Before you move in: the lease, the walk-through and the condition record
Read the lease for the questions it raises, walk the home before a box comes in, and send a dated, photographed condition record to the landlord.
- Start here: the essentials
- 1. Still looking: rental listing scams
- 2. Reading a lease for its questions
- 3. Homes built before 1978: the lead disclosure
- 4. The walk-through: before a box comes in
- 5. The condition record, and the keys
- 6. See it: Dani's lease questions and condition sheet
- 7. Practice: the lease questions and the walk-through
- 8. Your home
- 9. Check your work
- 10. Knowledge check and scenario
Start here Essentials
At minimum, write down what you cannot answer from the lease, and record the home's condition, with photos, before you unpack. Everything marked Go deeper can wait.
- Find the lease clauses on utilities, the deposit, repairs, entry and alterations, and write one question about each one you cannot answer on the lease answers sheet (reading a lease).
- On the key day, before unpacking, walk every room and photograph anything worn, stained, broken or missing (the walk-through).
- Fill in the condition sheet room by room, send it to the landlord with the photos, and keep a copy (the condition record).
- Write how many keys you received and who else may have one on the keys sheet (keys and locks).
Minimum time: about 2 hours, most of it the walk-through. Done when: the condition sheet is filled in and dated, the photos are saved, and the date you sent it is recorded on the sheet.
1. Still looking: rental listing scams Understand
If you have signed a lease and have the landlord's real contact details, skip to reading a lease. If you are still looking, one risk comes before any lease: a listing that is not what it claims to be.
The Federal Trade Commission describes two patterns (FTC Consumer Advice, Rental Listing Scams). In a hijacked listing, a scammer copies a real rental's photos and description and puts their own contact details on it. In a fake listing, the place is not for rent or does not exist. Either way, the aim is to collect money or personal information before you find out.
The FTC's warning signs, in our words:
- The owner is out of the country or cannot show you the place.
- You are pressed to decide or pay quickly.
- The same address appears under different names, or the home is listed for sale rather than for rent.
- The rent is far below what similar places nearby cost.
- You are asked for a Social Security number, a photo of your license, paystubs or a credit-score screenshot before anyone has agreed to rent to you.
- Payment is only by wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency. The FTC says these are like paying cash and are usually not recoverable.
The FTC's checks: search the address together with the owner's or company's name; look up who owns the property in the county tax assessor's records; and see the place in person, or have someone you trust see it. A video tour shows that a place exists, not that the person showing it can rent it. If you have been targeted, the FTC lists local police, the listing site, ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general as places to report. Learn Digital Security covers scams more broadly (Learn Digital Security, Recognizing scams).
2. Reading a lease for its questions
A lease (or rental agreement) is the contract between the tenant and the landlord: the rent, the term, and who does what. The landlord is the owner who rents the home out; a property manager or management company may act for them, collecting rent and handling repairs. Your lease names who to deal with.
This manual reads a lease the way a household needs to: for the answers to practical questions, and for the questions it leaves open. It does not read a lease for its legal meaning, and it does not say whether a clause is allowed. A lease written to your state's law can still be silent or vague on something you need, and the time to ask is before the keys, in writing.
Work through the lease with the table below. For each row, find the clause, copy the answer to the lease answers sheet, and write a question for anything you cannot answer.
