Free New York Move-In / Move-Out Inspection Checklist

Both. New York General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(c) says that after initial lease signing but before the tenant begins occupancy, the landlord shall offer the tenant the opportunity to inspect the premises with the landlord or the landlord’s agent. If the tenant requests that inspection, the parties must execute a written agreement before occupancy attesting to the condition of the property and specifically noting any existing defects or damages. The statute then makes the consequence concrete: when the tenant vacates, the landlord may not retain any amount of the deposit for any condition, defect, or damage noted in that agreement. Making the offer is mandatory; accepting it is the tenant’s choice.

General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(d) sets two separate timings, and landlords routinely miss the second. Within a reasonable time after either party gives notice of intent to terminate the tenancy — unless the tenant terminates on less than two weeks’ notice — you must notify the tenant in writing of the right to request an inspection before vacating and the right to be present at it. If the tenant requests one, the inspection is made no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the end of the tenancy, and you must provide at least forty-eight hours’ written notice of the date and time. Both steps are statutory duties, not courtesies.

You lose the deduction entirely. General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(e) requires that within fourteen days after the tenant has vacated, the landlord provide an itemized statement indicating the basis for any amount retained and return the rest of the deposit. The sanction is written into the same paragraph: if the landlord fails to provide the statement and the deposit within fourteen days, the landlord forfeits any right to retain any portion of the deposit. Paragraph (g) adds liability for actual damages, and punitive damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit where the violation is willful. Send the statement even when you are deducting nothing.

Only where the cleaning is repairing actual damage. General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(b) limits retention to the reasonable and itemized costs of non-payment of rent, damage caused by the tenant beyond normal wear and tear, non-payment of utility charges payable directly to the landlord under the lease, and moving and storage of the tenant’s belongings. Routine turnover cleaning is not on that list. The same paragraph goes further and bars the landlord from retaining any amount for costs relating to ordinary wear and tear of occupancy, or for damage caused by a prior tenant — which is precisely why the move-in half of this checklist matters as much as the move-out half.

You do. General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(f) provides that in any action or proceeding disputing the amount of the deposit retained, the landlord bears the burden of proof as to the reasonableness of the amount retained. That single sentence is the reason a condition record exists at all. Meeting that burden is evidence practice rather than a statutory formula: a room-by-room record signed by both parties at move-in and again at move-out, dated photographs taken from the same positions on both dates, and repair invoices tied to the specific line items you are charging. Vague notes such as “minor damage” are what fail under this standard.

Document the unit anyway. No New York statute requires the tenant’s signature on an inspection checklist, and a refusal does not excuse or postpone anything on your side. Practice, not statute: complete the walkthrough, note on the form that the tenant declined to sign and the date, and photograph every room the same way you did at move-in. Keep the § 7-108(1-a)(d) itemized statement and the fourteen-day statement on schedule regardless. What you cannot do is treat the refusal as a waiver — subdivision 3 of § 7-108 states that any agreement by a tenant waiving or modifying rights under that section is absolutely void.

Not uniformly, so confirm which regime your unit sits under before relying on these timelines. Subdivision 1 of § 7-108 applies the section to all dwelling units in residential premises unless the unit is specifically referred to in General Obligations Law § 7-107, which covers deposits made by tenants of rent-stabilized dwelling units. Subdivision 1-a — the one month’s rent cap, the inspection rights, and the fourteen-day itemization — expressly excludes units subject to the city rent and rehabilitation law or the emergency housing rent control law, along with licensed continuing care retirement communities, assisted living providers, adult care facilities, senior residential communities that have filed an offering plan, and not-for-profit independent retirement communities.

Be careful, because the statute limits its own documents. General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(c) says the pre-occupancy written agreement is admissible as evidence of the condition of the premises at the beginning of occupancy only in proceedings related to the return or amount of the security deposit, and paragraph (d) puts the same restriction on the pre-move-out itemized statement. That limitation attaches to those § 7-108 documents. If you need condition evidence for a holdover or nuisance proceeding, build a separate record — dated photographs, third-party inspection reports, and repair invoices — and ask a New York landlord-tenant attorney what a court will receive.