Move out walthrough to avoid potential false claims from the landlord

[Mia Tam]

Hello,

We have been renting the current property for 3 yrs now, there is normal wear and tear that is common with property use. When we moved in I took pictures of areas of the house that I thought were poorly maintained or not in the expected state, the pictures are in my phone and have a date and timestamp for authenticity of when they were taken. The landlord has $2000 from us in security deposit.

We are moving out by the end of May, and my concern is that they may falsely charge us for damages or things that were not done by us and I need to safeguard my interest. I intend to take pictures of every part of the house to thoroughly document the condition before we move out and send those pictures to the landlord as a proof so they cannot claim anything false after they move back in - is that a good idea?

In addition to this what else can I do to protect myself and ensure that they don't take anything more than is required from that security deposit?
I am in Illinois.

Thanks,
Priyanka

[Theresa Harris]

Just like there are bad tenants, there are bad landlords.  You can spend a lot of time worrying 'what if'.  Simply take photos AFTER you have everything moved out.  Ask for them to meet you at the property to hand over keys and do a quick walk through knowing they will do a more thorough when they are by themselves (because it is much easier to do it that way).  Also find out if they have a move out list for you to check and what the expectations are (ie I expect any carpet to be professionally cleaned and want a receipt, over is cleaned, if you had a pet any poop in the yard to be picked up, etc).  When you get the deposit back, if there are major discrepancies, send them photos of before and after.