How to document damage in a rental
Something broke, cracked, stained or leaked. The next hour decides how clear your record is later. Here is a simple routine for documenting damage in your rental that works for an apartment or a house.
Updated October 19, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Rules about rentals differ by state, province and city, so check yours.
Photograph it before anything changes
Take the photo before you clean up, move furniture or try a fix. A messy photo taken today is worth more than a tidy one taken next week. If the damage grows, such as a spreading stain, photograph it again on a later day so the dates show the change.
Take three kinds of photo
- Wide: the whole room or area, so it is clear where the damage is.
- Medium: the damaged wall, floor, fixture or appliance with its surroundings.
- Close: the damage itself. Put a coin, a pen or a tape measure next to it for scale.
Also photograph any labels, such as the model plate on an appliance, and anything that explains the cause, such as a leaking pipe above a stain.
Make the date impossible to argue with
Photos carry the date and time they were taken. Keep the originals instead of screenshots, and do not edit them. A record that lists each photo with its date, a short description and what you did next is easy to follow and hard to dispute.
Write down the facts, in a sentence or two
Say what you saw, where, and when you first noticed it. Stick to what you know. "The kitchen faucet drips about once a second, first noticed Tuesday morning" is better than a guess about the cause or a complaint about the building.
Tell your landlord in writing
A phone call is easy to forget. Send an email or message with your photos attached, so there is a dated record of when your landlord was told. Keep a copy. Our guide on writing a repair request to your landlord has a plain template.
Keep it all in one place
Scattered photos in a camera roll are hard to use months later. Keep each issue together: photos, dates, your note and any reply. That is the file you will want at move-out. See the move-out checklist.
Dingkeep: Renter Photo Record. iPhone, United States and Canada.
Questions renters ask
Should I fix it myself before documenting it?
No. Document it first, then decide. Repairs you make can change the evidence, and some repairs are the landlord's job under your lease and local rules.
How many photos are enough?
Three or more per issue: one wide, one medium and one close. Take more if the damage is large or spreads across a surface.
Do screenshots of photos count?
Keep the original photo file. It carries the date and time the picture was taken. A screenshot shows only when the screenshot was taken.