.
4. Meter readings for gas, electricity and water, with a photo of each dial.
5. The number of keys, fobs and remotes handed over.
6. The cleanliness and the condition of the garden, if there is one, described honestly.

Honesty matters more than polish. A report that notes the scuffed skirting by the door earns trust.

Should the tenant see and sign the check in report?

Yes, and the sooner the better. A report the tenant has agreed to is very hard to challenge later, and one they have been sent and had the chance to comment on is still far stronger than one that sits in a drawer. It is common to give a tenant a short window, often a week or so, to add their own notes and photos, and to record the date the report went out and anything they said back. If they raise something you missed, add it, because it shows the report was fair.

What should a check out report add?

The check out report mirrors the check in, room by room and line by line, so the two can be read side by side. It should use the same headings, the same order and photos taken from the same angles where possible, so a reader can see in seconds what is the same and what is different. It should be done as close to the end of the tenancy as you can manage, ideally the day the keys come back and before anyone else has been in, because a gap of weeks lets the other side argue that someone else caused the damage.

Alongside the photos, record the final meter readings, the keys returned and the state of cleaning. Then, for anything that differs, say what changed, whether it is damage, neglect, missing items or a cleaning issue, and keep that separate from ordinary ageing.

How do you tell damage from fair wear and tear?

This is where many claims are lost, so it is worth being clear. Fair wear and tear is the gradual deterioration that comes from normal use, and it cannot be taken from a deposit. The table below sets out how the usual cases tend to fall, as a general guide only.

Two further points help. First, age counts: a carpet that was already eight years old when the tenancy began has little value left, so claiming its full replacement cost will usually be reduced. Second, claim what the loss is actually worth, with a quote or invoice behind it, not what you would like the improvement to cost.

Where do check in and check out reports go wrong?

The common failures are ordinary ones. The check in was done weeks after move in, so it describes a lived in property. The photos have no date, or sit on a phone that was later replaced. The report is a list of ticks with no words. The check out is done in a hurry by someone who was not at the check in. Or the two reports use different room names, so nobody can line them up. None of these means the landlord was careless about the property. They mean the record was left to the end, which is the idea at the heart of building an evidence trail: doing the work is only half the job, and being able to prove it is what protects you.

How can the reports build themselves as you go?

The reason these reports slip is that writing them is slow and fiddly, so they happen late and in a rush. The fix is to make the capture part of a simple walk through the property rather than a separate piece of paperwork afterwards.

This is where Lodgic quietly helps. A guided room by room walkround runs over WhatsApp and turns into a dated photo report, so the check in exists on the day it matters. If someone prefers paper, a handwritten sheet can be photographed and the writing is transcribed for a person to check before it is saved, with the signed pages travelling with the PDF. Meter dials are read from a photo and confirmed before they touch the record. At move out, the dated photos sit beside the check in, so you can compare the two room by room and decide what, if anything, to claim.

This guide is general information for landlords and agents in England, not legal advice. Check the current rules and your deposit scheme's guidance for your own circumstances.