| Topic | What to find | A question to write if the lease does not say |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | Amount, due day, how to pay, and any late fee | "Can rent be paid through the portal, and is there a fee for that method?" |
| Utilities | Which services are included and which are yours (Utilities and accounts) | "Is heat included, and who do I call if it stops?" |
| Deposit | The security deposit amount, where it is held, and the conditions for its return | "What condition does the unit need to be in for the full deposit to come back?" |
| Repairs | Who repairs what, how to request a repair, and the emergency contact | "What counts as an emergency, and what number do I call after hours?" |
| Entry | When and with what entry notice the landlord or their workers may come in | "How much notice will I get before someone enters, and how?" |
| Guests and occupants | Who may live there, and any limit on guests' stays | "How long can a guest stay before they count as an occupant?" |
| Alterations | What alterations you may make: painting, nails, picture hooks, wall anchors for furniture | "May I anchor a bookcase to the wall if I fill the holes at move-out?" |
| Insurance | Whether renters insurance is required, and any minimum | "Is renters insurance required, and do you need proof?" |
| Ending the lease | The end date, renewal, how much notice to give, and any early-termination terms | "How do I give notice, and by what date, if I do not renew?" |
| Roommates | Whether all tenants sign one lease | "If one of us leaves, what happens to their share of the rent?" |
| Smoke and CO alarms | Who tests, replaces batteries and replaces alarms | "Who replaces a smoke alarm battery, and how do I report a missing alarm?" |
Send your questions to the landlord or manager in writing (an email or a message through the portal), and keep the replies with the lease. A written answer is clearer later than a remembered phone call. Convention
Roommates and a joint lease
When several people sign one lease, it is a joint lease. Arizona State University's housemate agreement template notes that an agreement among housemates does not change the tenants' joint liability under the lease (Arizona State University, Housemate Agreement, PDF). What joint liability means for you if a roommate stops paying is a legal question; write it as a question for the landlord, your state's tenant guide or legal aid, and Sharing a home covers the household's side.
Where the rules come from, and how to find yours
Many of the answers a lease gives are shaped by state and city law: how large a deposit can be, how fast it comes back, whether there is a move-in inspection, how much notice comes before entry. The CFPB says a renter's rights are usually spelled out in the rental agreement and in state or local laws (CFPB, Your tenant and debt collection rights). So the default for every renter is the same: your lease, then your state's and city's rules.
To find your state's rules, look for a landlord-tenant guide from your state attorney general's office, your state's housing or consumer agency, or your state's real estate department. A legal aid office can answer what a clause means for you. The CFPB page above points to a site on state law. Ask the authority
Three state guides show how much the rules vary. Each is an example from one state, not a rule for yours:
- Example: California. The California Department of Real Estate's 2026 tenants' guide says that since July 1, 2024, deposits are capped at one month's rent, with an exception for some small landlords, and that the landlord has 21 days after move-out to return the deposit or itemize deductions (California DRE, California Tenants guide, 2026 edition, PDF).
- Example: Minnesota. The Minnesota Attorney General's handbook says the state sets no statewide deposit limit (some cities do), that tenants may request a move-in inspection, and that landlords have to tell tenants about that right (Minnesota Attorney General, Landlords and Tenants, "Entering into the Agreement").
- Example: Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Attorney General's guide describes a "statement of condition" the landlord should give within 10 days, which the tenant has 15 days to add to (Massachusetts Attorney General, Guide to Landlord and Tenant Rights).
Your exception is whatever your own state's guide and your lease say. Write the answer you find, with its source, on the lease answers sheet.
This manual reads the lease for questions, not for meaning. Deposit, inspection and entry rules come from state and city law and from the lease; the three states above are examples. What a clause means, whether a fee is allowed, and what to do in a dispute go to your state's tenant guide, a legal aid office or a lawyer.
The three state guides side by side. These are the guides' own descriptions as of 2026-10-23. Rules change, cities add their own, and these are examples of what to look for in your state's guide, not answers for any home.
| Topic | California (DRE guide, 2026) | Minnesota (Attorney General handbook, revised July 2025) | Massachusetts (Attorney General guide, 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit limit | One month's rent since July 1, 2024; every fee or deposit counts, whatever its name. Some small landlords may charge up to two months. | No statewide limit; some cities, Minneapolis named, set one. | At move-in a landlord may collect only first month's rent, a deposit of no more than one month's rent, last month's rent and the cost of a new lock and key. |
| Deposit return | Within 21 days after move-out, or an itemized list of deductions. | With 1 percent simple interest within 21 days after the tenancy ends, if the tenant gave a forwarding address, or a written explanation of deductions. | With interest within 30 days after the tenancy ends. |
| Move-in condition | An inventory checklist: walk through together, note the condition, both sign and date, both keep copies; take pictures even if the landlord will not do a checklist. | Tenants may request a move-in inspection; landlords have to tell them of the right at the start of the tenancy or within 14 days after move-in. | A statement of condition from the landlord within 10 days of the tenancy starting or of receiving the deposit, whichever is later; the tenant has 15 days to add to it. |
| Entry notice | Reasonable advance written notice of the date, approximate time and purpose; 24 hours' written notice is presumed reasonable (six days if mailed); emergencies excepted. | A reasonable business purpose and at least 24 hours' notice, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., unless both agree otherwise ("During the Tenancy"). | Entry for repairs, inspection or showings arranged in advance; the guide states no hour figure. |
Three things the table shows. The same question has three different answers, so a figure from a friend in another state, or from a general article, may not be yours. The deadlines run from different starting points (the end of the tenancy, the start of it, the landlord's statement), so the starting point matters as much as the number. And the guides' framing differs: California asks both sides to sign a checklist, Massachusetts puts the first move on the landlord, and Minnesota gives the tenant a right to ask. None of these replaces reading your own state's guide.
