First apartment
The lease is longer than the syllabus.
The carpet arrived with a history. Walk the studio before the posters go up, so move-out you is not negotiating with a memory.
For renters
Your friend in every rental.
Move-in day is boxes and pizza. Move-out day is when someone remembers a scuff you would swear was already there. RentFrend walks the place with you on both days: photos, comments, both signatures, and a timestamped PDF that links the summary to every room.
- Coming soonon the App Store
- Coming soonon Google Play
Get a note when the doors open.
Rooms a walkthrough can cover include Entry, Living room, Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom, Closet, Hall, Balcony, Office, Laundry, Dining room, Patio.
How it works
Three steps, then you can put the boxes down.
01
Follow the rooms
An AI guide builds a room-by-room walkthrough of your rental. You get a path through the place — kitchen, bath, the closet with the mystery stain — instead of a blank page.
02
Show what you see
Take photos and add comments while you are standing there. The chip in the tile stays attached to the chip, not lost in a camera roll named IMG_4088.
03
Sign, then send
Both sides sign. RentFrend makes a timestamped PDF: a summary up front, each line linked to that room’s photos and notes, and a way back to the summary.
The lives
A walkthrough for the way you actually live.
Rentals are not one kind of story. The scuff in a first studio and the nose-print on a patio door both deserve a photo with a date. These are the households we had in mind. They are scenes, not reviews.
Roommates
One deposit. Four opinions.
The group chat can debate the dishes. It should not have to debate who nicked the counter. A shared walkthrough gives the scuff a photo instead of a suspect.
A couple and a dog
Noodle is perfect. The baseboard is a discussion.
Pets were allowed. Nose-height doors were not in the listing photos. Document them on day one, while everyone is still smiling, including the dog.
Young family
Tiny shoes. Full-size deposit.
Crayons happen. So do nail holes from the people before you. A room-by-room record keeps “kids live here” separate from “this was already broken.”
Remote worker
The second bedroom files taxes.
You will notice every dent in the office wall, because you look at it all week. Catch them before the desk goes in, not when the lease is up.
New city
New skyline. Same checklist.
You do not know a plumber here, or which scuffs count as character. Walk the place before the suitcase is unpacked. The report travels when you do.
The stakes
The deposit is your money, parked at someone else’s address.
RentFrend will not invent a statistic for this. The honest numbers are local, and they are written down. Here are three clocks from statute, plus the reason a walkthrough exists.
14 days
in many New York rentals
For units covered by General Obligations Law § 7-108 — not rent-controlled apartments, and not some licensed senior housing — the landlord has 14 days after you leave to send an itemized statement and whatever is left of the deposit. Miss that, and the statute says they forfeit the right to keep any of it.
21 days
in California
After you move out, a landlord generally has 21 days to return the deposit, or to return what remains with an itemized statement. That deadline is Civil Code § 1950.5. The state courts explain the same rule in plain language.
California Civil Code § 1950.5 (opens in a new tab)
California Courts Self-Help (opens in a new tab)30 days
in Texas
Property Code § 92.103 says the landlord shall refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after you surrender the place. § 92.107 adds a wrinkle: they are not obligated to send it until you give a written forwarding address, and missing that address does not by itself forfeit the deposit.
Write it down before the argument exists.
The same New York law tells many landlords to offer an inspection before you move in, and a written agreement listing damage already there. They may not keep deposit money for a condition that list names.
California’s Attorney General tells renters the deposit belongs to the tenant. A landlord holds it until move-out and may only apply it to costs the statute allows — not ordinary wear and tear, and not damage that was already there.
A HUD checklist for counseling renters says to document damage in writing or pictures when the lease is signed, on a move-in/move-out form, so you are not held responsible for it later.
Your city may be stricter. A lease can add steps, and not every one of them is enforceable. This is not legal advice. A RentFrend PDF is a timestamped record you can send. It is not a ruling.
In the report
The record, not the runaround.
AI walkthrough
The guide builds the rooms for your place and points at what to look at. You take the photos. It does not invent the condition of the walls.
Photos and comments
Every note sits with the picture it describes, on the room it belongs to.
Signatures
You sign. The other side signs. Same report, same moment, both names.
A PDF that cross-links
The summary links to each room’s details. The room links back. The file is timestamped, so “that was already there” has a date on it.
Storage, if you want it
$0.99 a month keeps reports in your account. Skip it, and an unsubscribed report has a 30-day export window.
Pricing
One price for the walkthrough. Storage is optional.
The app
$12.99 once
The app, reports, sending, and signatures. Pay once. Storage is not included, and it does not have to be.
- Room-by-room AI walkthrough
- Photos and comments
- Signatures from both sides
- Timestamped PDF, summary linked to each room
- Sending the report
Cloud storage
$0.99 / month
Optional. Keeps photos and reports in your account. Without it, a finished report has a 30-day export window.
- Not required to make or send a report
- Month to month
- The stores will show the price before you confirm
Prices are in US dollars and will be the ones shown on the App Store and Google Play at launch. You cannot buy RentFrend from this page. Nothing here renews except the optional storage plan.
FAQ
Questions worth asking first.
Is the app out?
Not yet. RentFrend is coming soon to iOS and Android. The form on this page can read an email address, and it says plainly that this preview does not store it. For a note a person will actually see, write hello@rentfrend.com.
Who is it for?
Renters — the person whose money is in the deposit. A landlord or manager can sign the report when they are there. The walkthrough is built from the renter’s side.
What does $12.99 include?
The app, reports, sending, and signatures. That is a one-time price. Cloud storage is a separate optional $0.99 a month.
What if I don’t want the storage plan?
You can still do the walkthrough and export the report. Unsubscribed reports have a 30-day export window.
Will this get my deposit back?
It gives you a clear, timestamped record. It does not decide a dispute, and it is not legal advice. Deadlines and allowed deductions depend on your lease and your local law. A few public examples are in the deposit section.
What is in the PDF?
A timestamped report. The summary links to each room’s photos, comments, and details, and those pages link back. Signatures are on the report when both sides have signed.
What does the AI actually do?
It builds a room-by-room walkthrough so you know where to look. You take the photos and write the comments. It does not guess that a wall is fine, and it does not replace walking the room.
Do both people have to be there?
Both sides can sign. If the other person is not available, you still have your photos, your comments, and your signature.
How do I reach a person?
Email hello@rentfrend.com.