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Check-In Report Checklist: What to Photograph and Why

·Sam Pike·8 min read

A check-in report is only as strong as the photos in it. Most landlords and agents take too few photos, miss key areas, or don't capture enough detail. When a dispute arises 12 months later, those gaps become expensive.

Adjudicators at TDS, DPS, and mydeposits rely on photographic evidence to establish the condition of a property at the start of a tenancy. If you can't demonstrate what something looked like at move-in, you can't claim for damage at move-out. It's that simple.

Here's a room-by-room checklist of exactly what to photograph, and why each shot matters.

Before You Start

Before you walk through the front door, there are four things worth capturing.

The front of the property with the house number visible. This sounds obvious, but it matters. In a dispute, you need to prove the photos are of the correct property. A shot of the exterior showing the door number or a visible address takes 30 seconds and eliminates any ambiguity.

Meter readings. Photograph the gas, electric, and water meters — close enough to read the numbers clearly. This is the single best way to prevent utility disputes at the end of a tenancy. If there's a disagreement over the final bill, you have a documented baseline.

A wide shot of each room from the doorway. Before you get into the detail, take a establishing shot of every room from the entrance. This gives context for all the close-up photos that follow — it shows the overall condition and layout, and makes it harder for a tenant to argue later that individual photos were taken out of context.

Your camera settings. Check that location services are enabled on your phone and that the date and time are set correctly. The EXIF metadata embedded in every photo — timestamp, GPS coordinates, device model — is what allows these photos to be verified later. Deposit scheme adjudicators look at this data. If the metadata shows your photos were taken three days after the supposed check-in date, or at a different address, your evidence is weakened before you've started.

Room-by-Room Checklist

Kitchen

The kitchen is the room most likely to generate a dispute. Appliances, surfaces, and hidden areas all need documenting.

  • Worktops — close-up shots showing the surface condition, including any existing chips, burns, or staining
  • Sink and taps — condition of the basin, limescale, any existing chips in the sink
  • Inside the oven — open the door and photograph the interior; this is one of the most commonly disputed items at checkout
  • Hob — close-up of each burner or ring, including underneath removable parts
  • Inside the fridge and freezer — document condition and cleanliness
  • Cupboard interiors — photograph at least two or three; check for existing staining or damage to shelves
  • Floor — especially the area near appliances and under the bin, where staining accumulates
  • Walls — particularly behind the bin area and near the hob, where splashing and grease marks are common
  • Extractor fan — photograph it both on and off; note whether the filter is clean
  • Any included appliances — dishwasher, washing machine, microwave — document their condition and any existing marks

Bathroom

Bathrooms are second only to kitchens for dispute frequency, and the detail matters here.

  • Bath or shower — close-up on the sealant and grouting; mould in grout is a common dispute area
  • Toilet — photograph the bowl, the seat, and the area behind and around the base (staining around the base is frequently missed at check-in and contested at checkout)
  • Sink and taps — condition of the basin, any chips or limescale
  • Mirror and cabinet — both the glass and the interior of any cabinet
  • Tiles — especially the grouting; existing cracked grout is worth documenting clearly
  • Extractor fan — condition and whether it's functional
  • Floor — particularly around the toilet base and the edge of the shower or bath

Bedrooms

Bedrooms look straightforward but they contain several dispute-prone areas.

  • Carpet or flooring — close-up shots, especially near doorways where wear is highest, and under windows where moisture damage can occur
  • All four walls — marks, scuffs, and holes around picture hooks are common at checkout; photograph them now if they exist, or document that the walls were clear
  • Ceiling — especially the corners, where damp and condensation marks tend to appear first
  • Windows — both the frames and the sills; note any existing damage to seals or paintwork
  • Built-in wardrobes — inside and outside; photograph the interior shelving and any existing marks on the exterior
  • Light fittings — condition and any missing bulbs
  • Door — both sides; check for damage around the handle, the bottom edge, and the frame

Living Room

Photograph everything in the bedroom checklist, plus:

  • Fireplace — if present, photograph the surround, the hearth, and the interior; note any existing damage
  • Built-in shelving — condition of shelves, any water marks or staining

Hallway and Stairs

Hallways accumulate more wear than any other area, and it shows at checkout.

