Apartment Maintenance Checklist for Renters

I have rented three apartments, and they taught me more about maintenance than any checklist. In one of the earlier ones, nobody asked me to photograph anything when I moved in, and I didn’t bother. When I moved out, a little over $100 was taken from my deposit to fix something that had worn out with normal use. I never received an invoice for that repair, and I had no photos to show what it looked like on day one. I could also have replaced it myself for much less if I had dealt with it before leaving. In my last apartment, the real estate agency asked me to photograph everything on move-in day, and now I would do it even if nobody asked.

That is what apartment maintenance means for renters. Most repairs are not your job, but noticing, documenting and reporting are, and small habits decide whether you get your deposit back. This apartment maintenance checklist for renters covers the whole lease, from the day you get the keys to the day you return them.

The renter’s maintenance checklist at a glance

Move-in day: document everything

This is the most important hour of your whole lease, and the one that people skip because they are tired and surrounded by boxes. Do it before you unpack:

1. Record a slow video of every room. Walk in, film each wall, the floor and the ceiling, then open every cabinet, closet and appliance. Say out loud what you see: “small scratch on the kitchen counter, left of the sink”.
2. Take close-up photos of every existing problem: stains on the carpet, chips in the tub, holes in the walls, scratched floors, missing blinds, worn items. Put something next to it for scale, like a coin or a pen.
3. Test everything: run every faucet and shower, flush the toilets, turn on the stove, oven, dishwasher, washer and dryer, open and lock every window and door, test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and try every light switch.
4. Write a list of everything you found and send it to the landlord or property manager by email the same day, with the photos attached. If they give you an inspection form, fill it in and keep a copy.

The email matters as much as the photos. It gives you a dated record that the landlord received, so nobody can say later that the damage appeared during your lease.

The first week: learn how repairs work in this building

Every rental has its own system, and it is better to learn it before you need it. My three landlords were completely different. The first one was very attentive and answered my messages himself. The second was good too. The third had a chatbot that took the request and sent a technician. All three worked, but only because I knew which channel to use. In your first week, find out:

• How to request a repair: email, tenant portal, app, chatbot or phone. Save it in your phone.
• The emergency number for nights and weekends, and what counts as an emergency for them.
• Where the water shutoff is for your apartment or your bathroom and kitchen. Our guide on how to find and label your home’s emergency shutoffs shows where to look.
• What the lease says about maintenance: who changes the HVAC filter and alarm batteries, whether you can paint or drill, and who handles pests.

This is also the week to get renters insurance if you don’t have it. Many people assume the landlord’s insurance covers them. It doesn’t: the Insurance Information Institute explains that the landlord’s policy protects the building, not your belongings, and won’t pay your living expenses if the apartment becomes unlivable. A renters policy covers your possessions, your liability if you damage someone else’s property (like flooding the apartment below) and temporary housing.

What is usually yours and what is the landlord’s

Your lease and local law decide the details, but this is how it usually works:

The key word in the right column is “report”. The landlord can only fix what they know about, and a problem you didn’t report can become your responsibility if it gets worse.

Weekly habits that protect your deposit

Most deposit deductions don’t come from big accidents. They come from small things that build up for a year: grease on the range hood, mold in the shower caulk, a slow drain full of hair, scratches under the chairs. A few habits prevent almost all of them:

• Squeegee or wipe the shower after use and run the bathroom fan or open the window for 20 minutes.
• Wipe the stovetop and the range hood after cooking, before the grease hardens.
• Use a hair catcher in the shower drain and empty it every week.
• Put felt pads under chairs and table legs and a mat under the desk chair.
• Keep furniture a few inches away from exterior walls so air can move and mold doesn’t grow behind it.

If you share the apartment, put these habits on the chore list. Our realistic weekly cleaning schedule shows a simple way to split them.

The 10-minute monthly check for renters

Once a month, walk through the apartment and look for anything that changed. You are not repairing anything, only noticing:

• ☐ Under the kitchen and bathroom sinks: dry floor, no drips, no musty smell.
• ☐ Around the toilet: no running water, no wobble, no water on the floor.
• ☐ Ceilings and walls: no new stains, especially under a bathroom upstairs.
• ☐ Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: press the test button.
• ☐ Windows and the front door: they open, close and lock properly.
• ☐ Pests: droppings in cabinets, ants near the sink, insects in the bathroom.
• ☐ HVAC filter: check it if the lease makes it your job.

