Document your apartment before you unpack.

For each item: test it, photograph anything that’s off, and write one plain sentence about what you found. Wide shot for context, close-up for detail. Don’t clean or fix anything until it’s documented.

• Test every door lock and deadbolt with your own key
• Buzzer, intercom, and doorbell all work
• Mailbox locks and is labeled for your unit
• Press the test button on every smoke and CO detector (Required safety equipment; note any that are missing or dead.)
• Door frame, weatherstripping, and peephole intact
• Hallway lights and switches work

• Open, close, and lock every window; check screens for tears
• Test every outlet (A phone charger makes a quick tester.)
• Run radiators or baseboard heat (Listen for knocking; look for leak and rust stains.)
• Lift rug edges and look where furniture stood for hidden stains
• Ceiling and wall water stains, cracked plaster
• Cable and ethernet jacks intact

• Run the dishwasher through a full cycle (Leaks show up at the end of the cycle, not the start.)
• Test every stove burner and the oven, including the broiler
• Pull out the drawer or broiler under the oven (Grease buildup and pest droppings hide there.)
• Check behind and under the fridge; confirm fridge and freezer get cold (Look for droppings and old water damage.)
• Run the faucet on full hot; look under the sink for leaks or a rotted cabinet floor
• Run the garbage disposal
• Open every cabinet and drawer: water stains, pests, broken shelves
• Exhaust fan and hood light work

• Grout and caulk around tub and shower: mold, gaps, missing sections
• Run the shower several minutes: water pressure and how long hot water lasts
• Fill the sink and tub, then time the drain (A slow drain documented now is pre-existing, not your damage.)
• Flush the toilet twice; check the base for leaks or rocking
• Exhaust fan actually pulls air (Hold a tissue to it. No fan means the window must open.)
• Under-sink cabinet water damage
• Cracked tiles, chipped tub, mirror and medicine cabinet condition

• Windows open, close, and lock; screens intact
• Closet interiors: walls, rods, shelves, mildew smell
• Every outlet works
• Radiator or vent heats
• Check carpet where furniture stood for stains
• Door closes and latches

• Building entry doors and gates lock
• Porch, deck, and stairs: loose boards, wobbly railings
• Trash area: signs of pests or droppings
• Assigned parking or storage condition
• Exterior lighting near your entry works
• Foundation or siding damage near your unit

• Walls and ceiling: cracks, stains, holes
• Floor scratches, stains, loose boards
• Windows and doors open, close, and lock
• Outlets and lights work
• Photograph any damage close-up and wide so the location is clear

If you paid a security deposit on a Massachusetts unit, your landlord must give you a Statement of Condition within 10 days, and you have 15 days to sign it or send back your own list of existing damage (MGL c. 186, § 15B). Your walkthrough is that response. Do it inside the window and keep proof you sent it. The deadlines are covered on Mass.gov.

The walkthrough wizard prompts you through this checklist room by room, attaches your photos, and files the whole thing as a condition report in your records. Every entry is stamped with when it happened and when it was recorded. Every attachment gets a SHA-256 fingerprint. The full history exports as a PDF whenever you need to show it to someone.