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Rental condition report · move-in and move-out

Was this scratch already there at move-in?

The état des lieux describes. The photographs show. Sealway dates the photographs and preserves the integrity of the files, at move-in and at move-out, so that the comparison rests on verifiable material rather than on memories. Tenant, landlord or agency: both sides have an interest in a precisely documented state.

Join the waitlist What to photograph at move-in

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At move-out, the disagreement is about what existed at move-in.

At the move-out inspection, the landlord finds a deep scratch on the living-room floor. The tenant says it was already there when they arrived. The move-in report simply reads “floor: fair condition”.

The question becomes: how do you establish objectively what the floor looked like two years earlier? That is where the photographs taken at move-in become useful. But, a few years on, their context can be disputed: when were they taken? Are they really of this home? Have they been edited? Do they really show the state at move-in?

The same disagreement can bear on a crack, a stain on a wall, a piece of supplied furniture already damaged, a faulty appliance or, the other way round, a cupboard door intact at move-in and broken at move-out. In every case, what is missing is a dated, verifiable state of the premises at each end of the tenancy.

Why the written report gains from photographs.

The état des lieux is a written document that describes, room by room, the condition of floors, walls, ceilings, equipment and furniture. The ANIL, the national housing information agency, advises making it as detailed as possible: a mention such as “good condition” or “fair condition” only means something with a very precise description alongside it. In practice, a scratch, a stain or a dent is hard to describe in a few words.

The regulation itself provides for it: the report “may be completed with observations or reservations and illustrated with images”. Photographs do not replace the description, they sharpen it. What remains is their context: their date and their integrity must be provable months or years later. That is what Sealway brings.

Written état des lieux: description of the rooms and equipment Photographs and videos: visual documentation Sealway: date and integrity of the files

The statutory état des lieux remains central. Sealway does not replace it: it comes alongside, to date and preserve the integrity of the files that accompany it.

What French law provides.

Three texts govern the état des lieux of a home rented as a main residence. They say what it must contain, how it is drawn up, and what happens without it.

Loi n° 89-462 du 6 juillet 1989, art. 3-2

A report at move-in and at move-out, drawn up with both parties

An état des lieux is drawn up when the keys are handed over and when they are returned, in the same form and in as many copies as there are parties. It is drawn up jointly and amicably by the parties, or by a third party they appoint, and attached to the lease; each party receives a copy. If it cannot be drawn up that way, a commissaire de justice, the French commissaire de justice, draws it up at the request of the more diligent party, with the cost shared equally.

Décret n° 2016-382 du 30 mars 2016

A minimum content, and images allowed

The decree sets the minimum content: type of report, date, address of the home, parties, keys, individual meter readings where they exist and, for each room and part of the home, a precise description of the condition of the floor, wall and ceiling coverings, of the equipment and of the elements of the home. That description “may be completed with observations or reservations and illustrated with images”. The report is drawn up on paper or electronically, in a form that allows the comparison between move-in and move-out; at move-out, it records, where relevant, the changes found since move-in.

Code civil, art. 1730 and 1731

Return the home as recorded; without a report, a presumption

When a report was drawn up, the tenant must return the home as received according to that report, except for what perished or deteriorated through wear and tear or force majeure. Without a report, the tenant is presumed to have received the home in a good state of tenant repairs and must return it as such, unless proven otherwise. Service-Public.fr adds that a landlord who refused to draw up the report despite a formal notice will have to prove, at the end of the lease, that the home was handed over in good condition.

Cour de cassation · 3rd civil chamber · 6 February 2025

Cass. 3e civ., 6 Feb. 2025, no. 23-21.193

Appeal dismissed · decision under appeal: tribunal judiciaire de Strasbourg, 7 July 2023

A tenant claims the return of the deposit; the landlord claims payment for damage. At move-out, the parties had found it hard to describe the state of the home in writing and had agreed, in the “other observations” box of the move-out report, which they signed, to record that state by photographs, on the same document as the move-in report. The judge found damage attributable to the tenant on the basis of those photographs.