A sublet or a room rental. If you rent a room from someone who lives there, or sublet from a tenant, your agreement is with that person, and their lease with the landlord still applies to the home. Ask to see the parts of their lease that affect you (guests, alterations, subletting), write the house rules down together (quiet hours, the kitchen, guests, the thermostat), and keep your own condition record of your room and the shared spaces. Whether a sublet is allowed is the original lease's question and the landlord's.
Owners: the association's documents
For a condo or co-op owner, the association's documents play the part of a lease: the declaration, the bylaws and the rules say what the owner maintains and insures and what the association does. The Maryland Insurance Administration tells owners to check the bylaws and ask the association which parts of the building each policy covers (Maryland Insurance Administration, Condominium insurance FAQs). Read them for the same kinds of questions: who repairs a leak that starts in a common pipe, what alterations need approval, how move-in is scheduled, and who holds keys to your unit. Utilities and accounts covers the insurance terms.
Reading an association's declaration and rules. Look for four things. The definition of the unit and the common elements, which draws the line between what you maintain and what the association does (sometimes at the drywall, sometimes at the pipes inside the wall). The list of alterations that need approval, such as flooring, plumbing or anything that touches a common wall. The insurance section, which says what the master policy covers and what owners are expected to insure. And the rules on move-in times, elevator reservations and deliveries. Write each answer, with the document's section, on the lease answers sheet in place of the lease rows. Where the documents are unclear, the question goes to the association's manager in writing.
3. Homes built before 1978: the lead disclosure
Lead-based paint was banned for use in homes in the US in 1978, and it remains in many older homes. EPA says paint in good condition is usually not a hazard, and that deteriorating paint (peeling, chipping, chalking or cracking) is (EPA, Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards).
For most housing built before 1978, a federal rule, the lead-based paint disclosure, requires landlords, sellers, agents and property managers to do four things before a renter signs a lease or a buyer signs a contract:
- Give the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.
- Disclose any known lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in the home or building.
- Provide the records and reports they have on lead in the housing.
- Include a Lead Warning Statement, as an attachment to the lease or in its text.
The current pamphlet is the January 2026 edition, in English and several other languages; EPA says older copies need not be thrown away but should be given with the supplement it provides (EPA, Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home: Real Estate Disclosure; the pamphlet, January 2026, PDF). The pamphlet's own advice includes keeping painted surfaces in good condition and not trying to remove lead-based paint yourself.
What the rule does not do matters as much. It requires disclosure; it does not require a landlord to test. EPA says renters may ask for an inspection by a certified inspector before signing, and that landlords are not required to do one by this rule. The 10-day inspection period in the rule is for buyers. And the rule does not apply to some housing: zero-bedroom units such as efficiencies, lofts and dormitories, and housing for older people or people with disabilities (in both cases, unless a child under six lives or is expected to live there); leases of 100 days or less; housing a certified inspector has found free of lead-based paint; and housing built after 1977.
What to do with this: if your home was built before 1978, look in your lease packet for the disclosure form and the pamphlet, and note on the lease answers sheet what was checked. If you do not know when the home was built, ask the landlord; it is a fact they have. Some states add their own rules. Ask the authority Massachusetts, for example, has its own tenant lead notice and requires deleading where a child under six will live, per its Attorney General's guide.
This manual describes the lead rule as EPA describes it. Whether a unit is exempt is the landlord's disclosure to make, and whether paint in your home is a hazard is a question for a certified inspector or risk assessor. Peeling or chipping paint goes on the condition record and to the landlord in writing; this manual does not teach testing or paint removal.
