Short answer: A move-out inspection is a documented walkthrough at the end of a tenancy that compares the property’s condition to its condition at move-in. In Washington DC you must give the tenant 10 days’ written notice, inspect within 3 business days before or after the tenancy ends, and either refund the deposit or send a written withholding notice within 45 days. Only damage beyond ordinary wear and tear can be deducted.
What is a move-out inspection?
A move-out inspection is the walkthrough a landlord conducts when a tenant leaves, comparing the unit’s condition against the signed move-in condition report.
It decides two things: what the property needs before the next tenant, and how much of the security deposit the outgoing tenant gets back.
The inspection sorts every change into one of two buckets. Ordinary wear and tear is the landlord’s cost. Damage from abuse or neglect can be charged to the tenant. That sorting only holds up if you have something to compare against, which is why a signed move-in inspection form with photographs is the single most important document in the process. If you are unsure where the line falls, our guide to what counts as normal wear and tear in a rental works through more examples.
The 4 deadlines DC landlords have to hit
| When | What you must do | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 10 days before | Send written notice of the inspection’s time and date to the tenant or the unit | 14 DCMR § 310 |
| Within 3 business days | Inspect, at the noticed time and place — within three days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, before or after the tenancy ends | 14 DCMR § 310.1 |
| Within 45 days | Refund the deposit with interest, or send written notice that you intend to withhold | 14 DCMR § 309 |
| Within 30 days | After that notice, complete repairs and send an itemized statement of actual costs | 14 DCMR § 309 |
Miss the 45-day notice and you lose the deposit. The presumption flips to the tenant: full deposit plus interest, whatever the condition of the unit. A legitimate $2,000 damage claim is unrecoverable if the notice goes out on day 47.
Three other numbers are worth committing to memory. A DC security deposit is capped at one month’s rent. It has to sit in an interest-bearing escrow account at a DC financial institution, and it earns interest for the tenant on any tenancy of 12 months or more. And withholding a deposit in bad faith can expose you to treble damages — three times the amount withheld. The DC Office of the Tenant Advocate’s Tenant Bill of Rights sets out the same rules from the tenant’s side, which is worth reading before you write a withholding notice.
Download the checklist
Everything below is available as a free two-page printable form: Move-Out Inspection Checklist (PDF). Page one is the room-by-room checklist with OK / wear / damage columns, the DC deadline table and signature lines. Page two is a deduction worksheet — item, damage, repair, invoice number and actual cost — plus the DC, Maryland and Virginia rules side by side. Print one per turnover and it becomes the record you rely on if a deduction is ever challenged.
The move-out inspection checklist
Work the unit in the same order every time. Photograph anything you might charge for — one wide shot of the room, one close shot of the defect. Allow about an hour for a one-bedroom apartment and two or more for a house with a basement. A rushed walkthrough is where indefensible deductions come from.
Entry and exterior
- Door, frame, weatherstripping, locks
- All keys, fobs and remotes returned
- Exterior lights and fixtures
- Yard, gutters, patio, balcony
- Trash and bulk items removed
- Parking space and storage emptied
Living areas and bedrooms
- Walls — pinholes vs. anchor damage
- Unapproved paint or wallpaper
- Floors and carpet: scratches, stains, burns
- Ceilings, for stains that signal a leak
- Windows, screens, locks, blinds
- Closet doors, rods and shelving
- Outlets, switches, light fixtures
- Thermostat present and reset
Kitchen
- Refrigerator inside, and the floor behind it
- Range, oven, drip pans, hood filter
- Dishwasher racks, filter and seal
- Sink, faucet, garbage disposal
- Countertops — burns, chips, scoring
- Cabinet doors, hinges and interiors
- Signs of pests behind appliances
Bathrooms
- Toilet: running, sealed at the base
- Tub and shower — chips and cracks
- Caulk, grout, mildew vs. mold
- Vanity, and the cabinet floor beneath it
- Exhaust fan runs
- Drains and water pressure
Systems and safety
- HVAC in heat and cool; filter replaced
- Water heater area dry
- Washer, dryer, lint trap, hoses
- Smoke and CO detectors tested
- Electrical panel, no added breakers
- Unauthorized alterations or swapped fixtures
Anything that turns out to be a habitability problem rather than tenant damage is your repair, and often on a clock — see our guide to landlord repair laws in DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Handover
- Forwarding address in writing
- Final utility readings
- Parking permits and HOA fobs
- Report signed and dated by both parties
Normal wear and tear vs. damage
The test is whether a reasonable tenant living normally would have caused it over that length of tenancy. Three years earns more wear than nine months.
