The pre-move-out inspection is the one step in a California move-out that starts with a requirement on you, not on the tenant. Civil Code § 1950.5(f) makes you offer it in writing. The tenant decides whether to take you up on it.
Here is the whole sequence, in the order it happens.
Step 1: send the written offer
Within a reasonable time after either of you gives notice to end the tenancy, or before a fixed-term lease ends, notify the tenant in writing of two things:
- They can request an initial inspection of the unit.
- They have the right to be present for it.
This is required, not a courtesy. Send it within a few days of receiving or serving notice, so the tenant has time to ask and you have time to schedule.
The same notice has to carry a paragraph about abandoned property, in substantially this form:
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(f)(1)
“State law permits former tenants to reclaim abandoned personal property left at the former address of the tenant, subject to certain conditions. You may or may not be able to reclaim property without incurring additional costs, depending on the cost of storing the property and the length of time before it is reclaimed. In general, these costs will be lower the sooner you contact your former landlord after being notified that property belonging to you was left behind after you moved out.”
Copy it word for word and you will not have to argue about “substantially.” What happens if belongings do get left behind is covered in what to do with belongings a tenant left behind.
Add the refund notice while you are at it. Since AB 414 took effect on January 1, 2026, a landlord who received the deposit or rent electronically has to tell the tenant in writing, within the same reasonable time after notice, that they can get the deposit back electronically to an account they designate. One letter can do both jobs, and it is a good moment to ask for a forwarding address.
Step 2: if the tenant asks, schedule it
If the tenant does not ask for an inspection, your duties under subdivision (f) are done. Keep a copy of the offer as proof you made it.
If they do ask:
- Timing. At a reasonable time, but no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends.
- Pick a time together. The statute says the two of you try to agree on a date and time.
- 48 hours’ written notice. Give it whether you agreed on a time or the tenant still wants the inspection after you could not agree. You can skip the 48 hours only if both of you sign a written waiver.
- Go ahead either way. You inspect whether the tenant shows up or not, unless they withdrew the request.
Step 3: walk it and write it up
Use the move-in condition report as your route through the unit. You are looking for the same lines you will compare at the final inspection, so go in the same order.
Then give the tenant an itemized statement of the repairs and cleaning you propose to deduct for. Two details people miss:
- The statement has to include the text of § 1950.5(b)(1) to (4), the four permitted uses of security. Print it at the bottom.
- If the tenant is there, hand it to them. If not, leave it inside the unit.
Be specific. “Bedroom 2, south wall: three anchor holes, patch and touch up” gives the tenant something to fix. “Walls need work” does not, and it will not protect your later deduction either.
Step 4: let the tenant fix things
From the inspection until the tenancy ends, the tenant can remedy anything on the list, in a way consistent with the lease. That is the point of the whole exercise. Every item fixed is a line you never have to price, document, or defend.
Step 5: what you can still deduct afterward
Here is the part that bites. If the unit was clear enough at the inspection to see what needed doing, you cannot later deduct for repairs or cleaning you did not put on the list. Three things stay open:
- Items on the list that the tenant did not fix.
- Damage that happened after the inspection, before you got possession back.
- Problems you could not see because the tenant’s belongings were in the way.
So a thin, rushed list costs you. A thorough list, with “behind the sofa, not visible” written where it applies, keeps your options intact.
When none of this applies
Subdivision (f) does not apply when the tenancy ends under Code of Civil Procedure § 1161(2), (3), or (4): the unlawful detainer grounds that follow a three-day notice for unpaid rent, a breach of another lease term, or subletting against the lease, waste, nuisance, or unlawful use. A normal move-out after a 30- or 60-day notice, or at the end of a lease term, gets the offer.
After the keys come back
The pre-move-out inspection is not the final inspection. Once the unit is empty, photograph it before any repairs or cleaning, run the final walk, and compare against the move-in report. The move-out inspection, done in the right order covers that walk, and the move-out statement template shows what to send within 21 days.
For why the walkthrough is worth doing well even outside California, see why a pre-move-out walkthrough saves disputes. Condition reports in LeaseRooster keep the initial inspection as its own record, separate from the final one, with the move-in report beside it.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and local ordinances vary. Confirm current requirements with your city, county, or an attorney before you act.