4. The walk-through: before a box comes in
The walk-through is a slow tour of the empty home, room by room, looking at and trying everything, with a camera. Its product is the condition record: a dated description of the home's condition at move-in, with photos. Its purpose is simple. At move-out, a landlord compares the home to how it was; the condition record is your account of how it was.
The University of Wisconsin Extension's Rent Smart program gives tenants a check-in and check-out checklist, room by room, and notes that a tenant may be charged for problems not noted at check-in, and that dated photos help (Rent Smart check-in and check-out checklist, UW–Madison Extension, PDF). That is why the walk-through comes before unpacking: once furniture is in, the floor under it and the wall behind it are out of sight.
If you moved in a while ago, do the walk-through now and date it today. A record that says "as of the date I made this" is still more than no record.
What to check, room by room
The condition sheet lists the items below for each room your setup implies. For each one, look, try it, and mark it OK, dirty, worn, damaged, missing or not working.
| Item | Look for | Try |
|---|---|---|
| Walls and ceiling | Holes, cracks, stains, peeling paint, water marks | Look up as well as across; check corners and behind doors |
| Floor and carpet | Stains, burns, tears, scratches, loose boards or tiles | Walk the whole floor, including inside closets |
| Windows and screens | Cracks, broken locks, torn or missing screens | Open, close and lock each one |
| Doors and locks | Damage, gaps, missing stops | Open, close and lock each door, including closets and the entry |
| Outlets and switches | Cracked or missing cover plates, scorch marks | Flip each switch; plug a phone charger into each outlet |
| Lights | Missing bulbs or covers | Turn each one on |
| Sink and faucet | Drips, slow drains, stains, chips | Run hot and cold; look under the sink for leaks |
| Toilet | Cracks, running water, a loose seat or base | Flush; listen for refilling that does not stop |
| Tub or shower | Cracked tiles, missing grout or caulk, mold, slow drain | Run the water; check the shower head |
| Appliances | Dents, missing shelves or parts, dirt inside | Turn on each burner and the oven; check the fridge is cold; run the dishwasher's rinse cycle if there is one |
| Cabinets and closets | Broken hinges, stuck drawers, damage inside, signs of pests | Open every door and drawer |
| Smoke alarm | Present or missing in each sleeping area and on each level | Note it; First night and safety covers the test |
If the home came furnished or partly furnished, list each piece that came with it (bed, couch, table, chairs, lamps) with its condition. That inventory is part of the record, and Essentials in phases uses it to cross items off your essentials list.
Photos and a short video
- Start with a wide shot of each room from the doorway, then close-ups of anything you mark other than OK.
- Put something of known size in close-ups (a coin, a pen) so the size of a stain or a hole is clear.
- Keep the camera's date. Phones store the date and time in each photo file. Do not edit or crop the originals; make copies if you need to mark something up.
- Record a short video walking through each room in order, saying the room's name. It shows how the rooms connect and catches what still photos miss.
- Save a copy off the phone the same day: in a cloud folder, or by emailing the photos to yourself. Name the folder with the address and the date.
Write the photo numbers or file names in the notes column of the condition sheet, so a row and its photo can be matched later. Convention
Rosa Aguilar (fictional) walks through her one-bedroom apartment on 2026-12-15 with her son Mateo, 4, staying with her sister for the afternoon, so she can look at each room without watching him at the same time. She marks the window in Mateo's room as OK and notes "no window stop" in the notes column, because the window question goes to the manager in First night and safety. The walk-through records what is there; First night and safety is where the safety requests are written.
5. The condition record, and the keys
A condition sheet in your phone protects you only if the landlord knows it exists. The record becomes useful when it is shared and dated.
- Do the walk-through with the landlord or manager if you can. Rent Smart's checklist has the tenant and landlord both sign it, or a witness who will not live in the home if the landlord does not. Signed by both, the record is something you agreed on.
- If you walk through alone, send the record. Send the condition sheet and the photos (or a link to them) by email or through the landlord's portal, so the message itself carries a date. Ask the landlord to reply to confirm they received it.
- Get promised repairs in writing. Rent Smart advises asking that repairs the landlord promises be written, signed and given a completion date. Add each one as a row on the condition sheet and, if it is not done by its date, in the repair log (Repairs and requests).
- Record the send. Write the date you sent it in the "reported on" column, and keep a copy of what you sent (a printout or a saved PDF of the email) with the lease.
