Move-In Inspections in Ontario: Your Best Record
When you rent a car, they walk around it with you and note every scratch. Do the same with your rental unit. In Ontario it matters even more, because of how deposits work.
Why it matters in Ontario
You can't take a damage deposit. A rent deposit can't be more than one month's rent, and it can only be used as rent for the last month, "not for anything else, such as repairing damage to the rental unit". (Source) A lease term that requires a deposit the law doesn't allow is void. (Source)
So if a tenant leaves damage behind, there's no deposit to keep. You'd have to claim it, and then the question is: what did the unit look like on day one? A dated, signed inspection with photos is the clearest answer you can have.
Ontario doesn't give you a form for it. Some provinces require a condition inspection report at the start and end of each tenancy. We couldn't find a move-in inspection requirement in the LTB's guide to the Residential Tenancies Act. Either way, it's worth doing.
How to do it
- Do it together, on or just before move-in day, with the tenant in the unit.
- Go room by room, using the checklist below. Write down what you see, even small things.
- Take dated photos of every room and every problem you note. A short video walk-through helps too.
- Both sign and date the report. Give the tenant a copy and keep one yourself.
- Repeat it at move-out with the same checklist, so the two can be compared.
What to check
- Walls and ceilings: dents, holes or cracks; scuffs that don't rub off; peeling paint or wallpaper.
- Floors: stains in carpet; tears in vinyl; cracked or chipped tiles; dents, scuffs or stains on hardwood.
- Trim, doors and windows: cracks, stains, leaks, broken locks or screens.
- Electrical: every outlet and light works.
- Bathrooms: taps, hot and cold, work without leaking; water pressure in the shower and toilet; chips in fixtures and tiles; soft spots in the walls around the tub.
- Kitchen: taps, appliances (clean and working), counters and cabinets.
- Safety: smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are there and working. Test them together.
- Outside, if the tenant has access: deck, balcony, patio and any shared areas.
- Keys: note how many keys, fobs and remotes you hand over.
Keep it with the tenancy
The report, the photos and the lease belong together, where you can find them years later. A tenancy that rolls over to month-to-month can last a long time.
In Rentingwell, attach the signed report and photos to the unit's logbook, next to its lease and rent records.
Originally published September 4, 2013. Rewritten for Ontario on October 21, 2026.