| Item | Wear — landlord pays | Damage — tenant pays |
|---|---|---|
| Walls | Faded paint, pin holes, scuffs | Anchor holes, drywall tears, unapproved paint |
| Carpet | Traffic patterns, matting, fading | Burns, pet urine, tears, permanent stains |
| Floors | Dulled finish, faded tile, loose grout | Deep gouges, water damage, cracked tile |
| Appliances | Failure from age, worn gaskets | Cracked shelves, misuse, hardened grease |
| Counters | Light scratching, dulling | Burns, chips, deep knife scoring |
| Cleaning | Ordinary turnover cleaning | Trash left behind, biohazard, infestation |
Useful life matters too. If a carpet lasts eight years and you replace it after seven, charge for the one year left — not a whole new carpet.
Two categories cause more disputes than the rest combined. Pet damage is chargeable, but only if the pet was a lease issue in the first place — see unauthorized pet lease violations. Smoke odour and nicotine staining are chargeable too, and they are the hardest to evidence at move-out, so read how to prove a tenant was smoking before you write that line into a statement.
What you can deduct from a DC security deposit
You can charge for
- Unpaid rent and lease-permitted late fees
- Repairing tenant damage, at actual invoiced cost
- Removing abandoned property and trash
- Unreturned keys, fobs and remotes
- Cleaning beyond ordinary turnover — biohazard, infestation, heavy grease
You cannot charge for
- Ordinary wear and tear, however long the tenancy
- Routine turnover — scheduled repainting, standard cleaning, carpet shampoo
- Fixtures that reached the end of their useful life
- Repairs you estimated but never performed
- Flat fees charged to every departing tenant
Our guide to DC security deposit laws covers escrow, interest and disclosure in full, including how the interest rate is set each six-month period.
How to document it so it holds up
- Shoot the same angles you shot at move-in. A side-by-side settles what a description cannot.
- Two photos per defect — one wide, one close. Keep the originals, not screenshots.
- Record a narrated video stating the address and date at the start.
- Bill actual costs. Attach the invoice. An estimate is not an itemized cost.
- Itemize line by line. “Repairs — $1,180” invites a challenge; four invoiced lines do not.
- Keep the file three years: notice, signed report, photos, withholding notice, invoices.
Your 10-day notice of inspection: a template
DC requires the notice in writing, with a time and a date, at least ten days ahead. Most disputes that start with “I was never told” end here. Adapt this and send it by a method you can prove:
Dear [Tenant name],
Your tenancy at [full property address] ends on [date]. In accordance with 14 DCMR § 310, this is written notice that I will inspect the unit on [date] at [time].
You are welcome to be present. The inspection compares the unit’s condition against the move-in condition report we both signed on [date]. Please have the unit empty, cleaned, and all keys, fobs and remotes available.
Within 45 days of the end of your tenancy I will either return your deposit with any interest owed, or notify you in writing of any amount I intend to withhold, followed by an itemized statement of actual costs. Please send me your forwarding address in writing.
