Checklist · AB 2801

AB 2801 landlord checklist: every photograph, deadline and document a California turnover now requires

AB 2801 turned the security deposit into a documentation exercise: three sets of photographs, one itemized statement with the evidence attached, one deadline, and a file to keep for four years. This checklist puts the whole sequence on one page, from the day before the tenant moves in to the day the deposit is returned. The full list is below; the printable PDF is at the end.

· By Bastien Buffat, founder of Scoutmyplace

At a glance

AB 2801 in four numbers.

3 photo setsMove-in, move-out before any cleaning or repair, and after the repairs. Every deduction rests on them.
Apr 1, 2025Since this date, move-out photographs before and after repairs apply to every tenancy, whenever it started.
Jul 1, 2025Since this date, move-in photographs are also required, for tenancies beginning on or after it.
21 daysAfter the tenant leaves: deposit, itemized statement, receipts and photographs, delivered.

A deduction without its photographs is not a deduction the law supports.

General information about California law (AB 2801, Civil Code § 1950.5), not legal advice.

The sequence

What does AB 2801 require a landlord to do, in one list?

Photograph the unit at move-in, notify the tenant of the pre move-out walkthrough right, photograph the empty unit at move-out before any work, photograph the completed repairs, then deliver the deposit, the itemized statement, the receipts and the photographs within 21 days, and keep everything for four years. In that order, on every tenancy.

Before the tenant moves in

Photograph the condition of the unit at or immediately before the start of the tenancy (tenancies beginning July 1, 2025 or later). Walk it empty and clean, same order every time, wide shot per room and close-up per defect, timestamps on.

At move-in

Give the tenant the move-in checklist and the photographs, and keep proof of delivery. Record keys, meters and detectors.

When notice is given

Notify the tenant in writing of the right to request a pre move-out walkthrough and to be present (Civil Code § 1950.5(f)). If requested, hold it no earlier than two weeks before the end of the tenancy, with 48 hours of written notice, and leave an itemized list of proposed deductions.

At move-out, before any work

Photograph the empty unit before any cleaning or repair (all tenancies since April 1, 2025). Same order as move-in so the two records compare element by element.

After the repairs

Photograph the completed cleaning and repairs, for each deduction claimed. Keep the invoices, receipts, or a good faith estimate when the work is not finished within the 21 days.

Within 21 days of move-out

Return the deposit balance with the itemized statement, the receipts and the three sets of photographs, by mail, email, flash drive, or a link where the tenant can view them.

Then keep the file

Photographs, statement, receipts, proof of delivery: at least four years after the tenancy ends.

Evidence

Which photographs go with which deduction?

Each deduction for cleaning or repair needs the move-in photograph of the element, the move-out photograph before the work, and the photograph after the work, plus the receipt or invoice. Unpaid rent needs the ledger, not photographs; a pre-existing condition cannot be deducted at all, and the move-in photograph is what proves it.

Deduction
Photographs required
Also attach
Cleaning beyond the move-in level
Move-in (the level of cleanliness), move-out before cleaning, after cleaning
Invoice or receipt for the cleaning
Repair of damage beyond normal wear
Move-in (the element intact or already worn), move-out before repair, after repair
Invoice, receipt, or a good faith estimate if the work is not finished
Unpaid rent
None
The rent ledger
Pre-existing wear or damage
Not deductible
The move-in photograph is what shows it pre-existed
Normal wear and tear
Not deductible
See the wear vs damage guide

General information about California law, not legal advice. The statute wording prevails over any summary.

Delivery

How must the statement and photographs reach the tenant?

Within 21 days of the tenant leaving, with the deposit balance, the itemized statement and the receipts, by mail, email, flash drive, or a link where the tenant can view the photographs online. Keep proof of the date and the method: the deadline is the most common ground on which a deduction fails.

  • The itemized statement lists each deduction with its amount and the work it corresponds to.
  • Receipts or invoices for work done by a third party; for work done by the landlord, a reasonable description of the work and the time spent.
  • A good faith estimate when repairs are not completed within the 21 days, followed by the final receipts within 14 days of completion.
  • The photographs, in the three sets, delivered by any of the methods the law allows, with a record of when and how they were sent.
The risk

What happens if the landlord did not take the photographs?

A deduction for cleaning or repair without the photographs AB 2801 requires is not supported by the law, and the tenant can contest it. A deposit retained in bad faith exposes the landlord to statutory damages of up to twice the deposit, on top of the amount withheld (Civil Code § 1950.5(l)).

Without move-in photographs

For tenancies started July 1, 2025 or later, the baseline is missing, so any claim that damage occurred during the tenancy rests on nothing the law recognizes.

Without move-out or after-repair photographs

The deduction has no before and no after. Even a legitimate repair becomes hard to defend when the tenant asks to see it.

The photographs are cheaper than the dispute. Every time.

Portfolio

How do property managers apply AB 2801 across a portfolio?

With one structure for every unit, one naming rule for every photograph, one file per tenancy, and one person or one third party who produces the record the same way every time. The law is per tenancy; the risk is per portfolio.

  • Same walk order on every unit, so a move-out record compares with its move-in record element by element without a reformat.
  • File naming that carries the unit, the date and the phase (move-in, move-out before, after repairs), so a photograph can be found two years later in one search.
  • One folder per tenancy with the checklist, the photographs, the statement, the receipts and the proof of delivery.
  • A rule on who produces the record: an independent third party gives every unit the same record whoever is on the team that day, and removes the question of who held the camera.
  • A four-year retention rule written down, with a reminder before anything is purged.
Condition reports for property managers
Go deeper

The law behind the checklist.

The checklist is the sequence. The complete AB 2801 reference, the move-out guide with the walkthrough rules, and the line between wear and damage go into each step.

AB 2801 security deposit rulesPre move-out inspection in CaliforniaNormal wear vs damage
Take it with you

Download the AB 2801 checklist as a PDF.

The full sequence, the evidence table and the delivery rules, in one printable page for every turnover. Leave your email and it is yours.

Sources

Where these rules come from.

Primary texts and official guidance this guide is based on. Verify against them: the law changes, this page is general information, not legal advice.

Every turnover on the record, produced the same way every time.

Scoutmyplace produces independent move-in and move-out condition reports across Los Angeles: the three AB 2801 photo sets, timestamped, in one structure per unit, by a trained scout with no stake in the deposit, delivered within 24 hours and kept on file for four years.

See the property manager offerSee a sample report