Moving in and moving out: what to write down and photograph

Updated 05.10.2026.

Most disputes about the security deposit and bills start with one question: what did the flat look like on the first day? If you write it down and photograph it, the answer is on paper.

Handover report

Dzīvojamo telpu īres likums (Residential Tenancy Law) allows the landlord and the tenant to draw up a handover report (pieņemšanas un nodošanas akts) when the agreement is signed and when it ends (article 8, paragraph 4). It is not compulsory, but without it it is hard to prove later what was there and what was not.

Record in the report:

the date, the address and the names of both parties;
each room: walls, floor, ceiling, windows, doors and existing damage (scratches, cracks, stains), as precisely as possible;
the furniture and household appliances that stay in the flat, with their condition (for example, "fridge works, freezer door handle broken");
meter readings (see below);
the number of keys: flat, stairwell, letterbox, cellar, fobs or remotes;
the signatures of both parties.

If the report runs to several pages, sign each page. Keep your copy.

Photos and video

On the day you move in, before you bring in your things, film each room and photograph each piece of damage close up. Also photograph the meters with the reading visible. Send the photos, or a link to them, to the landlord by email the same day. The date can then be proven, and you both have the same material.

On the day you move out, do the same, from the same angles.

Meter readings

Write down and photograph:

the electricity meter (usually in the stairwell or in the flat);
the cold and hot water meters (in the bathroom or kitchen);
the gas meter, if there is one;
the heat meter or heat cost allocators on the radiators, if there are any.

The readings separate your consumption from the previous tenant's. Check in the agreement who passes the readings to the building manager and when. For example, in buildings managed by Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks, water readings are submitted between the 25th and the 28th of each month; if they are not submitted, the average consumption over the last three months is charged (Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks).

If the agreement says you take out the electricity contract in your own name, you have to give the supplier the meter number; you can find it on the meter or in the handover report, if one was drawn up (Elektrum). Some suppliers also ask for a copy of the report with the meter reading (SOS Bērnu ciemati, accessed 05.10.2026).

In the first days

Check that the water, heating, cooker, windows, door lock and smoke detector work.
Find out where the water shut-off valves and the electricity fuse box are.
Write down the emergency number of the building manager.
If you find damage that is not in the report, inform the landlord in writing in the first days. Damage that may endanger health, life or property must be reported by the tenant without delay (article 17, paragraph 1, point 7).
Declare your place of residence (deklarētā dzīvesvieta) within one month (Dzīvesvietas deklarēšanas likums (Declaration of Place of Residence Law), article 4).

Moving out

Notice. If you leave before the end of the term, give the landlord written notice at least one month in advance (article 27, paragraph 1).

Condition of the flat. The flat must be returned "in as good a condition as possible" (Civillikums (Civil Law), article 2152). The tenant is not liable for normal wear and tear from proper use of the flat (article 2150).

Joint inspection. Agree a time with the landlord, walk through the flat with the first report in hand and draw up a second report. Record the final readings and the number of keys returned.

Bills. The last heating or water bill arrives later. Agree in the report how it will be settled, for example with part of the security deposit (drošības nauda) that the landlord returns once the bill has arrived.

Security deposit. Unless the agreement says otherwise, the unused deposit is returned no later than the day the flat is vacated (article 12, paragraph 4).

Place of residence. Declare your new address. If you do not, the owner can ask the municipality to cancel the information on your declared place of residence (Declaration of Place of Residence Law, article 12).