Every deposit dispute is an argument about move-in day held a year after anyone was there.
A move-in condition report is the dated record of how a unit looked when the tenant took possession. California does not prescribe a form for it, but it does now require move-in photographs for newer tenancies — and when a deduction is disputed later, the question is almost always whether the damage was already there. That question is far easier to answer on move-in day than at the deadline.
California security deposit rules, amended by AB 2801 to require specified photographs.
Day 0
the only time to capture it
Move-in evidence is the one record that cannot be recreated once the tenancy has started.
2 parties
who should see it
A report the tenant has reviewed documents a shared understanding rather than one side’s account.
What the law requires
Photographs at the start of the tenancy
For tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025, California law requires photographs immediately before or at the inception of the tenancy. Separately, beginning April 1, 2025, landlords must photograph the returned unit before deducted repairs or cleaning and again after that work is completed.
California does not require a signed move-in checklist, and a tenant is not obliged to sign one. The statutory obligation is the photographs; the condition report is the practical wrapper that makes them legible to someone reading the file later.
Photographs taken at or immediately before the start of the tenancy
Enough coverage that a later comparison is possible room by room
Dates preserved rather than reconstructed from memory
Storage that survives a phone upgrade or a change of manager
What makes it useful later
Coverage, dating, and a comparable frame
A move-in record earns its keep when a deduction is questioned. The reader wants to see the same wall, appliance, or floor at both ends of the tenancy, taken close enough in framing to compare, with dates that are not in doubt.
Gaps are what cause problems. A room nobody photographed at move-in is a room where the starting condition rests on recollection, and recollection is the weakest thing in the file.
Every room, including ones that look unremarkable at the time
Fixtures, appliances, flooring, and any pre-existing damage
Close framing on defects that already exist, so they are not charged later
Notes on anything a photograph cannot show
The tenant’s acknowledgement
A shared record beats a one-sided one
Photographs taken by the landlord alone are still evidence. Photographs the tenant has reviewed and signed are evidence about which there is much less to argue, because the disagreement — if there is one — surfaces at move-in instead of at the deposit deadline.
Deposit Docket sends the tenant a private link to the condition report. They review the photographs, then either sign electronically or record a written disagreement. A signed copy and a certificate recording who signed, when, and from where are attached to the file and travel with the eventual deposit packet.
This does not waive any tenant right, and it does not authorise any future deduction. It records what both parties saw on day one.
No account or password for the tenant
Signed copy emailed to them and kept on the file
Certificate of completion with timestamp and attribution
A written objection is captured rather than lost
From possession to packet
Do it once, at the start, properly.
The move-in record takes an hour on day one and is impossible to reconstruct afterwards. This is the order that holds up.
Before keys
Photograph the empty unit
Capture every room before the tenant moves anything in, while surfaces are still visible and unobstructed.
Defects
Document what is already wrong
Photograph existing damage deliberately and close up. Anything recorded now is something that cannot fairly be charged later.
Report
Assemble the condition report
Group the photographs by room with their capture dates, so the record is readable by someone who was not present.
Signature
Ask the tenant to acknowledge it
Send the report for review. A signature records agreement about the starting condition; a written objection is equally worth having.
Retention
Keep it until the deposit is settled
The record has to survive the whole tenancy, which may be years. Keep it somewhere that is not a personal camera roll.
Questions landlords ask
The short answers
Does California require a move-in condition report?+
California does not prescribe a move-in checklist or condition report form, and a tenant is not required to sign one. California law does require photographs at the inception of the tenancy for tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025. A condition report is the common way landlords organize those photographs so they can be used later.
Is this the same as the California initial inspection?+
No. The initial inspection under Civil Code §1950.5(f) happens near the end of a tenancy, on the tenant’s request, and produces an itemized statement of proposed deductions so the tenant has an opportunity to remedy them. A move-in condition report documents the starting condition at the beginning of the tenancy. They are separate obligations at opposite ends of the tenancy.
What if the tenant refuses to sign?+
Nothing is lost. Dated move-in photographs remain useful evidence whether or not the tenant acknowledges them, and no California rule obliges a tenant to sign a condition report. A tenant who reviews the report and records a written disagreement is also useful, because the objection is known at move-in rather than at the deposit deadline.
Is an electronic signature valid for this?+
Electronic signatures are generally recognized in California under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Civil Code §1633.1 and following) and under the federal ESIGN Act, provided the signer consented to transact electronically and intended to sign. Deposit Docket records that consent, the signer’s typed name, and the surrounding details, and issues a certificate of completion. Whether a particular record is sufficient in a particular dispute is for a court to decide.
Does a signed move-in report let me keep the deposit?+
No. It documents the condition at the start of the tenancy. Whether any deduction is lawful still depends on what actually changed, whether it exceeds ordinary wear and tear, whether the amount is supported, and whether the statutory accounting and deadline were met.