Check-in/check-out inspection: a photo report signed on the spot

When a dispute arises over repair costs, a report without photos is often worth little more than a memory. This article sets out the method, room by room, for a check-in/check-out inspection report on a tablet, with the right photos in the right place. Landlord and tenant sign on the same device before leaving the property, and the signed report contains the photos. It also recalls the rules of the Swiss Code of Obligations that give this document its full value.

A check-out, three years later

A tenant hands back their 4-room flat. The living-room parquet has a chip. Was it there at check-in? The photos from back then are sitting on the phone of a colleague who has since left, with no indication of the room.

A photo is truly useful when three conditions are met: it is linked to a specific room, it accompanies a written description, and it forms part of the document signed by both parties.

With the dooxpert set-up, tested on Odoo 20 in September 2026, photos taken on the tablet are inserted into the relevant room. They appear in the PDF report, and therefore in the signed document. No photo folder to track down later.

Before the appointment: prepare the file

Before you set off, check that:

• the property is described room by room: hall, living room, bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, balcony, cellar, attic storage. The list comes from the property type, not from the property manager's memory;
• the lease, the tenant and the owner are recorded. The report then fills itself in without retyping anything;
• for a check-out, the check-in inspection report is available, with its photos. It is the basis for comparison;
• the tablet is charged and you know whether the building, cellar included, has network coverage.

On site: a room-by-room method

Always in the same order

Follow the order of the form, from the entrance to the back, with the tenant. Keep the cellar and attic storage on the list, even when empty: that is where things get forgotten.

An overview, then the detail

For each room, one overview photo from the doorway is enough to place things. Then photograph each defect close up, with a reference point: a socket, a window corner, a switch. A 2 cm chip in a parquet floor means nothing without its location.

One photo, one written line

For each defect, write down what you see: « impact mark on the door, corridor side, at handle height ». At check-out, this line is compared with the check-in; the photo proves it.

What is better not to photograph

An inspection report describes the property, not the tenant's life. Avoid people, papers lying around and close-ups of personal belongings. Data protection law requires that what is collected remains proportionate to the purpose (art. 6 para. 2 LPD, Swiss data protection act). A well-framed photo of a defect respects this principle.

Meters and keys

Photograph each meter, with the reading legible, and note the figure in the report. Count the keys by type (flat, building, letterbox, cellar, fobs) and photograph them side by side.

Enough photos, but not too many

The number and size of photos are set to keep the PDF easy to send. Ten useful photos are better than forty blurry ones.

The signature: two people, one device

Review the report on screen with the tenant, photos included, and correct or complete it if needed.

Then the landlord, or the property manager representing them, and the tenant sign on the tablet, one after the other. Nobody needs an account or an app. It is a simple electronic signature, sufficient for this document, which requires no particular form. The signed PDF comes with a certificate stating who signed and when.

If the tenant refuses to sign, note it in the report. The document is filed all the same, and what happens next follows your usual practice.

Prepared for you, approved by you

The signed report and its certificate are filed in the lease file. For sending, you choose, once and for all: the PDF goes by email to the tenant and the owner as soon as it is signed, or it waits for your review at the office.

Three rules then give this report its full value:

• At check-in, in line with the practice of the French-speaking Swiss inspection report form, the tenant may report within 10 days any defects that could not be seen on the day of handover. The covering email can remind them of this, with a link to their tenant portal.
• At check-out, the landlord must check the condition of the property and immediately notify the tenant of the defects for which the tenant is liable (art. 267a para. 1 CO). If the landlord fails to do so, the tenant is released from liability, except for defects that could not be discovered by a normal inspection (art. 267a para. 2 CO). A report with photos, signed the same day, is the best basis for this notice.
• For the next tenant, the landlord must, if asked, show them the check-out report from the previous lease (art. 256a para. 1 CO). With the photos, it answers many questions.

The rent deposit (at most three months' rent, art. 257e CO) is then released on this basis. See Rent and reminders.

In practice: the property manager's checklist

• Property described room by room before setting off, outbuildings and storage included.
• For a check-out: check-in inspection report open, with its photos.
• Tablet charged, building's network coverage known.
• One overview photo per room, taken from the doorway.
• One photo per defect, with a reference point, and a written line describing it.
• No people and no close-ups of personal belongings.
• Meters photographed and read, keys counted by type.
• Report reviewed on screen with the tenant before signing.
• Two signatures on the tablet; any refusal noted in the report.
• Sent on signature or after review, depending on your setting.

Frequently asked questions

Do photos carry weight in an electronically signed report?

They form part of the document that both parties reviewed and signed, with a certificate stating who signed and when. That is more robust than a photo kept on a phone. In the event of a dispute, it is the authority seised of the matter that assesses the evidence.

And what if there is no network in the cellar?

Take your photos and notes, then finalise and have the report signed where there is a connection, for example in the living room. We check coverage with you and, if needed, plan for tethering from a phone.

Can we keep the layout of our current form?

Yes. We carry over your headings and your layout; the photos are inserted into the relevant room.