Four kinds, each doing a different job
- Move-in. Photographed condition report, signed by the tenant. This is the document that decides every deposit question at the other end.
- Periodic. Catches the slow problems — a supply line weeping under a sink, an unauthorized occupant, a pet that is not on the lease.
- Move-out. Compared directly against the move-in report, which is what makes a deduction defensible rather than a matter of opinion.
- Section 8 HQS / NSPIRE. A different exercise entirely, against the authority's standard rather than yours. Covered in depth on the Section 8 inspections page.
Why documentation decides deposit disputes
Texas sets out what may be withheld from a security deposit and requires an itemized written accounting within a defined period after the tenant surrenders the property and provides a forwarding address. Missing that deadline can cost a landlord considerably more than the deduction was worth.
The practical defense is photographic. A dated move-in photograph of a clean carpet next to a dated move-out photograph of a stained one is not an argument. A recollection is.