The Cour de cassation dismisses the tenant’s appeal: the move-out report had indeed been drawn up jointly and amicably, so a commissaire de justice was not required, and the judge could freely assess the weight of those photographs.

He could, in his sovereign assessment of the value and weight of the evidence submitted to him, deduce that these photographs allowed the comparison of the state of the home found at move-in and at move-out and that they proved the existence of damage attributable to the tenant when the premises were returned.

Cass. 3e civ., 6 February 2025, no. 23-21.193, § 6. Our translation.

What Sealway takes from it

Photographs agreed between the parties can describe the state of the home and allow the comparison between move-in and move-out. Their weight remains for the court to assess.

Read the decision on the Cour de cassation website (in French) →

Move-in, occupation, move-out: the same documentation at both ends.

At move-in, the initial state is described, photographed and dated. At move-out, the new state is treated the same way. The comparison then rests on two sets of verifiable material.

Each proof carries its own date, established by a qualified third party. The comparison between the two states remains a matter for the parties, for the report and, in case of disagreement, for the conciliator or the court.

Move-in: initial state Move-in report + photographs and videos + Sealway proof Occupation of the home Move-out: new state Move-out report + photographs and videos + Sealway proof Comparison

What to document at move-in.

Room by room, in good lighting, following the order of the report: a general view of each room, then each existing defect in detail. The same list serves at move-out.

Floors

Scratches, dents, stains, cracked or broken tiles, damaged floorboards, worn or stained carpet, skirting boards and thresholds.

Walls and ceilings

Fixing holes, cracks, traces of damp or mould, damaged paint or wallpaper, stains, corners and the bottom of walls.

Doors and windows

Scratches, handles and locks, glazing, seals, shutters and blinds, how they open and close.

Kitchen

Worktop, hob, oven, extractor, fridge, units and doors, sink and taps, seals, cleanliness.

Bathroom and toilet

Seals, tiling, bath or shower, basin, taps, mirror and cabinet, bowl and seat, limescale or damp marks.

Equipment

Radiators and thermostats, sockets and switches, light fittings, intercom, smoke detector, ventilation, boiler or water heater, furniture supplied with the home.

What is not photographed is not documented: a complete series beats a selection of the most visible defects.

How to take useful photographs.

A close-up of a scratch, without context, is hard to tie to a room or to a home. The documentary value comes from the series, from the general to the detail.

  1. 1

    One general view per room

    From the door, then from the opposite corner. It places everything that follows and shows the overall condition.

  2. 2

    An intermediate view

    The area concerned in its context: the stretch of floor, the wall, the worktop. The room must be recognisable.

  3. 3

    One close-up per defect

    The scratch, the crack, the stain, with a scale reference if possible: a coin, a tape measure.

  4. 4

    An order and names

    Follow the order of the report and name your files: 01-living-room-general, 02-living-room-floor-scratch, 03-living-room-north-wall, 04-kitchen-worktop. The file names appear on the certificate.

  5. 5

    A title and a description

    In Sealway, a proof carries a title and a description: “Move-in report · 12 rue des Lilas · 3 September 2026”. They appear on the certificate and can be edited later; the files, not these fields, are what is timestamped.

  6. 6

    On the day

    Create the proof on the day of the inspection, before leaving the home if you can. A proof created later dates the files from that moment, not from move-in.

Furnished rentals: the furniture inventory is documented too.

In a furnished rental, the law provides, in addition to the état des lieux, for an inventory and a detailed statement of the furniture, drawn up when the keys are handed over and returned, signed by both parties and attached to the lease (loi du 6 juillet 1989, art. 25-5). They are two distinct documents: the report describes the home, the inventory lists the furniture and equipment provided and describes their condition.