[Your name, phone, email]
Tell your tenant what to fix before they go
Every hour of work the tenant does is an hour you do not pay a contractor for, and a line item that never has to be argued about. Send this list with the inspection notice:
- Patch and sand nail and anchor holes with spackle
- Clean the oven, the fridge including the seals, and the range hood filter
- Descale the shower head and taps; re-clean grout and caulk lines
- Wipe baseboards, door tops, switch plates and ceiling fixtures
- Replace burnt-out bulbs and the HVAC filter
- Shampoo carpets and treat any spot they know about
- Remove every item, including anything in storage, the patio and the parking space
- Photograph the cleaned unit for their own records
Our tenant move-out checklist is written for renters, so you can send them the link rather than retyping any of this.
Pre-move-out walkthrough vs. the final inspection
Tenants often ask for an early inspection so they know what they owe. Some landlords refuse outright, and they have a fair point: with furniture, boxes and the tenant still in the unit, you cannot see behind the sofa or under the bed, and an inspection done in those conditions will miss things.
The answer is to do both, and to be explicit about which is which.
- The pre-move-out walkthrough, two to four weeks out, is advisory. You walk the unit with the tenant, hand them a written punch list, and give them a deadline. It is not the inspection of record, it does not bind you, and no part of the deposit is released on the strength of it. Say that in writing.
- The final inspection happens once the unit is empty, inside the statutory window, and is the one that decides the deductions.
Run that way, the early walkthrough costs you an hour and routinely removes several hundred dollars of chargeable work, because most tenants will fix what they are shown. DC does not require it. Do it anyway.
DC, Maryland and Virginia compared
Nomadic manages in all three, and the rules differ most on whether the tenant can insist on being there.
| Washington DC | Maryland | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspect within | 3 days excluding weekends and holidays, before or after termination | 5 days before or after the tenant’s stated move date | 72 hours of delivery of possession |
| Notice required | Time and date, 10 days ahead | Inspection date, after the tenant’s request | Notice of the right to be present, within 5 days of the tenant’s notice |
| Tenant can attend | At the noticed time and place | Yes — certified-mail request 15 days before moving | Yes — landlord must make reasonable effort to advise |
| Deposit accounting | 45 days to refund or notify; 30 days after that to itemize | Written list of charges and actual costs in 45 days | Itemized disposition statement in 45 days |
| Penalty | Up to treble damages for bad faith | Up to 3× withheld, plus attorney’s fees | Actual damages, plus fees for bad faith |
The Maryland trap worth knowing: if the tenant was never notified of their inspection rights at lease signing, the landlord loses the right to withhold any part of the deposit for damages at all. The Maryland People’s Law Library, published by the Thurgood Marshall State Law Library, sets out the notice and inspection rules in detail.
Statutes: Md. Real Prop. § 8-203.1 and Va. Code § 55.1-1226; DC inspections and deposits are governed by 14 DCMR §§ 308–311. George Washington University’s off-campus housing office hosts the DC Office of the Tenant Advocate’s Renters’ Rights 101 briefing, which is the clearest plain-English summary of the DC deposit rules we have found. For the wider framework, see our guide to the DC landlord and tenant act. Rules change — confirm current requirements before relying on them.
Five mistakes that cost landlords money
- No move-in report. With nothing to compare against, every charge is your word against theirs.
- Missing the 10-day notice. A defective inspection weakens every deduction that comes out of it.
- Promising the deposit back. Say it will be accounted for in writing within 45 days. Nothing more.
- Charging estimates. If it is not done and invoiced, it is not an itemized cost.
- Billing routine turnover. Scheduled repainting and standard cleaning are costs of owning a rental.
For tenants: your rights at a move-out inspection
If you are the one moving out, four things are worth knowing. In Washington DC the inspection has to happen at a time and place you were told about in writing ten days ahead, so you can be there. In Maryland you can require the landlord’s presence at an inspection by sending a certified-mail request at least 15 days before you move. In Virginia the landlord must make reasonable effort to advise you of your right to attend.
If deductions arrive that you think are unfair, ask for the itemized statement and the invoices behind each line, compare them against your move-in report, and put your objection in writing. DC disputes are heard by the DC Office of Administrative Hearings. Our guide to renters’ rights in DC covers the process in more depth.
