Your move-in condition report
Photograph anything already damaged — this is what protects your deposit.
When you move in, photograph and describe anything already marked, broken or worn, and upload it here. At move-out, this is the record that separates damage that was already there from damage attributed to you.
It locks at its deadline. After that you cannot add to it, and anything you did not record is no longer distinguishable from wear you caused. This is the single most valuable thing you can do in your first days, and it is the one most often skipped.
The window is measured from when you actually arrive, not from your contract start — arriving weeks late does not cost you the report.
Photos and video both work. Some camera formats are rejected with an explanation; if that happens, a normal photo from your phone's default camera app will upload.
What to record
Anything already marked, broken or worn. Be thorough and be boring about it:
- Marks on walls, floors and worktops.
- Scratches, chips, dents — furniture and fittings included.
- Anything that does not work: a slow drain, a loose handle, a blind that sticks.
- Appliances, inside and out.
- The bathroom, in detail. It is where most disputes happen.
Photograph the whole of something and then close up. A tight crop proves a mark exists but not where or how large.
The deadline
It locks at its deadline. After that you cannot add to it, and anything you did not record is no longer distinguishable from wear you caused.
This is the single most valuable thing you can do in your first days, and the one most often skipped.
The window is measured from when you actually arrive, not from your contract start — arriving weeks late does not cost you the report. See Contract dates.
If you start in a temporary room
If you live in a temporary room first and move into your own room later, you get two reports, one for each room, shown one above the other.
- The temporary room's report works like any other: it opens when you move in and locks at its deadline.
- Your own room's report opens on the day you move in there, and locks a few days after. Until that day it shows the date it opens.
Fill in both. At move-out your room is inspected against your own room's report, so a mark that was there before you moved in is only protected if you photographed it after the move.
Formats
Photos and video both work. Some camera formats are rejected with an explanation; if that happens, a normal photo from your phone's default camera app will upload.
Why it matters later
At move-out the room is inspected against this record. Its job is to establish what changed during your tenancy — so a mark you recorded on day two cannot be charged to you on your last day. See The settlement.