Photograph each item of the inventory like a room of the home: an overall view, then the detail of the existing defects. The signed inventory can join the same proof as the report.

  • sofa, armchairs and coffee table;
  • table and chairs;
  • bedding, bed base, mattress;
  • appliances: fridge, hob, oven, washing machine;
  • storage, shelves, cupboards;
  • crockery and utensils, if the inventory lists them;
  • any other equipment listed in the inventory.

One proof for the whole report, PDF included.

A Sealway proof gathers up to 10 files, 250 MB in total. A home is often documented in several proofs, one per room or group of rooms, gathered in a collection named after the home.

Each file keeps its own SHA-512 fingerprint; the whole is sealed by a single timestamp. The certificate lists each file, its fingerprint and its source: live capture or import.

Including the signed PDF of the report binds, in one documentary logic, the written description and the visual material. Sealway establishes that this PDF existed, in this form, on this date; it does not check the validity of the signatures it contains.

Any file type is accepted. A video, filmed from the app or imported, has no duration limit, within 250 MB per proof. Without a storage subscription, the originals stay in Sealway for 7 days: download the evidence file on the day and keep it with the signed report, without editing the photographs.

  • the living-room photographs;
  • the kitchen photographs;
  • the bathroom photographs;
  • the photographs of the equipment and meters;
  • the signed report, as a PDF or photographed;
  • the furniture inventory, for a furnished rental;
  • a short video of each room.

Example: the scratch on the floor.

  1. Move-in

    3 September 2024

    The report reads “living-room floor: 30 cm scratch in front of the window”. Three photographs: general view of the room, view of the floor, close-up of the scratch. Sealway proof created on the day, PDF of the report attached.

  2. Move-out

    12 September 2026

    The landlord notes the scratch. Disagreement about how old it is.

  3. File

    What the tenant produces

    The move-in report, the photographs, and the proof establishing that these files existed, intact, on 3 September 2024.

This material can help establish that the scratch was already documented at the start of the tenancy. It does not settle the dispute: the comparison of the two reports and, where it comes to that, the assessment of the conciliator or the court do.

The reverse example: the cupboard door.

  1. Move-in

    Initial state

    The hallway cupboard door shows no dent. General view of the hallway, view of the cupboard closed then open. Proof created.

  2. Move-out

    A broken panel

    The move-out report notes the broken panel. Same views, same angle. New proof.

  3. File

    What the landlord produces

    The two sets of photographs, dated separately, the two reports, and a replacement quote to justify the deduction.

The comparison shows a difference between move-in and move-out. On its own, it does not determine liability or the amount of a deduction: wear and tear, normal use and the justification of the sums remain to be examined. It does make the documentation easier, for both sides.

What a qualified timestamp changes for your état des lieux photographs.

The date of a move-in photograph has to hold for two years, sometimes more, against a party who disputes it. When the proof is created, the fingerprint of each file is bound to a qualified electronic timestamp issued by a qualified trust service provider: the date depends neither on the phone, nor on whoever presents the photograph, nor on Sealway.

  • SHA-512 fingerprint of each file: the proof bears on this exact version; modifying the file changes the fingerprint, and the fingerprint cannot be turned back into the file.
  • Qualified electronic timestamp: presumption of accuracy of the date and time and of integrity of the data (eIDAS Regulation, art. 41(2)). The date comes neither from the device nor from Sealway.
  • Evidence file verifiable without Sealway: certificate, manifest, timestamp token and fingerprints, with the references of the anchoring on public blockchains.
The mechanism in detail: create evidence from your files

Security deposit, damage and wear and tear.

This is where the comparison between move-in and move-out has concrete consequences.

What the landlord may deduct

At the end of the lease, the landlord may deduct from the dépôt de garantie the sums still owed and the sums the landlord may have to bear in the tenant’s place, provided they are duly justified: move-in and move-out reports, photographs, a commissaire de justice’s report, quotes or invoices. The deposit is returned within one month if the move-out report matches the move-in report, within two months otherwise, from the return of the keys. Beyond that, the amount due increases by 10 % of the monthly rent, excluding charges, for each month of delay begun.

