Landlord

Protect Your Investment

A security deposit is the amount of money a tenant pays to secure a place of residence. Security deposits are used to cover the costs to rehab a property when the tenant leaves the property to return it to rental ready condition, but not all costs are applicable to the tenant. Security Deposits are used to cover tenant abuse and neglect, not wear and tear. How do you define abuse and neglect vs. wear and tear? That is a great question and there is no completely clear definition, a lot of it is subjective and this is where Deposit Defender helps protects you, the landlord.

Deposit Defender is the most comprehensive inspection app on the market. This app allows the landlord to thoroughly document the condition of the property with the ease of their phone or tablet (Apple and Android compatible) prior to the tenant taking possession. This provides the landlord with a clear, concise, report that is date stamped and can be used in court, should the situation arise. Small claims court cases between landlords and tenants are one of the absolute most common cases filed, the burden is on the landlord to prove the deductions from the security deposit are justified, truthful and accurate. The more prepared a landlord can be by correctly documenting the condition of your property, the better the chances are for not only keeping the portion of the security deposit in question, but additionally, protecting the landlord from possibly being charged a fine/fee/award to the tenant, which can be up to 3 times the amount of the original security deposit!

  • An easy to use app, that downloads to your phone/tablet that anyone can use for $4.99
  • Provides an inspection layout/template of your property (ie: number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.)
  • A list of items to be documented in every room (ie: doors, windows, blinds, floors, etc.). Within this list you can add the following to each item:
    • Pictures (unlimited)
    • Notes
    • Voice/Talk to text
  • Once you purchase the app, you can access your inspection at any time, it does not expire
  • You are able to conduct as many inspection as you like at no additional charge, this allows you to conduct before and after inspections
  • You can print out the inspection and bring it with you to court

Deposit Defender can also be used to document owner possessions for homeowners insurance.

What Landlords Say
About Deposit Defender

See why everyone loves our app!

Q. How many rental units can I inspect with Deposit Defender?

Unlimited. Deposit Defender can store as many unique rental units as you'd like.

Q. Why should I use Deposit Defender to inspect my rental property before the tenant moves in and after my tenant moves out?

Without well documented before/after pictures, you will not prevail over a tenant in court. As a property manager, I have sat in small claims on more occasions than I can count over the last 20 years and watched judges destroy landlords representing themselves in cases concerning security deposit refunds because they lacked before and after pictures of their rental property.

Q. Why should I take photos to court instead of video?

When you take a PDF of your move in/move out inspections to court, you should take 3 copies, one for your reference, one for the other side, and one for the judge, lf you just have a video on your phone there is no way to leave a copy with the court. I have been in court and a judge would not even consider a video unless the person agreed to surrender their phone to the court.

Q. What should I photograph prior to tenants moving in?

As a property manager and/or landlord it is your duty to document everything prior to a tenant moving in. You need to be able to prove in court that any damage you charge the tenant for when they move out was not present when they moved in. How can you do that without photographing everything? It is common for move-in inspections to be at least 100 photos minimum. 

Q.Why do I need to document the exterior of my home during the inspection?

If you live in part of the country that is in and out of a drought and you have a beautiful green lawn, your lease with your tenants should make them responsible for the condition of the yard, which means they are responsible for keeping the grass green during their tenancy, if you don't have photos of your nice green lawn prior to their tenancy you cannot charge them for the cost of restoring your lawn after they move out.

Q.How will Deposit Defender help me if I have to go to court over a security deposit?

Once you have completed your inspection using Deposit Defender, a report will be created showing all of the pictures and notes from the date of the inspection. You will need to have evidence on your side which proves the condition of the property.

Q.What should I photograph after the tenants have moved out?

You should photograph anything that you intend to charge the tenant for. If you are going to charge the tenant for cleaning, you have to have pictures to show that the home was dirty and required cleaning. If you are deducting anything from the tenant's security deposit, we recommend you print your move-out inspection and include it with their security deposit disposition paperwork. It will eliminate any need to argue about the condition of the home after they moved out.

Download Our App

Whether you are a landlord, property manager, or tenant you should download Deposit Defender today!
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