  • Carpet on the stairs — close-up shots on the treads, where wear is heaviest
  • Walls along the stairway — scuff marks at shoulder and hand height are extremely common; document the condition at move-in
  • Front door — inside and outside; note the condition of the letterbox, any existing scratches or paint chips, and the lock mechanism
  • Banister and handrails — condition of the woodwork and any existing damage

Garden and External Areas

External areas are easy to overlook — and easy to dispute.

  • Full garden view — wide shot documenting the overall condition of the lawn and planting
  • Fencing and gates — condition of each fence panel and any gates; note existing broken panels or loose posts
  • Shed — if present, photograph the outside and inside, including the condition of any shelving or stored items
  • Driveway or parking area — any existing oil stains or cracking
  • Guttering — photograph from ground level; note any obvious blockages or damage

Common Mistakes That Cost Landlords Money

Knowing what to photograph is only half the problem. These are the mistakes that regularly undermine otherwise reasonable claims.

Only photographing rooms, not individual items. A wide shot of a clean bedroom is not evidence that the carpet was undamaged. Adjudicators want to see the specific items being claimed for — the carpet, the wall, the worktop — documented in detail.

Not photographing areas that are already clean or undamaged. If the oven was spotless at check-in and you didn't photograph it, you have no baseline for the checkout. A photo of a clean oven is evidence. The absence of a photo is not.

Taking photos on a different day to the check-in. This is more common than it should be — photographs taken during a pre-tenancy deep clean, then used as check-in evidence. Deposit schemes look at EXIF timestamps. If your photos are dated two days before the tenancy started, adjudicators will notice.

Not including the tenant in the walkthrough. If the tenant wasn't present when photos were taken, they can claim they never agreed to the described condition. Conducting the walkthrough together — and then having both parties sign off on the same record — closes that argument.

Saving photos to a shared Dropbox or email thread. Files in these locations can be moved, deleted, and replaced. There is no chain of custody. In a dispute, the tenant's representative will point this out. Evidence that could theoretically have been tampered with will be treated as if it was.

How Many Photos Should You Take?

A common question, and one with a practical answer:

  • One-bedroom flat: 30–50 photos
  • Two-bedroom house: 50–80 photos
  • Three-bedroom house: 80–120 photos

More is always better. Storage is cheap; losing a dispute is not. If you're uncertain whether a photo is necessary, take it.

For any area of existing concern — a scuff, a stain, a crack, existing wear — take two or three photos: a wide shot for context, and a close-up for detail. A single blurry photo of a questionable area proves much less than three clear shots that establish exactly what was there and where.

Making Your Photos Count

The photos themselves are only part of the evidence. How they're stored and verified matters equally.

The EXIF metadata embedded in each photo — timestamp and GPS coordinates — allows adjudicators to confirm when and where a photo was taken. This is worth protecting. Every time a photo is emailed, compressed, or uploaded to a platform that strips metadata, you lose this verification layer.

Both parties should review the photos together during the walkthrough and sign off on the same record. The tenant's signature confirms they agreed to the documented condition. Without it, they can dispute anything — even a photo that's entirely genuine.

Photos should be stored somewhere tamper-proof. Not on a phone that could be lost or replaced. Not in a shared folder where files can be overwritten. Each photo should have a verified timestamp recorded at the point of upload, and the file itself should be locked so it cannot be modified or deleted.

Fairhold handles this automatically. Every photo uploaded through Fairhold is run through a SHA-256 cryptographic hash — generating a unique digital fingerprint of that exact file — and stored with AWS Object Lock in Compliance mode, meaning the file cannot be deleted or altered for the retention period. Both landlord and tenant sign off on the same record within the platform. If the same dispute arises 18 months later, the evidence is exactly as it was on the day of the check-in.

Want a checklist you can use on-site? Download our free PDF checklist (coming soon) or try Fairhold free to create tamper-proof check-in reports with room-by-room photo organisation — no credit card required.