Damage, wear and tear, normal use

Wear and tear (vétusté) is “the state of wear or deterioration resulting from time or from the normal use of the materials and items of equipment of which the home is made up” (decree of 30 March 2016, art. 4, our translation). It cannot be charged to the tenant: paint or floors worn by time, for instance. Deterioration linked to abnormal use, a burnt carpet, holes in the walls, is the tenant’s to bear. From the signing of the lease, the parties may agree to apply a wear-and-tear scale taken from a collective rental agreement, which sets a theoretical lifetime and annual depreciation coefficients.

Who proves what

The tenant answers for damage and losses occurring during the lease in the premises of which they have exclusive use, unless they prove that it resulted from force majeure, from the landlord’s fault or from the act of a third party they did not let into the home (loi du 6 juillet 1989, art. 7). It must still be established that damage occurred during the lease: the comparison of the two reports shows it, and the landlord who deducts a sum must justify it.

Sealway documents the state on each date. It does not qualify the change observed: a difference between two photographs does not say, on its own, whether it is wear and tear, normal use or damage, nor what it costs. A Sealway proof guarantees neither the return of the deposit nor the validity of a deduction.

Tribunal d’instance de La Roche-sur-Yon · 18 July 2018 (appeal dismissed: Cass. 3e civ., 6 Feb. 2020, no. 18-24.774)

Cass. 3e civ., 6 Feb. 2020, no. 18-24.774

Appeal dismissed without special reasons · decision under appeal: tribunal d’instance de La Roche-sur-Yon, 18 July 2018

A move-out report, drawn up one morning at 11.15 am, describes a house in new condition with a single defect. The move-in report of the next tenants, drawn up the same day at 2.15 pm, lists many defects. The landlord claims the cost of repairs from the outgoing tenants. The court holds to what the parties recorded together at move-out and rejects the claims “for want of sufficient proof of the date on which these anomalies occurred”.

Neither the photographs produced nor the statements filed by either party can contradict the fact that the parties may have kept silent about one defect or another of the rental, at its start or at its end.

Reasons of the tribunal d’instance de La Roche-sur-Yon, reproduced in the ground annexed to the decision; the landlord’s appeal was dismissed without special reasons (art. 1014 of the Code de procédure civile). Our translation.

What Sealway takes from it

What the parties record together at the inspection carries great weight. Material produced afterwards must be datable and tied to the home.

Read the decision on the Cour de cassation website (in French) →

When the report cannot be drawn up amicably.

If one party does not turn up, refuses to carry out the inspection or refuses to sign, the other may call on a commissaire de justice. The commissaire de justice then draws up a constat locatif, after notifying the parties by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt at least seven days in advance. The regulated fees are shared equally between landlord and tenant: in mainland France, since March 2026, €132.82 including VAT for a home of up to 50 m², plus the summons letters and travel costs.

Sealway does not replace the commissaire de justice where their intervention is required. A constat rests on the personal findings of a public and ministerial officer; a Sealway proof is built by the party itself. It remains useful, even then, to date your own photographs of the home.

What Sealway lets you document, and what it does not determine.

Sealway makes it possible to establish

  • that these images, which show the visible condition of the home, existed as they are on that date, what they depict remaining a matter of assessment;
  • that given photographs, videos or a PDF report existed on the date of the timestamp;
  • that these files have not been modified since;
  • a move-in / move-out chronology, when proofs were created at both moments.

Sealway does not, on its own, establish

  • who is liable for damage;
  • whether a change is wear and tear, normal use or damage;
  • whether a deduction from the deposit is justified, nor its amount;
  • the real cost of a repair;
  • whether the home is compliant or decent;
  • which party will prevail.

