First-Time Landlord Checklist: What to Sort Before Your Tenant Moves In

Short answer: Before a first tenant moves in there are four things to get right: the legal and safety paperwork for your country, the money side, the condition record, and the practical property information the tenant will need in week one. The first three protect you. The fourth is what decides how often your phone rings.

1. Legal and safety basics

These vary significantly by country and region, so treat this as a prompt list rather than a definitive set of requirements. Confirm each one locally before you let.

• A written tenancy agreement appropriate to your jurisdiction.
• Any required registration of the tenancy or the deposit.
• Gas, electrical and energy-performance certification where required.
• Working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, tested and dated.
• Landlord insurance, and written consent from your mortgage lender if you need it.

2. The money side

• Decide the rent, the payment date and the payment method, and put them in writing.
• Handle the deposit exactly as your local rules require, including any protection scheme.
• Write down who pays which utility, and note the meter readings on day one.
• Register with the relevant tax authority and keep receipts from the start.

3. The condition record

Take a dated, photographic record of every room before the tenant moves in, and have the tenant confirm it. This is the baseline every later deposit deduction is measured against, and it is the single most common thing first-time landlords skip and later regret.

For the detail, see what a property inventory is and how to document rental condition.

4. The practical property information

This is the part no legal checklist mentions, and it is the part that determines whether you get a text every few days for the first two months. Before handover, write down:

• Emergency information: the correct local emergency number, plus where the gas, water and electricity shutoffs are.
• WiFi network and password.
• How the heating and hot water work, including the timer and thermostat.
• Appliance basics: washing machine, oven, dishwasher, extractor.
• Bins and recycling: which bin, which day, where it goes out.
• Parking, keys, alarm codes and any building access rules.
• House rules and how to report a problem to you.

Give this to the tenant as something they can open on their phone at ten in the evening, not as a folder that ends up in a drawer.

Move-in day, in order

1. Sign the agreement and hand over the required documents.
2. Walk the property together and confirm the condition record.
3. Show the safety items first: alarms, shutoffs, fuseboard, escape route.
4. Show the heating, hot water and main appliances.
5. Take meter readings and hand over keys.
6. Share the property information link and explain what to use it for.

Where Twinly fits (honestly)

Twinly does not draft your tenancy agreement, protect your deposit or file your taxes. It handles point four: a guided setup that captures the walkthrough, safety locations, appliances and bins for your property, and turns it into a hub your tenant opens on their phone. For a first-time landlord it also works as a prompt list, because it asks you for the things you would otherwise only discover you had forgotten when the tenant asked.

Frequently asked questions