Tennessee move-in and move-out checklist
In Tennessee, where the statute applies, a landlord who cannot produce the condition report cannot deduct for damage. The generator builds the room-by-room report and prints the sign-or-dissent notice.
Free watermarked preview · Clean PDF $2.99 · No account needed to preview
What Tennessee requires
- Requirement
- No move-in list is required. At move-out the landlord may notify the tenant of the right to be present; if the tenant asks for a joint inspection, both compile and sign a listing of damage with estimated repair cost, or the tenant dissents in writing to specific items. In the counties it covers, a landlord without a listing and a separate account keeps none of the deposit.
- Repair cost
- Each listed damage carries the estimated cost of repair.
- Deductions
- Depend on this report existing.
- Exemption
- The statute covers only counties of more than 75,000 people at the 2010 or any later federal census; elsewhere the listing is not a condition of keeping the deposit.
- Statute
- Tenn. Code §§ 66-28-102, 66-28-301
Tennessee checklist FAQ
No move-in list is required. At move-out the landlord may notify the tenant of the right to be present; if the tenant asks for a joint inspection, both compile and sign a listing of damage with estimated repair cost, or the tenant dissents in writing to specific items. In the counties it covers, a landlord without a listing and a separate account keeps none of the deposit. (Tenn. Code §§ 66-28-102, 66-28-301)
The report is a condition of deducting for damage. Without it the landlord is left arguing about the unit's condition from memory, and in Tennessee the statute resolves that argument in the tenant's favor wherever it applies.
The tenant states in writing the specific items they dissent to and signs that statement; the report tells them so. A signed list is conclusive as to what it describes (except latent defects), and the tenant's later claims are limited to the items dissented to.
Yes. Tennessee's statute asks for the estimated cost of repairing each listed damage; the report has a column for it and the checklist flags any damaged item without one.
The statute covers only counties of more than 75,000 people at the 2010 or any later federal census; elsewhere the listing is not a condition of keeping the deposit.
Nail holes, faded paint, light carpet wear and loose handles from ordinary use are wear and tear. Burns, stains, holes, broken fixtures and anything that needs more than routine cleaning is damage. Mark wear as "fair" with a note; reserve "damaged" for what a tenant could be charged for, and photograph it.
Other states
Arizona · Georgia · Kentucky · Massachusetts · Michigan · Washington · Montana · Tennessee deposit itemization
Walk the unit with the right form
Preview the report free, fix anything the checklist flags, then download the clean PDF for $2.99.
Create a Tennessee move-in checklist