The court freely assesses the material submitted to it. A Sealway proof is one item of that material: the one that establishes the date and integrity of the files.

Report alone, with photographs, by commissaire de justice, with Sealway.

These methods do not exclude one another. They differ in mechanism, in cost and in their place in a tenancy.

Comparison of the ways of documenting the condition of a home at move-in and move-out
Method What it brings Its limits Indicative cost
Written report alone The document the law provides for: drawn up with both parties, signed, attached to the lease. Simple to establish. Descriptions sometimes too general (“good condition”) to settle a disagreement about a precise defect. Free between private parties; the tenant’s share is capped when a professional takes part at move-in.
Report + ordinary photographs Visual documentation that sharpens the description, provided for by the decree. The date and context of the photographs may have to be established by other material. Free.
Constat locatif by a commissaire de justice An authorised professional records the findings in person; the procedure provided for when an amicable report is impossible. A more formal step; not necessary in every situation. Regulated fee, shared equally: from €132.82 incl. VAT, summons and travel excluded (mainland France, March 2026).
Report + photographs + Sealway The date and integrity of the files established by a qualified timestamp; several files per proof, PDF included; exportable file verifiable without Sealway; repeatable at move-in and move-out. Built by the party itself; qualifies neither wear and tear nor liability. €1.99 per proof, less in a pack.

A commissaire de justice’s report and a Sealway proof are different mechanisms, answering different situations; neither is “better” than the other. The written report remains the reference document in every case.

Frequently asked questions

What tenants, landlords and agencies ask before an inspection.

Should you take photographs during an état des lieux?
It is not compulsory, but the decree of 30 March 2016 expressly provides that the report may be “illustrated with images”, and the ANIL advises making it as detailed as possible. A photograph shows what a line reading “fair condition” does not say. Both sides have an interest: the tenant to fix the existing defects, the landlord to fix the condition in which the home is handed over.
Do photographs have legal value in an état des lieux?
A photograph can be evidence: in French civil matters, a fact may be proven by any means. Its weight depends on its context, its date, its authenticity and the other material in the file, and the court assesses it freely. In 2025, the Cour de cassation accepted that photographs agreed between the parties in the move-out report allowed the comparison between move-in and move-out.
How do you prove that a scratch was already there at move-in?
With three things: the move-in report that mentions it, photographs taken at move-in that show it in context (general view, intermediate view, close-up), and a way of establishing that these photographs do date from move-in and have not been altered. That last point is what a Sealway proof brings.
Is an EXIF date enough to date a photograph?
A photograph’s metadata, including the EXIF date, is information contained in the file: it depends on the device and its settings, and software can change it. It can be one item among others, but it does not enjoy the presumption a qualified electronic timestamp derives from the eIDAS Regulation: in another field, the Conseil d’État accepted that a court set aside photographs whose date rested only on their metadata (CE, 10 March 2025, no. 472387). Sealway keeps that metadata and adds an independent dating mechanism, bound to the file’s fingerprint.
Can an état des lieux be changed or completed after move-in?
Yes: the tenant may ask the landlord in writing to complete it within 10 calendar days of its establishment, and during the first month of the heating season for the heating; if the landlord refuses, the commission départementale de conciliation can be seized.
What is the difference between damage, wear and tear and normal use?
Wear and tear is the wear that results from time or from normal use, and it cannot be charged to the tenant; damage results from abnormal use. Sealway documents the state; it does not qualify the change observed.
Who has to prove that damage is attributable to the tenant?
The tenant answers for damage occurring during the lease; the comparison between the move-in and move-out reports is what establishes that damage occurred, and the landlord who deducts a sum must justify it.
Can a landlord withhold the deposit on the strength of photographs alone?
A deduction must be justified. Service-Public.fr lists photographs among the possible supporting documents, alongside the move-in and move-out reports, a commissaire de justice’s report, quotes or invoices. Photographs alone do not put a figure on a repair, and if the move-out report mentions no damage, photographs produced afterwards will have to be dated and tied to the home. The tenant may contest the deduction.
What if the landlord refuses to complete the move-in report?
Keep your written request and its proof of dispatch, photograph the defect and create a proof on the day you find it, then refer the matter to the commission départementale de conciliation of the département where the home is, by registered letter. Conciliation is free.
What if no amicable état des lieux is possible?
The other party may have a constat locatif drawn up by a commissaire de justice, who summons the parties and whose regulated fees are shared equally.
Can Sealway determine who is liable for damage?
No. Sealway establishes that a file existed, in this form, on a given date. Liability for damage, the share of wear and tear, the amount of a deduction or of a repair are for the parties, for conciliation and, where it comes to that, for the court.
Should a new proof be created at the move-out inspection?
Yes, if you want a dated comparison between move-in and move-out. The same views, from the same angles, with the signed move-out report, in a new proof. The two proofs, gathered in the home’s collection, document the chronology.