The plan dates the send at T+3, three days after the key day. Convention That is this manual's default, early enough that nothing new has happened to the home. Your state or city may set its own process and deadline, as the Massachusetts statement of condition (10 days and 15 days) and Minnesota's move-in inspection right (told within 14 days) show. Where yours sets a deadline, use it. In some states the landlord gives the first form; this manual's sheet is then your notes and photos for answering it.
The record also matters at the end of the tenancy. Minnesota's guide, for example, tells tenants to document the condition at move-out as well, and says landlords have to offer a move-out inspection shortly before the tenancy ends. Your household binder sets a reminder to find the move-in record before the move-out walk-through.
Move-out records, and how the move-in record is used then. At move-out, repeat the walk-through with the same sheet, in the same room order, and photograph the same views. Rent Smart's checklist has check-in and check-out columns side by side for that reason: each item can be compared directly. Where the move-in record says "stain by the door, photo 14," a move-out photo of the same spot shows whether it changed. Deductions are a question of state law and the lease; Minnesota's guide, as one example, limits them to unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, and other money owed under an agreement (Minnesota Attorney General, "Ending the Tenancy"). Whether a deduction in your case was proper is a question for your state's guide or legal aid, with both records in hand.
Keys and locks
The last part of the record is the keys. On the keys sheet, write each key or fob (unit door, building door, mailbox, storage, laundry), how many you received, and who else may have one: the landlord or manager, a building superintendent, a previous tenant who did not return theirs. The count matters at move-out, when keys are returned, and it matters now, because it tells you who can get in.
Whether the locks were changed since the last tenant is a question for the landlord, in writing, if you are a renter. Ask the authority Changing a lock yourself is an alteration, and the lease settles whether you may. If you own the home, rekeying is your decision: previous owners, agents and contractors may still hold keys, and First night and safety returns to it.
6. See it: Dani's lease questions and condition sheet See it
Dani Ortiz (fictional; they/them) rents a 420 sq ft studio on the third floor of a 1958 building from a property management company, on a one-year lease. The keys come on Sunday 2026-11-01. Names, dates, amounts and sizes here are invented for the example.
Known, from the lease. Rent $1,150 a month; security deposit $1,150; application fee $45 (all fictional). Water and sewer, heat and trash are included; electricity and internet are Dani's. Dani copies those answers to the lease answers sheet and writes four questions:
| Topic | What the lease says | Dani's question |
|---|---|---|
| Repairs | Requests through the online portal | "What number do I call for an emergency at night or on a weekend?" |
| Entry | "Reasonable notice" | "How much notice is reasonable, and will it come by email or the portal?" |
| Alterations | "No holes without written consent" | "May I use adhesive hooks or small nails for pictures?" |
| Smoke alarm | Not mentioned | "Who replaces the smoke alarm's battery, and who replaces the alarm?" |
The lead disclosure. The building is from 1958, so Dani looks in the lease packet. It holds the disclosure form, with "no known lead-based paint" checked, and the EPA pamphlet. A studio can fall under the rule's zero-bedroom exemption; whether this one does is the manager's disclosure to make, and the packet included the form either way. Dani notes it on the sheet.
The walk-through. On the key day, before the mattress comes up, Dani walks the main room, the kitchenette and the bathroom with the condition sheet open on their phone. The carpet by the door has a stain about the size of a dinner plate. Dani marks it "dirty," takes a wide shot and a close-up with a pen beside it, and records a two-minute video of the whole studio. The rest of the rows are OK.
The send. On day 2, Tuesday 2026-11-03, Dani sends the condition sheet and a link to the photo folder to the manager through the portal and writes 2026-11-03 in the "reported on" column. The portal message shows the date sent; Dani saves a PDF of it with the lease.
The keys. Two unit keys, one building fob and one mailbox key. The manager holds copies. Whether the unit's lock was changed after the last tenant is a question Dani adds to the list.
Assumed. That the manager received and read the portal message. The portal's sent record shows it went; a reply from the manager would settle that it was read.
Open, and who settles it. Whether the stain is ever charged against the deposit: settled at move-out by the manager under the lease and the state's law, with Dani's dated photos and the sent sheet as the record. This manual does not predict it. Who replaces the smoke alarm: settled by the manager's written answer to Dani's question, in First night and safety. The lock question: the manager's answer.
