The post Move-in Checklist for Landlords and Tenants appeared first on Avail.
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As move-in day approaches, it’s important to send your tenants information, including a move-in checklist to be completed within 72 hours of the tenants moving in.
Why Do You Need a Move-in Checklist?
The move-in checklist helps you keep track of the condition of your property. It ensures that you and your tenants thoroughly look through the unit to spot issues.
Most importantly, it holds your tenants accountable for any damage that occurs while they live there.
You’ll review the checklist when the tenants move in, and again when they move out, to find out if there’s damage beyond the normal wear and tear.
What’s in the Move-in Checklist?
Our move-in checklist is separated by room. For each room, the checklist includes common parts of the room. For example, the kitchen checklist includes items such as the refrigerator, dishwasher, cabinets, etc.
Our checklist covers the following rooms:
- Living room
- Dining Room
- Kitchen
- Two Bedrooms
- One Bathroom
- Miscellaneous (parking, storage, apartment door, etc.)
There’s also space at the bottom of the checklist for additional notes if you have more bedrooms or bathrooms.
How Should You Record the Condition of the Property?
Our checklist includes a key to keep this process simple:
S = Satisfactory
NA = Not Applicable
NC = Needs Cleaning
NP = Needs Painting
NR = Needs Repair
SC = Scratched
RP = Needs Replacing
When Should You Send the Move-in Checklist to Your Tenants?
Moving can be stressful, so it’s helpful to give your tenants information ahead of time so they feel prepared.
We recommend sending the checklist two weeks before the move-in date. That way, they’ll be aware before the move-in process that they are expected to complete the checklist and return it to you.
Furthermore, we recommend sending it in a tenant welcome letter via email. This letter is a friendly way to welcome your tenants to the property while providing useful information.
Our welcome letter is a template that you can edit and send to tenants. It informs tenants how to:
- Set up utilities
- Get renters insurance
- Pick up keys
- Move in
- Pay rent
- Report maintenance issues
- Throw away trash
- Use the laundry room
- Park in the neighborhood
- Complete the move-in checklist
- Contact you if needed
Be sure to attach the move-in checklist to your welcome email.
Next Steps
After sending the move-in checklist, make sure to get ready for new tenants in your unit by:
- Professionally cleaning your unit
- Providing keys to your tenants
- Setting up online rent payments
- Reminding your tenants that they need to return the checklist to you within 72 hours of moving in
Once your tenants return the checklist, you’ll then review the checklist and sign if you agree with the conditions they noted. You should also use the checklist to determine if repairs are necessary. If so, you may need to deduct the repair amount from the security deposit.
Check out our resources for more helpful documents.
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The post Move-in Checklist for Landlords and Tenants appeared first on Avail.
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