Free Louisiana Move-In / Move-Out Inspection Checklist
A room-by-room move-in and move-out inspection checklist for Louisiana rentals. Document the unit at the start and end of the tenancy, separate ordinary wear from damage, and support the La. R.S. 9:3251 one-month deposit accounting. Fill it in below and download a signable multi-page PDF.
A Louisiana move-in / move-out checklist is a written, room-by-room record of a rental unit’s condition captured at the start of the tenancy and again at the end. It is the evidentiary spine of any security-deposit decision: under La. R.S. 9:3251, the lessor must return the deposit or forward an itemized statement of deductions within one month after the lease terminates, and the checklist plus date-stamped photos is what proves whether a condition is chargeable damage or non-chargeable wear and tear. Use the generator below to build both walk-throughs on one consistent form.
Louisiana Deposit Documentation at a Glance
Governing Statute
La. R.S. 9:3251
Return / Itemize
Within One Month
Willful-Failure Trigger
30 Days After Written Demand
Keep Records
4 Years Min
The Two-Pillar Documentation Standard
A defensible Louisiana deposit deduction rests on two pieces of evidence: (1) this written, room-by-room checklist signed by both parties, and (2) date-stamped photographs of the same items taken at the same walk-through. The checklist alone is often not enough, and photos without written descriptions are easy to challenge — but together they are the strongest possible record. Always do both, at move-in and at move-out.
How to Run the Louisiana Walk-Through
1. Inspect together at move-in
Before the tenant takes possession, walk the unit together room by room and record the baseline condition of every surface, appliance, and fixture. This move-in record is the yardstick every later charge is measured against.
2. Rate each item and write specific notes
Mark each item Good, Fair, Poor, or N/A, then describe any Poor-rated item by exact location — “three-inch hole in the north living-room wall near the outlet” beats “minor damage.” Precise notes win disputes; vague ones lose them.
3. Photograph everything, date-stamped
Take date-stamped photos of each room and a close-up of every flagged item. The written checklist plus photos is the two-pillar record that carries a Louisiana deposit dispute.
4. Both parties sign and keep a copy
Have the landlord or agent and the tenant sign the completed checklist, and give each party a copy. The tenant should furnish a forwarding address so the deposit accounting can be mailed.
5. Repeat the identical walk-through at move-out
Use the same form and the same items at move-out so the two records line up item for item. Conduct the move-out walk-through with the tenant present whenever possible.
6. Compare the records and account within one month
Compare move-out to move-in, charge only for damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, and return the deposit or send an itemized statement within one month of termination under La. R.S. 9:3251.
Build Your Louisiana Checklist
Complete the fields below to generate a printable, room-by-room Louisiana move-in / move-out inspection checklist as a multi-page PDF. Use the same form for both walk-throughs — the move-in inspection establishes the baseline, and the move-out inspection documents the condition at the end of the tenancy. Walk the unit with the tenant present whenever possible, rate each item, and pair the finished checklist with date-stamped photographs. If you are also placing a new renter, start with thorough tenant screening and consistent move-in condition documentation.
1. Parties & Tenancy
2. Property
3. Room-by-Room Condition
For each item choose Good (no defects), Fair (minor wear), Poor (visible damage), or N/A (not present). Describe every Poor-rated item in the notes field below and photograph it.
4. Photo Documentation
Date-stamped photos are the second pillar of a defensible deposit claim. Photograph each room and each Poor-rated item at both walk-throughs, then retain the images for at least four years in dated cloud backup.
5. Signatures
Both parties should sign and keep a copy. The tenant’s signature acknowledges the recorded condition; it is not a waiver of legal rights.
What a Louisiana Move-In / Move-Out Checklist Is
A Louisiana move-in / move-out checklist is a written, room-by-room inventory that records the condition of a rental unit twice: once at the start of the tenancy and once at the end. It is not a statutory notice and it does not have to follow a fixed state form — its power is evidentiary. When a deposit dispute arises, the checklist is the contemporaneous record that fixes what the unit looked like before the tenant moved in and what it looked like after they left, so the two conditions can be compared item by item.
The document serves both sides. For the landlord, a signed move-in record proves that damage found at move-out happened during the tenancy and is therefore chargeable. For the tenant, that same record proves a condition was pre-existing and cannot be charged against the deposit. That two-way protection is why a thorough move-in walk-through is the single most effective defense against an unfair deduction, in either direction.
Move-In vs. Move-Out: Why You Compare the Two
The checklist only works when you run it twice on the same form. The move-in inspection sets the baseline — every item is rated and photographed while the unit is empty and clean, before the tenant has occupied it. The move-out inspection repeats the identical walk-through after the tenant returns possession. Because the item list is the same on both passes, the two records line up cleanly, and the only things that can be charged are the items that got measurably worse and crossed from wear into damage.
Skipping the move-in pass is the most common and most costly mistake. Without a baseline, a landlord cannot prove a stain or a hole is new, and a tenant cannot prove it was already there — the dispute becomes one person’s word against another’s. The generator above deliberately uses one form for every inspection type (Move-In, Pre-Move-Out, or