The Check-in
All ingoing tenants should be present at the property for the check-in so that everything is agreed and signed in one go.

You should walk around the whole property, inside and outside with your tenant/s to make sure they agree with the inventory and condition of the property. You can also make sure the tenant is aware of what is expected of them during the tenancy.

Using a checklist is a good way to make sure you have covered everything at move in stage – our advice is to go through the checklist with the tenants making sure they understand and agree at every stage. Some of the important items are:

Meter readings
Test alarm settings, batteries and codes
Keys and locks
Stop taps, isolator switches and fuses
All appliances working
This is also the time to ask the tenant to review and sign up to the freshly prepared inventory.

The Check out
The check-out process is the final stage in the tenancy process and involves a report being produced of the condition of the property (and its contents) versus the inventory at the time of the tenant checking in.

It is vital that any missing contents, damage to the property, and lost keys (etc) are captured at this stage with photo/video evidence. A lack of substantial evidence will almost certainly result in a failed deposit clawback claim.