Start with the room and tenancy
Create the condition record for the relevant lease and stage: move-in or move-out. Name the room and any shared areas covered. If roommates share an agreement, state who the record relates to instead of creating several unexplained copies of the same photos.
Record the capture date separately from the upload date. Keep original files when available, and add a short note if photographs were supplied by someone else. Avoid including identity documents, faces, or unrelated personal belongings.
Follow the same route each time
Begin with a wide view from the doorway, then work clockwise. Photograph walls, floor, ceiling, windows, doors, and any furniture or appliances included with the room. For an existing mark or defect, take a wider context photo and a close-up.
For shared areas, record which kitchen, bathroom, hallway, storage area, or parking space you photographed. A photo called bathroom.jpg is ambiguous in a property with three bathrooms. Use the same space names as your floor plan.
Use this capture checklist
- Property, room, lease, and move-in or move-out stage recorded
- Wide view of the room and each included shared area
- Walls, floor, ceiling, windows, and doors photographed
- Included furniture and appliances recorded
- Existing marks photographed in context and close-up
- Keys, access items, and assigned parking noted where relevant
- Date, area names, and short condition notes checked
- Original files saved and record reviewed for missing areas
This checklist is for organizing records. It is not a building safety inspection, a legal inspection form, or a decision about deposit deductions. Use the agreement and applicable requirements for those decisions.
Make the files recognizable
Use names such as maple-room-02-move-in-window-01.jpg. Add the actual capture date to the record; do not rely on the file upload time. Notes should describe what is visible: ‘small chip on lower window frame’ is more useful than ‘bad window.’
At move-out, follow the same order and angles where practical. Preserve both sets of records. A comparison can help explain a change, but a photo alone does not establish its cause or who is responsible.
Keep photos close to the resident
In Roomline, open the resident’s current tenancy and use its condition records to add move-in or move-out photos. Include the areas the record covers and save condition notes alongside the images. For roommates, review which records are shared before adding duplicates.
Photographing every detail is less useful if you cannot find it later. Check the saved record before leaving the property, and keep a copy of important originals in your existing backup process.