California pre-move-out inspection: how it works

California is one of the few states that gives tenants a formal preview of the deposit fight. Ask for the initial inspection, and the landlord has to walk the unit before you leave and write down what it would charge you for. You then get the days until move-out to deal with it yourself, usually for a fraction of what a contractor invoice would cost.

The rules are in Civil Code § 1950.5, subdivision (f). Below is how the inspection works in practice, what the landlord has to send afterwards, and what changed with AB 2801 and AB 12.

Who can ask for the initial inspection

The tenant asks, and the landlord (or its agent) has to do it. The inspection is not automatic: if nobody requests it, it does not happen.

The landlord has to tell you about the option. Within a reasonable time after either side gives notice to end the tenancy, or before the lease runs out, the landlord must notify you in writing that you can request an initial inspection and be present for it. The California Department of Real Estate’s landlord-tenant guide walks through the process with a worked example.

The subdivision does not apply when the tenancy ends through certain eviction notices (the three-day notices under Code of Civil Procedure § 1161(2), (3) and (4): unpaid rent, breach of the lease, nuisance or illegal use).

When it takes place

At a reasonable time, but no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends. The idea is to leave enough time to fix things without doing the walkthrough so early that the unit is still full of your furniture.

The landlord has to give at least 48 hours’ written notice of the date and time, whether you agreed on a time together or not. You can both waive the 48 hours, but only in a written waiver signed by both of you. You have the right to be there. You don’t have to be, but go: this is the one time you hear the landlord’s objections while you can still act on them.

Worked example: your lease ends on March 31, 2026. The earliest date for the initial inspection is March 17. If you ask on March 10, the landlord could send written notice on March 14 for an inspection on March 17 at 10 a.m. You have two weeks to patch, clean and replace. You hand back the keys on March 31, and the landlord’s 21 days run until April 21.

The itemized statement after the inspection

Based on the initial inspection, the landlord gives you an itemized statement of the repairs or cleanings it proposes to deduct for. It hands the statement to you if you are present, or leaves it inside the unit. The statement also has to include the text of § 1950.5(b)(1) to (4), which lists what a deposit can be used for.

Read it the same day. Typical items: carpet cleaning, drywall holes, a missing blind slat, a stained stovetop, a broken screen. For each one, decide whether you fix it, dispute it or accept the charge.

Fixing the items yourself

Between the initial inspection and the day the tenancy ends, you can fix the listed deficiencies, as far as the lease allows, to avoid deductions. That is the whole point of subdivision (f).

Practical notes:

• Take dated photos of each fixed item before you return the keys. The landlord’s final photos will not show your side.
• Keep receipts for materials and any handyman you hired.
• Match the finish. A patched hole painted in the wrong white often ends up charged anyway.
• Don’t do work the lease forbids, such as changing locks or fixtures.

After you leave, the landlord does its final inspection. If your belongings didn’t get in the way at the initial inspection, it can’t deduct for repairs or cleaning that weren’t on the itemized statement (§ 1950.5(f)(4)). It can still deduct for damage that happened after the initial inspection, and for things it couldn’t see because your belongings were covering them. It should not charge for items you properly fixed.

The 21-day return and the itemized statement

The landlord has 21 days after you vacate to return the deposit, minus lawful deductions, with an itemized statement of what it kept and why (§ 1950.5(h)). The California Courts self-help guide sums up the same rule.

What the statement must come with:

• Receipts over $125. If deductions for repairs or cleaning add up to more than $125, the landlord attaches copies of invoices or receipts.
• Estimate if the work isn’t done yet. If repairs can’t be finished within 21 days, the landlord may deduct a good-faith estimate and must send the receipts within 14 days after the work is done.
• Photos. Since April 1, 2025 (see below).

What it can deduct for: unpaid rent, cleaning to get the unit back to the level of cleanliness it had when you moved in, and repair of damage beyond ordinary wear and tear caused by you or your guests. It cannot charge for ordinary wear and tear, or for conditions that were already there when you moved in. The line between the two is its own topic: see normal wear and tear vs damage.

A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can be ordered to pay up to twice the amount of the deposit in statutory damages, on top of actual damages (§ 1950.5(m)).

Since January 1, 2026, AB 414 also sets how the refund is paid. If you paid the deposit or rent electronically, the landlord must return the deposit electronically to an account you name in writing, unless you both agreed in writing on another method. Otherwise it goes by personal delivery or by check sent first-class mail. The itemized statement goes by personal delivery or first-class mail, or by email if you both agreed to that.

AB 2801: photos are now part of the deposit

AB 2801 added photo duties to § 1950.5, in two steps:

From	What the landlord must photograph
April 1, 2025	The unit within a reasonable time after you return possession, before any repairs or cleaning it will charge for, and again after that work is done
Tenancies starting July 1, 2025 or later	The unit immediately before, or at the start of, the tenancy

If repair and cleaning deductions add up to more than $125, the landlord sends the photos with the itemized statement, together with a written explanation of the costs. Below that amount, you can still ask for the documents within 14 days of getting the statement. The landlord can send the photos by mail, email, a flash drive or a link where you can view them online.

For a tenancy that started before July 1, 2025, there are no mandatory move-in photos. That makes your own record from move-in worth more, not less.

AB 12: the deposit cap

Since July 1, 2024, a landlord generally can’t take a security deposit of more than one month’s rent, furnished or unfurnished, on top of the first month’s rent (AB 12).

The small-landlord exception: a landlord who is a natural person (or an LLC whose members are all natural persons; family trusts count too) and owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than four units in total may still ask for up to two months’ rent, unless the tenant is a service member.

Make your own record

The law now makes the landlord take photos, but its photos serve its statement. Your best protection is a record both of you signed: a room-by-room checklist at move-in, the same list at move-out, photos attached, dated. Bring it to the initial inspection, and compare line by line. A move-in/move-out inspection report does this as you walk through the unit: you talk, AI writes each room with its photos, and you get a sealed, timestamped PDF that the other side can sign on your phone or later by email.

If you are still at the move-in stage, it helps to know what other states require at the start of a tenancy: is a move-in checklist required by law.

If the landlord misses the 21 days or keeps money for ordinary wear and tear, write to it first, quoting § 1950.5 and attaching your checklist and photos. Small claims court handles most of these disputes; at that point a short consultation with a tenant clinic or lawyer is worth it.