References

Texts, official documents and decisions cited on this page (in French).

  • Loi n° 89-462 du 6 juillet 1989, art. 3-2 (état des lieux) Légifrance →
  • Loi n° 89-462 du 6 juillet 1989, art. 7 (tenant’s obligations) Légifrance →
  • Loi n° 89-462 du 6 juillet 1989, art. 22 (security deposit) Légifrance →
  • Loi n° 89-462 du 6 juillet 1989, art. 25-5 (furniture inventory) Légifrance →
  • Décret n° 2016-382 du 30 mars 2016 (establishment of the état des lieux and wear and tear) Légifrance →
  • Code civil, art. 1730 (return according to the report) Légifrance →
  • Code civil, art. 1731 (presumption without a report) Légifrance →
  • Service-Public.fr, “État des lieux d’entrée dans un bail d’habitation” service-public.gouv.fr →
  • Service-Public.fr, “État des lieux de sortie pour un bail d’habitation” service-public.gouv.fr →
  • Service-Public.fr, “Dépôt de garantie dans un bail d’habitation” service-public.gouv.fr →
  • Service-Public.fr, “Bail d’habitation : qu’est-ce qu’un logement meublé ?” service-public.gouv.fr →
  • ANIL, legal analysis of decree no. 2016-382 (état des lieux and wear and tear) anil.org →
  • ANIL, “État des lieux d’entrée et de sortie : modalités, coût” anil.org →
  • Cour de cassation, 3rd civil chamber, 6 February 2025, no. 23-21.193 courdecassation.fr →
  • Cour de cassation, 3rd civil chamber, 6 February 2020, no. 18-24.774 courdecassation.fr →
  • Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of 23 July 2014 (eIDAS), art. 41 EUR-Lex →
  • Conseil d’État, 5th chamber, 10 March 2025, no. 472387 (photograph metadata) ArianeWeb →

Sealway does not provide legal advice. These references are given for information; the evidential weight of the material produced is for the court to assess. For a specific situation, the ADIL of your département gives free advice.

The same reflex for other situations.

The same reflex applies to a rental car, at pick-up and return, to the acceptance of works carried out between two tenants, reservations included, and to the display of a building permit.

Car rental

Photograph the vehicle at pick-up and at return, wheels, bodywork, mileage and fuel, for dated evidence of its condition.

Learn more →

Acceptance of works and reservations

Document precisely the defects, imperfections or outstanding work at the moment of acceptance, then their lifting.

Learn more →

Building permit display

Build timestamped evidence that your planning permission was displayed on site, and document its continuity over time.

Learn more →

The whole real estate and construction section →

Document the home on the day of the inspection.

One proof per room, at move-in and at move-out, with the signed report: SHA-512 fingerprint, qualified electronic timestamp under eIDAS, evidence file verifiable by a third party. Join the waitlist to be notified at launch.

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