Handing over an apartment to a tenant — the complete checklist

Handing over an apartment to a tenant — the complete checklist

Handover day is the moment that shapes your entire future cooperation with the tenant. What gets written down, photographed and signed today will, in a year or two, decide whether the deposit settlement is smooth — or becomes a dispute. Below is a complete checklist divided into three stages: before, during and after the handover.

Stage 1: before the handover

A good handover starts a few days earlier. What to prepare:

• Cleaning — the apartment should be clean: washed windows, vacuumed floors, a clean bathroom and kitchen, emptied cupboards and fridge. The standard of cleanliness on handover day sets the standard in which the tenant should return the dwelling.
• Technical inspection — check sockets and lighting, taps and drains, the cooker, washing machine and other appliances, locks, windows and heating. Fix minor faults before move-in — afterwards each of them becomes a "repair request".
• Key sets — prepare the agreed number of sets (apartment, building entrance, mailbox, basement, gate remote) and count them. The number of sets handed over must be recorded in the protocol.
• Energy performance certificate — since 2023 landlords in Poland have been obliged to give the tenant a copy of the energy performance certificate when concluding a lease. If you do not have one, order it from a licensed assessor.
• Documents — print the lease (if not yet signed), a handover protocol template and any annexes (housing community rules, consents).
• Utilities — agree with the tenant whether the utility contracts stay in your name with usage-based settlement, or whether the tenant transfers them. Prepare the meter numbers and recent invoices.

Stage 2: during the handover — the protocol

The heart of the whole process is the handover protocol, signed together with the rental agreement or on the day the keys are handed over. Walk through the apartment together, room by room, and record:

• Meter readings with photos — electricity, gas, cold and hot water, heating. A photo of the meter with its number and reading visible is the hardest evidence — utility settlements start from these values.
• A description of each room's condition — walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors, tiling. Be specific: "scratch on the floor panel by the bedroom window", "chipped tile above the sink". Generalities like "good condition" will not hold up at deposit settlement time.
• An inventory of equipment — furniture, appliances (with serial numbers and manuals), lighting, small items. Note the condition of each item.
• Photo documentation — wide shots of every room plus close-ups of all existing damage. The more photos, the fewer arguments a year from now.
• Keys and access — the number of sets, remotes, access cards, codes (intercom, alarm).
• Signatures of both parties — each party keeps a copy of the protocol with its annexes.

A paper protocol is easy to lose, and phone photos vanish into the gallery. With the Brokik app you can prepare the handover protocol digitally — with meter readings, photos and room descriptions assigned to the specific property, available again when the tenant moves out.

Stage 3: after the handover

• Rules and regulations — hand over the housing community or cooperative rules, waste-sorting rules, information about quiet hours and common areas.
• Emergency contacts — your number, the building administration, emergency services (plumber, electrician, gas company). Agree which problems the tenant reports to you and which directly to the services.
• Appliance instructions — operating the boiler or heating, washing machine, dishwasher, cooker hood; the location of water valves and the fuse box.
• Formalities — see the utility transfers through, note the date of the first rent payment and the payment deadlines. If you concluded an occasional lease, remember to notify the tax office within 14 days.
• Archiving — keep the full set of documents (lease, protocol, photos, energy certificate) in one place for the whole tenancy and at least until the deposit is settled.

The most common handover mistakes

• no protocol, or a rushed one without a description of damage,
• writing down meter readings without photos — word against word in a dispute,
• uncounted key sets,
• skipping the energy performance certificate,
• no arrangements for utilities — who pays, from when, and based on which readings.

Summary

A solid apartment handover has three stages: preparation (cleaning, inspection, keys, the energy certificate), a careful protocol with photos of meters and rooms, and tying up loose ends after move-in (rules, emergency contacts, utilities, archiving). An hour spent on a thorough protocol on handover day is the cheapest insurance against disputes when the deposit is settled.