Marisol Díaz and Kwame Boateng (fictional) bought a two-bedroom condo in a 40-unit building, closing on 2026-10-10. They have no lease; they read the association's declaration and rules for the same questions. Inside the unit is theirs to maintain; the roof and the common pipes are the association's. They do their own walk-through anyway, with photos, so they have a dated record of the unit if a question about a leak from a common pipe comes up later. The keys sheet raises the question First night and safety settles: previous owners, agents and contractors may still hold keys.
Free sources behind this chapter:
- UW–Madison Extension, Rent Smart check-in and check-out checklist (PDF): the model for the condition sheet, and how to use it.
- FTC, Rental Listing Scams: the warning signs and where to report.
- EPA, Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards: what the lead rule requires and whom it does not cover.
- CFPB, Your tenant and debt collection rights: where tenant rights come from, with a link to state law.
7. Practice: the lease questions and the walk-through Practice
Minimum: one question written for each of the utilities, deposit, repairs, entry and alterations clauses you cannot answer; every room walked and photographed before unpacking; the condition sheet filled in, sent and its send date recorded; the keys counted. Time: about 30 minutes for the lease and 60 to 90 minutes for the walk-through. Materials: the lease and its packet, a phone with a camera and some free storage, a phone charger to test outlets, a coin or pen for scale, and the move-in record (or paper with the same columns).
- Read the lease with the table in reading a lease and fill the lease answers sheet. Write questions in plain words and send them together.
- Find your state's tenant guide and note on the sheet what it says about the deposit and any move-in inspection or condition form.
- If the home was built before 1978, find the lead disclosure and the pamphlet in the packet, and note what was checked.
- Walk through room by room before unpacking. Mark each item, photograph anything that is not OK, and record a short video.
- Send the sheet and the photos to the landlord or manager in writing, and write the date in the "reported on" column.
- Count the keys and write who else may have one.
- Print the condition sheet and ask the landlord to sign and date it, or have a witness who will not live there sign it; keep the signed copy with the lease.
- Read your state's guide on move-out and note, on the lease answers sheet, the deposit return deadline and what the guide says about a move-out inspection.
8. Your home Your home
9. Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Does the lease answers sheet have an answer or a question for utilities, the deposit, repairs, entry and alterations?
- Were the questions sent in writing, with the replies kept?
- Does the condition sheet have a row for every item in every room, each marked?
- Does every row other than OK have a photo, matched by file name or number?
- Are the photos saved somewhere other than the phone, with their original dates?
- Is there a "reported on" date, and a saved copy of what was sent?
- Does the keys sheet say how many of each key you have and who else holds one?
- For a home built before 1978, is the lead disclosure noted, or a question written if it is missing?
Worked example
Dani's record (fictional) has the lease answers filled in with four questions sent through the portal. The condition sheet has rows for the main room, the kitchenette and the bathroom, all marked, with the carpet stain photographed and the file names in the notes. The photos are in a cloud folder named with the address and 2026-11-01. The sheet shows 2026-11-03 as the date sent, and a PDF of the portal message is saved. The keys sheet lists four keys and fobs. The lead disclosure is noted. The record meets the criteria. It does not settle the deposit; it is the record that will be used when that question comes.
Common mistakes
- Unpacking first and walking through later. Boxes and furniture cover the floor and the walls the record needs.
- Photographing only the damage. Wide shots of each room show what was in good condition too, which matters if a dispute is about something you did not mark.
- Keeping the record and not sending it. A sheet the landlord did not receive shows what you saw, but not that they were told.
- Relying on a phone call for a promised repair. Ask for it in writing, with a date.
- Taking a figure from another state, or a general article, as your rule. Your lease and your state's guide set it.
- Reading "no known lead-based paint" as "tested and lead-free." The form discloses what the landlord knows; the rule does not require a test.
What is still unresolved
This chapter cannot tell you what your lease means, whether a fee or deposit is allowed, or how a dispute would go; your state's tenant guide, legal aid or a lawyer can. It cannot tell you whether paint in an older home is a hazard; a certified inspector can. Who installs and tests the alarms is a question for First night and safety, and promised repairs that are not done go into the repair log in Repairs and requests.