When I moved into my one-bedroom on East Sixth Street in September 2022, I thought the hard part was over once I had the keys. It was not. The first week in a new apartment is when you set up your whole protection for the next year or more. If you skip the right steps in those first seven days, you could lose money when you move out even if you did nothing wrong. This post covers what I did, what I missed, and what I would do on day one if I could go back.
Do you know what happens to most renters who lose part of their deposit at move out?
A lot of the time it is not because they broke something. It is because they had no proof that the damage was already there when they moved in. The landlord says you did it. You say it was like that before. Nobody has photos. Nobody wins except the landlord.
I learned this the slow way. Not because I lost my deposit, but because I came very close to being in that exact fight and only got out of it because I had one photo that saved me.
The First Thing to Do Before You Unpack Anything
Before one box goes on the floor. Before the mattress comes in. Before anything.
Walk through every single room with your phone and take photos and videos of everything you see. Open every cabinet. Check every wall. Look at the floor under where furniture will go. Check inside the oven. Check the bathroom grout. Check the window edges for old water stains.
Every scratch, every scuff, every small crack, every stain, every thing that is already broken or worn or off, you want it on camera with a timestamp.
This sounds like too much. It is not. It takes maybe 25 minutes and it is the single most important thing you will do in your entire time in that apartment. I wrote a full post on exactly how to document your apartment before move in with step by step detail on what to photograph and how to store the proof so you can actually find it later.
Do not just take the photos and leave them in your camera roll. Email them to yourself that same day. The email timestamp is proof of when they were taken. If your landlord ever argues about damage later, that email is your best friend.
The Move-In Checklist Form
Most landlords give you a move-in checklist when you get your keys. It is usually a paper form with a list of every room and every part of the apartment, walls, floors, appliances, fixtures, and a column where you mark the condition of each one.
Fill this out yourself. Do not just sign what the landlord already filled in and hand it back. Read every line. If something is marked as good condition but you can see a scratch or a stain, cross it out and write what you actually see. Be specific. Do not write “damaged.” Write “3 inch scratch on left wall of bedroom near window.”
Then take a photo of the completed form before you hand it back.
If your landlord does not give you a move-in checklist at all, make your own. A simple list of every room with notes on what you see works fine. Email it to your landlord on day one so there is a written record that you reported conditions right away.
This matters a lot when it is time to move out because your landlord in Texas has 30 days to return your deposit after you leave. If they try to keep any of it for damage, knowing what a landlord can legally deduct from your deposit in Texas helps you know right away if the claim is real or not.
Test Every Single Thing in the Apartment
On day one or day two, go through every switch, every outlet, every appliance, every faucet, every door lock, every window latch, every cabinet hinge.
Turn on every light. Run every tap. Flush every toilet. Run the dishwasher if there is one. Turn the oven on and let it heat up. Check that the AC works and the heat works. Open and close every window. Try every key in every lock.
If something does not work, report it in writing that same day or the next morning at the latest. Send an email or a message through your building’s app, whatever leaves a written record, and say exactly what does not work and when you found it.
The reason timing matters here is that if something breaks on day three and you report it on day three, it is clearly a pre-existing problem or a new fault that is not your doing. If you wait two weeks to report it, your landlord might say you caused it. Written reports with dates protect you.
After I moved into East Sixth, I found the bathroom fan was not working. I reported it the same week. It still took months to get fixed, which is a whole other story I covered in my post on how to write a formal complaint letter to your landlord, but the written record from day one meant nobody could say I had broken it myself.
Set Up Your Utilities Right Away
The first week is also when you need to get your utilities in your name if they are not already set up.
Electricity, internet, renters insurance. Those are the three main ones most Austin renters handle themselves. Water is usually included in rent for apartment buildings but check your lease to be sure.
For electricity in Austin you call Austin Energy if you are inside the city limits. For internet you pick a provider and schedule installation, which can sometimes take a week or more so book it on day one.
Renters insurance is often the one people skip because it feels optional. It is not really optional. If someone breaks into your place and takes your laptop, or a pipe bursts and ruins your stuff, renters insurance is what covers you. A basic policy in Austin runs around $12 to $18 a month, which is genuinely not much for what it covers. I went over why it matters in detail in my post on renters insurance in Austin.
My full post on how to set up utilities in a new apartment covers the order to do things and what to watch out for, like getting locked into a long internet contract when a shorter one would serve you just as well.
