How to rent
The Condition Inspection Report Decides Your Deposit
Updated August 9, 2026 · 8 min read
The condition inspection report is the piece of paper that decides whether you get your deposit back. A landlord who never offers the inspection, never shows up to it, or never gives you a signed copy has extinguished their own right to claim against that deposit for damage — section 24 of the Residential Tenancy Act says so in one sentence, and most renters in Metro Vancouver have never heard it.
It takes about ten minutes at move-in. Both sides skip it constantly. Everything below reflects the Act, the Residential Tenancy Regulation and the RTB's policy guidelines as they stood on 9 August 2026.
What the condition inspection report is
It is form RTB-27, "Condition Inspection Report", seven pages, version 2024/11. One sheet covers the whole tenancy. Every room gets a row for each element — walls and trim, ceilings, floor and carpet, taps and stoppers, outlets, window coverings — and two sets of columns, "Condition at Beginning of Tenancy" and "Condition at End of Tenancy". At move-out the landlord fills in the right-hand side of the same page you signed on day one, and the comparison between those two columns is the case.
The form uses codes: a checkmark for good, F fair, P poor, M missing, ST stained, D damaged, S scratched, B broken, DT dirty. The instructions on page 7 tell you to use the comment column for detail and the blank lines to add anything the form does not list.
RTB-27 is a sample. A landlord can use their own form, but it has to comply with Part 3 of the Residential Tenancy Regulation, which sets out what must be on it and requires space for the tenant to record disagreement. A one-page checklist with no room for your comments is a bad sign.
What happens if the landlord skips the inspection
Sections 23 and 24 govern the start of a tenancy; sections 35 and 36 mirror them at the end. The consequence provisions cut both ways, and they are not symmetrical in effect.
| What happened | Landlord's right to claim your deposit for damage | Your right to the deposit back |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord never offered two inspection opportunities | Extinguished — s. 24(2)(a), s. 36(2)(a) | Intact |
| Landlord offered two, then did not participate on either | Extinguished — s. 24(2)(b), s. 36(2)(b) | Intact |
| Inspection done, but no completed report or no copy given to you | Extinguished — s. 24(2)(c), s. 36(2)(c) | Intact |
| Landlord offered two opportunities properly, you attended neither | Intact | Extinguished — s. 24(1), s. 36(1) |
| Both sides failed | The party who breached first bears the loss | Policy Guideline 17, para. 8 |
That last row matters more than it looks. Policy Guideline 17 gives the example directly: if the landlord failed to give you a copy of the move-in report, then even if you skipped the move-out inspection, the landlord is still barred from claiming against the deposit, because their breach came first.
"Extinguished" is narrower than it sounds, and the guideline is honest about it. A landlord who loses the right to claim against the deposit keeps the right to file a separate monetary claim for damage arising out of the tenancy. What they lose is the shortcut of holding your money while you chase it. They now have to file, pay the fee, and prove the damage to an arbitrator, with your deposit already back in your account.
Condition inspection deadlines in BC
| Event | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Move-in inspection | The day you are entitled to possession, or another day both of you agree to | RTA s. 23(1) |
| Time of day for any inspection | Between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm unless you agree otherwise | Regulation s. 16 |
| Second opportunity, if the first does not work | Landlord serves form RTB-22, Notice of Final Opportunity | Regulation s. 17(2)(b) |
| Your copy of the move-in report | Within 7 days of the inspection | Regulation s. 18 |
| Your copy of the move-out report | Within 15 days of the later of the inspection and your written forwarding address | Regulation s. 18 |
| Deposit returned, or a claim filed against it | 15 days from the later of the tenancy ending and your written forwarding address | RTA s. 38 |
| Penalty if they do neither | Double the deposit | RTA s. 38(6) |
If you cannot attend, RTB-22 says you may send someone else, but you have to give the landlord that person's name. Your agent cannot agree to deductions from your deposit without your authorization. That line is printed on the form itself.
How to do the move-in inspection properly
The report is only worth what you put in it. Regulation s. 21 says a completed report is evidence of the condition of the unit on the day of the inspection, unless one side has a preponderance of evidence to the contrary. Photographs are how you become that preponderance.
Photograph everything before you move a single box in. An empty unit photographs honestly; a furnished one hides the scuffed baseboard behind the couch you will be blamed for. Shoot every wall, the floor in each room, the inside of the oven and fridge, under the sink, the bathroom grout and caulking, the balcony deck, and the window coverings. In a lot of Metro Vancouver rentals the blinds are the single most argued-about item. Leave the camera's timestamp on, do not edit the files, and email the whole set to yourself the same day. An email with a server date is harder to argue with than a phone gallery.
Write the defects on the form, not in conversation. "Don't worry about the carpet stain, that was there before" is worth nothing eighteen months later when the person who said it has sold the building. Write "ST" in the code column and "approx 20 cm brown stain, living room by patio door" in the comment. Use the blank lines for anything the form missed. Box X exists specifically to list repairs needed at the start. Use it, because it doubles as a written repair request.
