Condition report: what it is, move-in and move-out

A condition report is the written record of a rental property's condition at move-in or move-out. In Belgium it is called a plaatsbeschrijving, or état des lieux. The document describes rooms, finishes, existing damage and often keys and meter readings, usually together with photos. Landlord and tenant date and sign it. At the end of the lease it is then clear what was already there and what is new. The FPS Finance describes it, in the MyRent glossary, as a detailed written record of the factual condition of the dwelling and its fittings at the start of the lease. The Dutch version of this page is the plaatsbeschrijving.

Move-in and move-out

At move-in, also called the incoming condition report, you record the condition at the start of the lease. In Flanders that happens while the home is still unoccupied, or at the latest during the first month. The record is attached to the lease. It proves which defects were already there. The tenant must later return the property in the same condition, wear from normal use aside, and is not liable for what was already in the record.

At move-out, if a party asks for it, you draw up an outgoing condition report. In Flanders that is done on a contradictory basis and at joint expense, at the latest when the keys are returned and accepted. You walk the same rooms and compare with the incoming visit. Without an incoming record, the reasoning favours the tenant: the landlord then has to prove the damage. A solid move-in therefore makes the move-out shorter and calmer.

What belongs in it

A condition report is usable only if someone who was not there can read the condition back. Start with the address, the parties, the date and whether it is a move-in or a move-out. Also choose the region. In ZitaDescribe that choice decides which statutory texts go into the record: Flanders, Brussels or Wallonia.

Then comes the property, room by room. For each room you describe what you see: walls, floor and ceiling, joinery, sanitary fittings, kitchen, and damage that is already there. A photo belongs with that room, not in a separate folder without a caption. Keys and meter readings come separately, because they are compared in figures at move-out. Remarks you dictate on site belong in the text of that room. Both parties sign. A series of photos without a description is a memory aid, not a condition report.

Who draws it up?

Tenant and landlord can write the record themselves. They can also appoint an expert together, for example a surveyor or an architect. In Flanders they each bear half the cost of that expert when they make that choice. A notary is not required. Offices that follow the rental file, estate agencies that handle the letting, and people who walk through on behalf of the parties, use the same type of record.

Which workflow each party follows in ZitaDescribe is on the page by audience. The tool is the same. The emphasis differs: portfolio for an estate agency, signing for a notary's office, the on-site visit for a surveyor, damage and a follow-up visit for an architect.

Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia

A condition report is a Belgian concept, but the rental rules are regional. The facts below about timing and shared cost concern residential leases in Flanders, as the Flemish government explains them. Brussels and Wallonia have their own ordinance or decree. Read that text for a property in that region. This overview is not legal advice.

• Vlaanderen.be, concluding a residential lease: a detailed condition report, to be drawn up together, dated and signed, at the latest in the first month. The parties may appoint an expert. That cost is shared.
• Housing Brussels: housing and leases in the Brussels-Capital Region. The condition of the property, in French état des lieux, follows the Brussels rental rules.
• Housing Wallonia: housing and leases in Wallonia. An état des lieux also belongs with a residential lease there, under the Walloon framework.
• MyRent at the FPS Finance: register the lease and the condition report. For a residential lease that registration is as a rule free when the record belongs with the contract.

What a condition report is not

The record is not an estimate of the rent and not a valuation of the property. It is also not a survey plan: a surveyor can describe the condition, but the condition report does not replace a plan with areas. And it is not a judgment about who must pay for damage. It records what was visible on the day of the visit. What is later repaired or compensated follows from the contract and, if the parties cannot agree, from regional rental law or a decision. ZitaDescribe helps make that record complete and readable. It does not decide in place of the parties.

Example of the structure

A record that the parties can still read later always has the same backbone. You do not need to copy a client's template. This order is enough:

1. Address, property type, parties, date, region, move-in or move-out.
2. Rooms in a fixed order, for example hall, living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, storage.
3. Per room, a factual description and the photos that belong with it.
4. Keys, meter readings and other counts.
5. Date and signature of landlord and tenant.

ZitaDescribe puts photo, dictated remark and that order in one inspection. The AI report writes the text per room. You review it and export the PDF. How those steps run in the app is in the user guide. If you are looking for a tool that does this, rather than the legal background, read on about the condition-report tool.