Read Your Lease in the First Week
I know. Nobody wants to do this. The lease is long and full of boring words and you are busy setting up your new place.
But the first week is the best time to read it because you still have time to ask questions or flag problems before anything happens. Once you are three months in, it is harder to say you did not know something.
The things worth paying close attention to are the move-out notice rules, how much notice you have to give before you leave and when you have to give it. Most Austin leases want 60 days notice before your end date, sometimes more. Miss that window and you could end up on month-to-month without meaning to, which usually costs more.
Also read what your lease says about guests, pets, subletting, and any fees that can be added during your stay. My post on hidden fees in apartment leases covers the sneaky ones that show up mid-lease that most renters do not see coming.
And if you are in your first lease ever, my post on renter rights for your first lease explains what the law says your landlord can and cannot do, which is useful to know before any problem comes up rather than after.
Save Every Important Paper and Contact
In that first week, put together a small folder on your phone or computer with the following things.
A copy of your signed lease. A copy of your move-in checklist. All the photos and videos from your walkthrough. Your landlord’s email and phone number. The building’s maintenance contact. The number for your utility providers. Your renters insurance policy number and the phone number to make a claim.
Most people do not do this until something goes wrong and then they spend an hour trying to find a lease they saved somewhere and cannot locate.
If your building changes management, which can happen as I wrote about in my post on what happens to your lease if your landlord sells the building, having all of this saved means you do not lose anything important in the change.
The One Thing I Skipped That I Regret
When I moved into East Sixth, I did most of these things. Photos, utilities, move-in checklist. But I did not read my lease carefully in the first week.
About eight months in I had a question about whether I could have a friend stay for more than two weeks. I dug out the lease and found a clause I had never read that said guests staying longer than 14 consecutive days had to be approved in writing by the landlord. I had not done that.
Nothing bad happened. My landlord was fine about it. But I had been living for eight months without knowing a rule that applied to me, which is not a great feeling.
Read the lease. It takes an hour. You only have to do it once.
What the First Week Looks Like as a Simple List
| Task | When to do it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Photo and video walkthrough | Day 1, before unpacking | Proof of pre-existing damage |
| Fill out move-in checklist | Day 1 | Written record of condition |
| Test all switches, appliances, locks | Day 1 or 2 | Report faults early |
| Report any broken things in writing | Same day you find them | Timestamps protect you |
| Set up electricity | Day 1 | Cannot be without power |
| Set up internet | Day 1 (books a week out) | Installation takes time |
| Get renters insurance | Day 1 or 2 | Covers you from day one |
| Read your lease | Day 2 to 7 | Know your rules before you break one |
| Save all documents in one folder | Day 1 to 7 | Easy to find when you need them |
FAQ
What is the most important thing to do on move-in day?
Take photos and videos of the whole apartment before anything comes inside. Every wall, every floor, every appliance, every corner. Email them to yourself right away so you have a timestamped record. That set of photos is what stands between you and a false damage charge when you move out.
What if my landlord already filled out the move-in checklist before giving it to me?
Do not just sign it without reading it. Go through every line yourself. If anything is marked as good condition but you can see damage with your own eyes, cross it out, write what you actually see, and photograph the form before handing it back. Your notes override their pre-filled marks.
Do I really need renters insurance from day one?
Yes, from day one. If something happens on day two and you do not have it yet, you are not covered. It takes about ten minutes to set up online and costs around $12 to $18 a month for a basic policy. The cost of not having it when you need it is much higher.
What if I find something broken after the first week?
Still report it in writing right away, the day you find it. The sooner the better but even a late report is better than no report. Just be honest in your message about when you noticed it.
Can my landlord enter my apartment in the first week without telling me?
In Texas, your landlord generally has to give you reasonable notice before entering, except in a real emergency like a burst pipe or a fire. The first week does not change that rule. If your landlord enters without telling you, you have rights around that which I covered in my post on what to do if your landlord enters without notice in Texas.
What should I do if my landlord never gave me a move-in checklist?
Make your own. Walk through the apartment, write down every room and what you see, note every damage or problem, and email it to your landlord on day one. Keep a copy for yourself. This creates the same paper trail as an official form and works just as well if there is ever a dispute.
How long do I have to report problems I find after moving in?
As soon as you find them. There is no set deadline but the sooner you report something in writing, the harder it is for anyone to say you caused it. A problem reported on day three of living somewhere is almost impossible to pin on a new renter. A problem reported six months in is easier for a landlord to argue about.
