Documentation is the first step toward protecting the interests of all parties involved in rental transactions. The walk-through checklist is a great way to protect a renter and a landlord both when entering into a lease and when a tenant moves out. When it comes to using security deposits for repairs and cleaning, a checklist is a legal necessity.

Here are 8 of the most important facets of a great walk-through checklist:

1. Every space – bedroom, bathroom, dining, living and kitchen area – needs its own area on the list. Outbuildings, attached storage or utility rooms need their own space, too.
2. Condition score notes can be a generic notation of condition, such as “good,” or detailed repair needs, but every feature needs a score.
3. Each space needs custom feature condition scoring. A kitchen needs a list of all features and appliances. A bathroom requires scoring areas for the bathtub, toilet and sink, as well as lighting fixtures, walls, floors and doors.
4. Bedrooms require closet and flooring condition inventories, in addition to the fixture, door, window and wall ratings.
5. A general comments section allows for any notes not covered anywhere else on the form. This could include something like an odor or unknown pipe noise in the walls.
6. Both the tenant and landlord should initial each page to indicate that the walk-through was done together and that both parties agreed to what's written in the document. Wrap up with a full signature and date line at the end of the checklist.
7. A stipulations page should include anything that can't be verified to be in good working order during the walk-through, such as appliances, fireplaces and lighting fixtures. Those are items that you as a landlord are guaranteeing to maintain and repair, if need be.
8. If both parties can't be present, photos should accompany the walk-through checklist to document any damage that's been noted in the comments. They should be full-color photos, and they should be in focus and clearly show the entire room in one shot, and the damage up close. Attach them to the form in a permanent fashion, or produce the entire document in a digital PDF format that can't be altered.