Never sign a blank or pre-filled report. A blank form with your signature on it is a form the landlord fills in later. A pre-filled one that says every room is "Good" before you walked through is the same problem with extra steps. If the landlord has already ticked everything, walk the unit with the form and change what is wrong in front of them.
You can sign and still disagree. Item 1 on page 6 has two boxes: agree that the report fairly represents the condition, or do not agree, with room for your reasons. Tick the second, write what you dispute, sign, date. That is a signed report: it satisfies the landlord's obligation and puts your version on the record. Refusing to sign at all does not help you.
Get your copy within seven days. If it does not arrive, ask in writing. That request, unanswered, is the evidence that triggers s. 24(2)(c).
What they can actually charge you for
Reasonable wear and tear is not damage, and even real damage is discounted for age. Policy Guideline 40, updated 5 February 2025, sets out estimated useful life, and arbitrators use it to avoid handing a landlord a better unit than they had.
| Item | Estimated useful life |
|---|---|
| Interior paint | 6 years |
| Carpet | 12 years |
| Laminate flooring | 15 years |
| Hardwood, until refinishing | 10 years |
| Window coverings (blinds, shades) | 15 years |
| Laminate or wood countertop | 15 years |
| Fridge/freezer, range/oven | 15 years |
| Dishwasher, microwave | 10 years |
Source: Residential Tenancy Policy Guideline 40.
The guideline's own worked example: a tenant's dog breaks a five-year-old dishwasher, the landlord buys a new one for $900, and because the old one was halfway through a ten-year life, roughly $450 is the appropriate award. A landlord billing you the full replacement cost of a twelve-year-old appliance is asking you to fund an upgrade.
If the landlord refuses to do one
This happens, usually framed as a favour. Do this instead of arguing:
- Ask in writing. Text or email, once, plainly: "Can we do the condition inspection on [date]?" Keep the reply, or the silence.
- Do it anyway, alone. Fill in RTB-27 yourself, date it, photograph every room the same day, and bring someone who can later say what the unit looked like.
- Send it to them. Email the completed report and say you are treating it as the record unless they respond with corrections. If they never do, that is their problem at a hearing, not yours.
- At move-out, give your forwarding address in writing and keep proof of when. The 15-day clock under s. 38 starts from that date, and nothing starts without it.
If they then keep any part of the deposit for damage, Policy Guideline 17 is blunt: an arbitrator will order double the deposit where the landlord claimed against it for damage and that right was already extinguished, whether or not the underlying claim had merit. Deposits are capped at half a month's rent each, so on the Vancouver CMA average two-bedroom purpose-built rent of $2,363 in CMHC's October 2025 survey, a security deposit and a pet damage deposit together run about $2,363. Doubled, $4,726. Deposit interest is 0% for 2026 and was 0.95% for 2025, per the Residential Tenancy Branch.
The honest part
Extinguishment is a procedural win, not a shield. The landlord can still come after you for genuine damage through a monetary claim, and if you wrecked the place they will probably succeed. What the inspection changes is who holds the money while that gets sorted out and who has to prove their version.
It also has a social cost most guides skip. Asking a Vancouver landlord to complete a form they were planning to skip marks you as a tenant who knows the rules, and that is not always welcome on day one of a tenancy you want to keep. Treat it as routine rather than as a challenge: fill in the form, hand over a copy, say nothing about section 24. You only need the argument if the deposit is already gone.
More on the money side in our security deposit guide, and on what a landlord can and cannot put in the lease in the tenancy agreement guide. If the inspection is happening because you are moving, the live listings feed and city pages like Burnaby show what is actually available.
Nothing here is legal advice. The Residential Tenancy Branch takes calls at 1-800-665-8779.
Common questions
What happens if the landlord doesn't do a move-in inspection in BC?
Section 24(2) of the Residential Tenancy Act extinguishes the landlord's right to claim against your security or pet damage deposit for damage to the property. That applies if they never offered two inspection opportunities, offered them but did not show up, or did the inspection and never completed the report and gave you a copy.
Do I have to sign the condition inspection report?
You are asked to, but signing does not mean agreeing. Form RTB-27 has a box where you tick that you do not agree the report fairly represents the unit and write your reasons before signing. Never sign a blank or already-filled-in report you have not read against the unit.
How long does the landlord have to give me a copy of the condition inspection report?
Seven days after a move-in inspection, under section 18 of the Residential Tenancy Regulation. For a move-out inspection it is 15 days after the later of the inspection date and the date they receive your forwarding address in writing.
Is form RTB-27 mandatory in BC?
No. RTB-27 is the Residential Tenancy Branch's sample form and most landlords use it, but a landlord can use their own as long as it complies with Part 3 of the Residential Tenancy Regulation. If theirs is missing rooms or has no space for your disagreement, it probably does not.
Can I get double my damage deposit back in BC?
Yes, under section 38. If the landlord neither returns the deposit nor files a claim within 15 days of the later of the tenancy ending and receiving your written forwarding address, an arbitrator orders double. Policy Guideline 17 also orders double where the landlord claims against the deposit for damage after that right was already extinguished.