Guardian Landlord includes a built-in move-in / move-out checklist so you can document a rental's condition, share it with your tenant for sign-off, and keep a locked, side-by-side record. It's the documentation that protects your deposit decisions if anything is ever questioned.

Where to find it

Go to Tenants in the dashboard and find the tenant you want. Open their tenancy and look just below Lease Documents for the Move-in / move-out checklists section. Tap it to expand. Any checklist that needs something from you also appears on your dashboard home under Checklists needing attention.

Starting a checklist

  1. Tap Start move-in checklist (or Start move-out checklist). When a tenancy ends, Guardian starts the move-out checklist for you automatically — you'll find it waiting.

  2. The checklist opens pre-filled with a suggested list of rooms and fixtures, grouped by area — General, Kitchen, Bathroom, and so on.

  3. Tap any area header to expand it. Each header shows a small rated count, and a progress bar at the top of the checklist tracks the whole walkthrough.

Recording condition

For each item, tap a condition chip — Good, Fair, Poor, Damaged, or N/A. The chip fills with a color so the item's status is obvious. Tapped the wrong one? Tap it again to clear it. Everything saves automatically — there's no Save button to hunt for.

  • Rate a whole room at once. Inside any area, tap Mark remaining as Good to sweep every unrated item in that room to Good in one tap — then adjust the few that aren't. It never overwrites a rating you've already set, so the fastest walkthrough is: sweep the room, document the exceptions.

  • Add a note to any item by tapping "+ Add note" — useful for "small scuff by the door" or "replaced filter."

  • Add a photo to any item with the camera button. Item-level photos are the strongest evidence you can attach — a photo of the scuff sits right next to the rating and note about the scuff.

  • Add your own item at the bottom of the checklist if something isn't on the default list.

Want a different default list? Go to Settings › Default checklists and edit the move-in and move-out templates once. Every new checklist you start from then on uses your version.

Sharing it with your tenant

When you're done recording condition, tap Share with [tenant] (you'll need at least one item rated first). This does two things: the checklist status changes to Shared, and your tenant immediately gets an in-app notification and an email inviting them to review and confirm it from their portal.

  • Shared too soon? As long as no one has signed yet, tap Recall & edit to pull it back to draft. Your tenant is notified that it was withdrawn for edits, and you can share it again when it's ready.

  • Started one by mistake? A checklist that's still a draft can be removed with Delete draft.

If your tenant disagrees with something

Your tenant isn't limited to a yes/no. While reviewing, they can flag any item with "I disagree with this" and attach their own note or photo. Flagged items are marked on the checklist, a flag count appears next to the checklist in your Tenants page, and if they sign with disagreements, your notification and email say exactly how many items they flagged — so you know to look before adding your own signature. For how to handle it from there, see What to do when your tenant flags a disagreement.

Signing and finalizing

  1. Your tenant reviews the checklist and confirms it by typing their name to sign. The checklist's status changes to Tenant completed, you're notified, and a banner on the checklist prompts you for the one thing left: your signature.

  2. You add your own signature the same way. (You can also sign first and let your tenant countersign — the order doesn't matter.)

  3. Once both of you have signed, the checklist is Finalized — and your tenant is notified that the record is complete and locked.

Each signature is shown with the signer's name and the exact date and time it was recorded, so the record is clear about who agreed to what, and when.

A finalized checklist is locked — it can't be edited afterward, on purpose. That's what makes it a trustworthy, agreed record. When the tenant is ready to leave, start a separate move-out checklist rather than reopening the move-in one.

Move-in and move-out, side by side

Both checklists live on the same tenancy, so the before-and-after comparison that protects you at move-out is always in one place — no digging through your camera roll or old emails. For the bigger picture on move-out, see The Self-Managing Landlord's Move-Out Checklist.