Move-in and move-out inspection checklist for Florida renters

Before you unpack

Walk in with your phone and nothing else. Take a slow video of each room, then photos of anything that's already worn, stained, chipped or broken, with something for scale. Open every cabinet and look under the sinks.

It takes about forty minutes.

Room by room

Kitchen

• Fridge and freezer cold, ice maker working, gaskets intact
• Stove burners, oven and range hood light
• Dishwasher runs and drains
• Under the sink: leaks, rot, signs of roaches or ants
• Countertop burns, chips and cabinet hinges

Bathrooms

• Hot water reaches the shower within a minute or so
• Toilets flush and stop running
• Grout, caulk and any mold on the ceiling
• Exhaust fan works

Living areas and bedrooms

• Floors: scratches, stains, cracked tiles
• Walls: nail holes, scuffs, patched spots
• Windows open, close and lock, and screens are intact
• Closet doors run on their tracks
• Smoke detectors sound when tested

The South Florida extras

• AC cools, the filter size is written down, and the condensate line isn't dripping
• Hurricane shutters or panels: where they are and that the hardware is all there
• Impact windows and sliders lock properly
• Pool or balcony gate latches, if there is one
• Signs of past water intrusion around sliders and windows

Send it the same week

Email the landlord or manager your list and a link to the photos within the first few days, and ask them to fix anything urgent. The email date is your proof that the damage was there before you. If the landlord gave you a move-in form, fill it out, add your own notes, and keep a copy of what you hand back.

Move-out

Clean it like you're about to show it: inside the oven and fridge, the tub, the floors, the baseboards. Patch small nail holes if your lease allows it, and replace the AC filter. Then walk the same route with your phone and shoot the same photos, so the before and after line up room for room.

Return every key, fob, garage remote and gate card, and get a written receipt or a text confirming it. Give your forwarding address in writing. Under section 83.49, a landlord who keeps nothing has 15 days from when you move out to return the deposit, and one who wants to keep any of it has 30 days to send a written claim by certified mail to your last known mailing address, or by email if you signed an email addendum. If that address is out of date, the claim goes to your old place while your 15 days to object run.

If you leave before the lease ends, section 83.49(5) asks for at least 7 days' written notice with an address where you can be reached. Skip it and the statute relieves the landlord of the 30-day claim notice requirement. Full details are in Florida security deposit law.