For the full version of this routine with the reasons behind each step, see our monthly home maintenance checklist.

When something breaks: how to report it

Whether your landlord answers personally or through a chatbot, a good request gets a faster and better repair. Always put it in writing, even if you also call, and include:

• Exactly where the problem is.
• What you see, hear or smell, and since when.
• Whether it is getting worse.
• One wide photo and one close-up, or a short video.
• When someone can come in.

For example:

“Hi, the kitchen sink is leaking from the pipe under the drain, back left corner of the cabinet. I noticed it this morning. It drips only when the faucet is running, and the cabinet floor is starting to swell. I’ve put a bowl under it and attached two photos. I’m home after 5 pm on weekdays, or you can use the spare key with notice. Thank you, Lorena, Apt 3B.”

If nothing happens within a few days, reply to the same message so the dates stay together, and keep photographing the problem. For real emergencies, like water pouring from the ceiling, no heat in freezing weather, a gas smell or a door that won’t lock, use the emergency number or call 911, not the portal.

Small fixes you can do yourself

Some small jobs are faster to do yourself, and most landlords are happy if you do. Ask first if you are not sure, and keep the original parts if you replace something.

• Changing light bulbs and alarm batteries.
• Pulling hair out of a slow drain with a plastic drain tool.
• Tightening a loose cabinet handle or a toilet seat.
• Cleaning a shower head clogged with limescale by soaking it in vinegar.
• Replacing a shower curtain, a torn window screen or a broken drawer knob with the same model.
• Cleaning the range hood filter and the dishwasher filter.

Leave anything involving electricity, gas, pipes inside the walls, the water heater or the appliances’ insides to the landlord. A repair that goes wrong can become your cost, and it also makes it harder to prove the original problem wasn’t yours.

Decorating without losing your deposit

• Use removable adhesive hooks and strips for light frames, and follow the removal instructions when you take them down.
• Use tension rods for curtains in windows and closets instead of drilling.
• Lean large mirrors and art on furniture or the floor instead of hanging them.
• Protect floors with rugs and furniture pads, especially under a desk chair.
• Ask in writing before painting or drilling, and keep the answer.

If you want ideas for making a small rental feel bigger without changing anything permanent, our guide on how to make a small living room look bigger has several.

Before moving out: get your deposit back

This is where my deposit lesson comes in. Start about a month before you leave:

1. Compare the apartment with your move-in photos. Look for anything that changed beyond normal use.
2. Fix what you can, cheaply. Fill small nail holes with spackle, replace burned-out bulbs, replace anything small you broke with the same model. If something wore out with use, ask the landlord whether you can replace it yourself before you leave; it is usually much cheaper than a deduction.
3. Ask for a pre-move-out inspection if your state allows it. In California, for example, the landlord must tell you in writing that you have the right to ask for one, so you can fix problems before you go.
4. Deep clean, including inside the oven, the fridge, the range hood and the bathroom grout. Our guide to deep cleaning a greasy kitchen helps with the hardest part.
5. Record a new video of every room once the apartment is empty and clean, with the date.
6. Return the keys and ask for a receipt, and give your new address in writing.
7. Ask for an itemized list of any deductions, with invoices.

That last step is the one I didn’t know about. The rules depend on your state, but many have them. In California, the state courts’ self-help guide explains that the landlord has 21 days to return the deposit or send an itemized statement of deductions, with copies of invoices or receipts for deductions over $125, and can’t charge you for normal wear and tear. Look up your own state’s rules before you move out, so you know what to ask for.

If you share the apartment

In a shared apartment, maintenance problems often fall between roommates: everyone sees the dripping faucet and everyone assumes someone else reported it. Agree on one person who talks to the landlord, keep a shared note with every request and its date, and do the move-in and move-out photos together, so the deposit is split fairly.

Common renter mistakes

Accepting deductions without details. Ask what each one was for and how much it cost.

Not taking move-in photos. Without them, it is your word against the landlord’s.

Reporting only by phone. A call leaves no record. Follow it with a short message.

Waiting until move-out to mention a problem. By then, a small leak may have become real damage.

Painting over a stain. It hides the symptom and the landlord can’t see the cause.