Do not start cleaning. Do not let a contractor in. Do not throw away the broken blind in the second bedroom. The move-out inspection happens on an empty, untouched unit, and every minute of work done before it is a minute of evidence destroyed.
That is the whole rule. The rest of this guide is the order of operations that keeps you from breaking it.
Confirm the unit is empty and the keys are back
Possession has to be back with you before an inspection means anything. Three signals, and you want all three:
- Keys returned, counted against what you handed over at move-in.
- The unit is empty of the tenant’s belongings. Not mostly empty. A single stack of boxes in a closet means the tenant may still be in possession, and inspecting around their property invites a fight about entry you do not need.
- A written forwarding address, or documented proof you asked for one.
If the tenant is not there for the handover, note the date and time possession returned and how you know. That timestamp starts the return clock in almost every state, so it needs to be a fact you can point at, not a memory.
One thing to settle before you walk: whether you already did a pre-move-out walkthrough. California requires landlords to offer one, and where it happened, the itemized statement from that walkthrough limits what you can charge for later.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(f)(4)
if an initial inspection was conducted and the tenant’s possessions were not blocking the view, the landlord shall not use the security for deductions for repairs or cleanings that were not identified in the itemized statement given after that inspection.
The case for doing that walkthrough even where nothing requires it is in why a pre-move-out walkthrough saves disputes.
Photograph before you touch anything
Camera first, hands later. Same shot list as move-in so the two sets line up: a wide shot from each doorway, then a close-up of anything that reads differently than it did at the start.
California turned this into a statutory duty in 2025, with a second round of photos most landlords miss.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(g)(2)
beginning April 1, 2025, the landlord shall take photographs of the unit within a reasonable time after possession is returned but before any repairs or cleanings for which a deduction will be claimed, and shall also take photographs after those repairs or cleanings are completed.
Read that twice. It is before-and-after, not just before. A landlord who photographs the stained carpet, replaces it, and never photographs the new carpet has done half of what the statute asks. Build the second round into the workflow now, because a before-and-after pair is also the most persuasive thing you can put in front of a small-claims judge in any state.
Name files so they sort themselves. Room, area, date. bath2-tub-2026-11-14.jpg needs no
explanation eleven months from now; IMG_4471.jpg needs a story.
Work the move-in report room by room
Open the move-in report and use it as your route. Same rooms, same order, same area names. This is not tidiness. A move-out report structured differently from the move-in report cannot be compared line to line, and a comparison you have to reconstruct by hand is a comparison the other side gets to argue with.
Walk with the report in one hand and the camera in the other, and do not skip ahead when something obvious catches your eye. The cracked vanity top will still be cracked in nine minutes. Jumping to it is how the kitchen ends up half documented.
Two habits that pay for themselves:
Test, do not eyeball. Run every faucet. Flush every toilet. Open and close every window and every door. Turn on every burner and every light. A fixture that looks fine and does not work is a repair you will otherwise discover after the deposit is returned.
Note the ordinary along with the damage. “Living room floor: normal traffic wear, no new marks” is a line that protects you, because it shows you looked and made a judgment rather than skipping what did not interest you.
Rate every line, not just the bad ones
Rate all of them. Every room, every area, including the ones in perfect shape. A report carrying 48 rated lines with 4 problems is a record. A report carrying only the 4 problems is an accusation, and it reads that way to everyone who sees it later.
Use the same rating scale you used at move-in. If move-in was a 1 to 4 scale, move-out is a 1 to 4 scale. Swapping vocabulary between the two reports (“good/fair/poor” at the start, numbers at the end) leaves you translating under pressure.
Write notes in plain, neutral language. Describe what you see and where it is. Do not write what it will cost, who is at fault, or what you think of the tenant. Pricing and responsibility are the next job, not this one, and a note that already assigns blame makes the whole report look like it was written to justify a number.
Close the report and start the deposit clock
Finalize the report the day you finish it. A report left open for a week is a report someone can claim was edited after the fact, and the value of the document is that it was made at a fixed point in time.
Then the deadline. Most states give the landlord somewhere between two and four weeks from the end of the tenancy to send an itemized statement and return the balance, and the clock usually starts when possession returns, not when you get around to inspecting.
Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(h)(1)
no later than 21 calendar days after the tenant has vacated, the landlord shall furnish an itemized statement showing the basis for and the amount of any deductions, and return the remaining balance.
Three weeks sounds generous until you have to schedule a contractor inside it. California’s specific requirements, including what has to be attached to the statement, are on the California move-out and deposit return page.
With the report closed, the next job is the comparison: which lines changed, which changes are chargeable, and what each one is worth. That is a separate discipline and it has its own walkthrough in how to compare move-in and move-out condition reports.
The short version
- Confirm possession is back: keys counted, unit empty, forwarding address requested.
- Photograph everything before any work starts, and again after repairs are done.
- Walk the move-in report as your route, testing rather than eyeballing.
- Rate every line on the same scale you used at move-in, with neutral notes.
- Close the report the same day and put the return deadline on the calendar.
Condition reports in LeaseRooster draft the move-out report from the move-in baseline, so the rooms, areas, and order already match before you walk in the door, and the finalized report hands its changed lines to the deposit worksheet as suggestions you accept or reject yourself.
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.