Frequently asked questions
What is on a move-out inspection checklist?
A move-out inspection checklist covers walls, floors, ceilings and windows in every room; kitchen appliances, cabinets and countertops; bathroom fixtures, tile and caulk; HVAC, water heater, laundry and the electrical panel; smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; the exterior and parking; and the handover of every key plus the tenant’s forwarding address. Each item is compared against the move-in report and photographed.
When can a landlord do a move-out inspection in DC?
A Washington DC landlord may inspect within three days — excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays — before or after the tenancy ends. Written notice of the time and date must reach the tenant, or the unit, at least 10 days beforehand, and the inspection must be held at that noticed time and place. The rule is 14 DCMR § 310.
What can a landlord deduct from a security deposit in DC?
In Washington DC a landlord may deduct unpaid rent and the actual cost of repairing damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, plus removal of abandoned property, unreturned keys, and cleaning beyond ordinary turnover. Landlords may not deduct for wear and tear, routine repainting or standard cleaning, worn-out fixtures, unperformed repairs, or flat fees applied to every tenant.
How long does a move-out inspection take?
Allow about an hour for a one-bedroom apartment and two or more for a house with a basement, including the time to photograph every defect twice and complete the written report. Inspections done in fifteen minutes are the ones that produce deductions a tenant can successfully challenge, because there is no record behind them.
How long does a DC landlord have to return a security deposit?
45 days. Within 45 days of the tenancy ending, a Washington DC landlord must either refund the deposit with any interest owed or send written notice of intent to withhold. If notice is sent, the itemized statement of actual repair costs and any remaining balance is due within 30 days after that notice.
Can a tenant be present at the move-out inspection?
Yes. In Maryland it is a right the tenant activates by certified-mail request at least 15 days before moving. In Virginia the landlord must make reasonable effort to advise the tenant of the right, with the inspection held within 72 hours of delivery of possession. In Washington DC the inspection happens at a noticed time and place, so tenants can and often do attend.
What do tenants have to clean when moving out?
Tenants are expected to return the unit clean and empty: oven, refrigerator and range hood filter degreased, bathrooms scrubbed including grout and shower head, baseboards and light fixtures wiped, carpets shampooed, nail holes patched, bulbs and HVAC filters replaced, and all belongings and trash removed from the unit, storage, patio and parking space. Tenants are not responsible for the routine turnover cleaning a landlord does between every tenancy.
What counts as normal wear and tear?
Normal wear and tear is deterioration from ordinary living: faded or chipped paint, worn carpet and traffic patterns, dulled floor finish, faded tile and loose grout. Damage is caused by abuse or neglect — cigarette burns, pet urine, torn blinds, broken glass, gouged floors and stains that survive professional cleaning. Length of tenancy is part of the test.
Do I need a move-in inspection report to charge for damage?
In practice, yes. A deduction claims the condition changed during the tenancy, and without a dated, signed move-in report with photographs there is no way to prove it did. Landlords who only inspect at move-out frequently lose deductions when a tenant challenges them.
What happens if a DC landlord withholds a deposit improperly?
Missing the 45-day notice creates a presumption that the tenant gets the full deposit plus interest. Withholding in bad faith can expose a Washington DC landlord to treble damages under 14 DCMR § 309.5. Bad faith means a frivolous or unfounded refusal with deceptive or dishonest intent — not an honest mistake. Disputes go to the DC Office of Administrative Hearings.
We handle turnover
Nomadic Real Estate has managed rentals in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia since 2005, for more than 4,000 owners. We run the pre-move-out walkthrough, document the final inspection, produce the itemized statement inside the statutory window, and re-list the unit. Our portfolio holds a 97% occupancy rate.
See how our Washington DC property management service handles turnover, how we work across the river in Northern Virginia, or get a free rental analysis — we reply within 20 minutes.
General information for housing providers, not legal advice. Confirm current rules, or speak with counsel, before acting on a deposit deduction.
