The condition report protects you on paper. Your photos protect you in practice. A well-documented set of move-in photos has saved countless tenants from unfair bond claims — and their absence has cost just as many. Here is how to do it properly in about 30 minutes.
When to do it — and why timing matters
Photograph on move-in day, before you bring any belongings in. An empty property is easier to document, and any pre-existing marks, damage, or conditions are clearly not yours.
If you cannot photograph before your furniture arrives, do it as early as possible in the first day — certainly within the first 48 hours. Your phone's timestamp is evidence. Photographs taken six weeks into a tenancy will be questioned in any dispute.
Room-by-room checklist
Work methodically through every room. In each space, capture:
Kitchen specifically:
Bathroom specifically:
External:
- All four walls — stand in each corner and photograph the opposite corner
- Ceiling (a quick upward shot)
- Floor — pan across the entire floor surface
- Any marks, scuffs, chips, or stains — close-up shots
- Window condition — frames, glass, locks, and blinds
- Built-in wardrobes or shelving — interior and exterior
- Light switches and power points — these chip and crack
- Inside the oven (grease, damage, missing racks)
- Rangehood filter
- All bench surfaces
- Sink and taps
- Inside all cupboards and drawers
- Grout condition
- Shower screen and seal
- Toilet (including under the rim)
- Bath if present
- Exhaust fan
- Front and rear exterior
- Garden and lawn state
- Fences and gates
- Garage and outdoor areas
What makes a photo useful vs useless
Useful photos are:
Useless photos:
For significant issues — a large wall mark, damaged floor, mould in the bathroom — take both a close-up and a wider shot showing exactly where in the room it appears. A close-up of a mark without context can be hard to place months later.
- In focus — blurry close-ups prove nothing
- Well-lit — turn on all lights and open blinds
- Close enough to show the specific issue, with a wider context shot showing where in the property it is
- Timestamped — your phone does this automatically if location services are on
- Out of focus
- Dark and shadowy
- So zoomed out that specific marks are invisible
- Missing the timestamp
How to store and organise your photos
The biggest mistake tenants make is taking good photos and then losing them at the end of the tenancy. Prevent this:
The last step is optional but powerful — it creates a clear, timestamped record that both parties have seen.
- Back up immediately to cloud storage (Google Photos, iCloud) — do not rely on a single phone that may be lost or upgraded
- Create a dedicated folder labelled with the address and move-in date
- Email a summary set to yourself — email timestamps are robust evidence
- Consider sharing them with the agent or landlord on the day, with a note that these are your move-in photos documenting existing conditions
Using your photos in a dispute
If a bond claim is made for damage you documented at move-in:
A photo plus a matching condition report entry is almost always sufficient to rebut a claim for pre-existing damage.
- Pull up the specific photo showing the condition existed before you arrived
- Reference the timestamp
- Compare against the condition report — the more they align, the stronger your position
- Submit both to the bond authority or tribunal as evidence