An inspection is not a condition report
They get confused constantly, and the confusion makes inspections adversarial for no return.
A condition report grades every surface at the start and end of a tenancy, and it exists to settle a deposit. A periodic inspection exists to find the small number of things that become large bills, and to confirm the lease is being kept.
That is why this sheet starts with eight items rather than with the living room. If you do only those eight, you have got most of the value of the visit.
The eight that matter
- Under every sink and around every toilet base. Slow leaks are the most expensive thing an inspection can catch and are invisible from the middle of a room.
- Ceilings, and the walls under any bathroom. A stain that was not there last time means something is wet now.
- The water heater and its surroundings. Rust, damp, and whether there is a pan under it.
- Windows and reveals for condensation and mould. Mould is a habitability issue in most states and it escalates quickly in both cost and legal exposure.
- Every smoke and CO alarm, tested with the button. The one item on the list with criminal exposure attached in some jurisdictions.
- The HVAC filter.
- Extractor fans — do they actually pull, or just make a noise.
- The exterior — roof from the ground, gutters, grading, anything new.
Notice, and why it decides how the visit goes
Most states require written notice before entry, commonly twenty-four to forty-eight hours, at reasonable times, for a legitimate purpose. Some limit how often. The lease cannot override a statute that protects the tenant.
In practice, inspections go wrong because of the scheduling far more often than because of what was found. Give real notice in writing, arrive when you said, say what you are looking at, and send a copy of what you wrote down afterwards. A tenant who knows an inspection is about leaks and alarms behaves entirely differently from one who thinks it is about judging their housekeeping.
The drive-by
Ten minutes from the kerb, no entry, and in most places no notice needed because you are not exercising a right of entry.
What it reliably catches: landscaping and rubbish against the lease terms, vehicles that should not be there, visible exterior damage, windows broken or covered with material, and signs of more occupants than the lease allows. It is the highest-value-per-minute inspection there is, and almost nobody does it.
Between tenants
The turnover list is short and it is not optional:
Rekey the locks every time, no exceptions
HVAC filter and every bulb a few dollars, always noticed
Test every alarm replace anything past its stated life
Every window and door lock
Run each appliance through an actual cycle
Water heater flush, and check the T&P valve
Paint touch-up, fill holes
Photograph every room empty and clean
That last line is the one with the highest return. Those photographs become the baseline for the next tenant’s condition report, and they are the cheapest insurance available to a landlord.
Write it down and send it
Fill in the follow-up table with what needs doing, who is doing it and by when — then email the tenant a copy the same day.
Two things follow. Repairs that are yours get done and recorded, which is a defence against a habitability complaint later. And anything that is the tenant’s responsibility has been raised in writing, on a date, which is what makes it enforceable rather than a conversation nobody remembers.
Attach the photographs. An inspection report without photographs is a set of assertions; with them, it is a record. Same rule as everywhere else in this business.