Washington State Move-In Inspection Checklist: Requirements and Examples

Who is this guide for?

This guide covers residential tenancies governed by Washington’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Some arrangements, including certain institutional housing and transient lodging, are excluded; check RCW 59.18.040 before applying this guidance to an unusual housing arrangement. This is Washington state, not Washington, D.C.

What Washington requires when collecting a deposit

Under RCW 59.18.260:

• The rental agreement must be written and state the conditions for withholding the deposit.
• Before collecting a deposit, the landlord must provide a written checklist or statement at the start of the tenancy describing condition, cleanliness, or existing damage. Coverage includes fixtures, equipment, furnishings, walls, flooring, and appliances.
• Both landlord and tenant must sign and date it. The tenant receives a signed copy and may request one free replacement.
• Ordinary wear cannot justify withholding the deposit.

Collecting a deposit without providing the initial written checklist creates liability for the deposit amount; the prevailing party may recover court costs and reasonable attorney fees. See subsection (5).

Photos alone are not the written checklist described above. Use them to support specific entries rather than leaving the condition record as an unlabeled album.

Prepare a record someone else can understand

As a practical starting point, give the document a header with the property address, unit number, tenancy start date, inspection date, participants, and version. Keeping the two dates separate avoids making a later walkthrough appear to have happened on the first day.

Create a row for each item you actually inspect. Use separate fields for condition, cleanliness, and observations. A clean carpet can still have an old stain, and an apparently undamaged appliance may not have been tested.

• Condition: describe visible wear or defects and their location.
• Cleanliness: record residue, dust, debris, or the observed clean state.
• Observation: add the detail needed to identify the finding.
• Limitation: identify what was inaccessible or untested.
• Reference: connect a photo or follow-up note to the same item.

Expand the rows for the actual rental: doors, windows, cabinets, counters, bathroom fixtures, supplied furniture, and other relevant items. A generic template is a starting point, not evidence that every listed item was inspected.

Example: a completed set of condition entries

This fictional excerpt demonstrates descriptive notes. It is not a complete checklist or a determination of who owes repair costs. The photo references illustrate how to organize files; no actual photographs are attached.

Replace broad ratings with a location and a finding

“Carpet — good” does not explain whether the closet stain was already there. “Carpet vacuumed; brown mark at closet entrance” records two different facts without assigning responsibility. A broad rating can help navigation, but the descriptive note carries the detail.

Use approximate measurements only when you actually estimate or measure them. Do not add an exact size just to make a note sound precise. Likewise, do not write “working” if you only photographed an appliance.

Link photos to the written entries

A simple optional photo index makes the example above easier to follow. For BED-FLOOR-01, keep a room overview showing the closet, followed by a closer view of the mark. Label both with the same item reference and distinguish the views.

1. Use a unit-specific folder so similar rooms in different rentals do not get mixed together.
2. Record the capture date and who took the photos. Keep the upload date separate if it differs.
3. Retain original images. Save explanatory arrows or labels in separate annotated copies.
4. Check that the written reference leads to the intended image and that recipients can open it.

These file-management suggestions do not prescribe a minimum photo count. Choose enough views to explain the finding. For more examples, see how to document rental property damage.

Review the entries before closing the record

As a practical review process, walk through the notes together where possible. Check whether each description identifies the correct room and whether both participants’ observations are represented. If someone disagrees with an entry, write down the specific disagreement instead of silently replacing the earlier wording.

Organize the completed document and its attachments as one identifiable version. Keep a record of the copy provided and test access to any linked files. A file marked “final” on one person’s computer is difficult to use if everyone else has a different version.

What if something is noticed later?

Record the date it was noticed, the item reference, and what the new note changes or adds. Preserve the original document alongside the follow-up. Do not backdate a later observation or claim an unobserved condition was verified at move-in.

A later correction is not a substitute for meeting the initial requirements. If the missing or disputed record affects a deposit dispute, obtain advice about the specific facts. Maintenance follow-up should also have its own record: documenting a defect does not mean it has been repaired.

Practical checklist before filing the record

Questions about the move-in record

Official sources and review date

Reviewed September 13, 2026. Check the current official text when applying this guide.

• RCW 59.18.260 — written rental agreements, condition checklists, copies, and deposit-related provisions.
• RCW 59.18.040 — living arrangements excluded from the chapter.

This page focuses on the starting-condition record. It is not a complete guide to deposit limits, deposit storage, move-out accounting, or local housing rules.