The property condition report Luxembourg landlords are legally required to produce is one of those documents that everyone knows they need — until the moment it matters, when too many discover theirs was not sufficient to use. The état des lieux is not a formality attached to the lease. It is the only document that stands between you and a legal presumption that your property was handed over in perfect condition. When a tenancy ends with damage, unpaid obligations, or a disputed deposit, the question is not what you observed. It is what you documented, when, and how.

Getting the property condition report Luxembourg requires right from day one is not a sign of distrust toward your tenant. It is the foundation of a professionally managed tenancy — and it is where private landlords most consistently underestimate what is required.

What Luxembourg Law Says About the Property Condition Report Luxembourg Requires

Luxembourg law is explicit on this point. Article 1731 of the Civil Code states that where no inventory has been drawn up before a tenant takes occupancy, the legal presumption is that the property was received in good condition — and the tenant must return it in the same state. This presumption is not a technicality. It is the operating default that applies to every tenancy where the landlord failed to produce a proper document. Challenging it without a signed inventory is close to impossible.

The August 2024 rental law reform reinforced this framework by making the état des lieux a mandatory requirement whenever a security deposit is included in the lease — which in practice means virtually every professionally managed tenancy in Hesperange. The deposit and the condition report are legally inseparable. One without the other leaves the landlord exposed regardless of what the lease itself says.

The official requirements for what a valid property condition report Luxembourg must contain are published by Guichet.lu, Luxembourg’s administrative portal, where landlords can also find the standard inventory template.

Entry and Exit: The Property Condition Report Luxembourg Requires at Both Ends

A legally complete property condition report Luxembourg landlords must produce is not a single document — it is two. The entry report (état des lieux d’entrée) is signed on the day the tenant takes possession. The exit report (état des lieux de sortie) is signed on the day they hand the keys back. The exit report is then compared directly against the entry report to determine whether any damage occurred during the tenancy.

If the entry report is incomplete, vague, or missing entirely, the exit report has nothing to measure against. Any deduction you attempt to make from the deposit becomes legally indefensible — not because the damage is not real, but because you cannot prove the property was not already in that condition when the tenant arrived. This is the point at which most deposit disputes are lost, weeks or months before they actually begin.

Why the Entry Report Is the More Important Document

Most deposit disputes do not start at the exit inventory. They start at the entry inventory, when a rushed or incomplete document was signed because both parties were focused on the practicalities of moving day. By the time the exit report is completed and damage is visible, the landlord has already lost the legal argument — not because the damage is not real, but because the entry document did not record the baseline clearly enough to prove it.

A thorough, professionally executed property condition report Luxembourg landlords produce at entry also sets the tone for the entire tenancy. Tenants who sign a detailed report on day one understand immediately that this landlord is organised, attentive, and will notice the difference at the end. That changes how a property is treated over the following months and years — often more effectively than any clause in the lease.

What a Valid Property Condition Report Luxembourg Must Contain

Luxembourg law does not prescribe a specific form for the état des lieux, but it establishes clear criteria that determine whether a document is legally authoritative. A report that fails any of these criteria can be challenged and set aside.

Complete room-by-room documentation — every room, surface, wall, floor, ceiling, fixture, fitting, appliance, and meter reading must be noted accurately. Omissions, however minor, create gaps that a tenant can exploit.
Objective and impartial language — observations must be factual and descriptive, not subjective. “Walls in good condition” is weak. “Walls freshly painted, no marks or damage, colour RAL 9010” is defensible.
Mutual presence — both landlord and tenant must have been present or formally represented at the time of the inspection. A report completed by the landlord alone, without the tenant’s knowledge, carries no legal weight.
Dual signature — both parties must sign the document, confirming their agreement with the observations recorded. An unsigned report is legally worthless.
Tamper-proof format — the document must be in a form that cannot be altered after signing. A typed and printed document is far stronger than a handwritten one. Digital formats are accepted in Luxembourg provided they include a verifiable timestamp and both parties’ electronic signatures.
Dated photographs — while not strictly mandated by law, dated photographic evidence attached to the report substantially strengthens your position in any dispute. Photographs without dates or without corresponding written descriptions carry less weight than photographs properly referenced in the document itself.
Original copies for both parties — each party must receive a signed original. A landlord who keeps the only copy cannot prove the tenant agreed to its contents.

A photograph taken on a smartphone and shared informally does not meet these requirements. Nor does a clause in the lease stating the tenant “acknowledges the property is in good condition” — while technically permitted, it offers no granular protection against specific damage claims at exit.

Meter Readings and Ancillary Documentation in the Property Condition Report Luxembourg

The property condition report Luxembourg framework requires more than a visual inspection of rooms. Meter readings for electricity, gas, water, and heating must be recorded at both entry and exit — with the meter reference numbers clearly noted alongside the readings. A discrepancy between entry and exit readings that is not properly documented can create billing disputes that extend beyond the tenancy itself.

Where the property includes shared facilities — a garage, cellar, garden, or parking space — these must be included in the report with the same level of detail as the interior rooms. Outdoor areas are a common source of exit disputes, particularly garden condition and any fixtures or fittings supplied with the property.

Keys handed over at entry must be itemised in the property condition report Luxembourg: quantity, type, and which locks they correspond to. Any discrepancy at exit — a missing key, a copied key not returned — is chargeable only if the entry report documented exactly what was provided.

Normal Wear and Tear: What You Cannot Deduct

Even a perfectly executed property condition report Luxembourg does not entitle a landlord to deduct every difference between entry and exit state. Luxembourg law draws a clear distinction between normal wear and tear — which is the tenant’s right — and damage beyond normal use, which is chargeable. Understanding this distinction before you prepare the property condition report Luxembourg requires is essential, because the language you use to describe condition at entry directly affects what you can claim at exit.

Normal wear and tear includes paint fading over time, minor surface marks on walls from furniture placement, natural ageing of flooring, and gradual deterioration of fixtures through regular use. These cannot be charged to the tenant regardless of what the condition report shows.

Damage beyond normal use — holes in walls, broken fixtures, stained or burned flooring, neglected outdoor areas, damage caused by pets or unauthorised modifications — is chargeable, but only if the entry report demonstrates the item was in good condition when the tenant arrived. The longer the tenancy, the higher the threshold for what constitutes damage rather than reasonable wear. A mark on a wall after six months is different from the same mark after six years.

This is why the entry report must document not just the presence of an item but its condition in specific terms. “Parquet floor present” is insufficient. “Parquet floor, solid oak, no scratches, no staining, recently polished” gives you a defensible baseline.

The Exit Report and the Deposit Return Clock

The exit property condition report Luxembourg landlords must produce is not only a documentation exercise — it is a legally significant event that triggers the deposit return deadlines established by the August 2024 rental law reform. As covered in our rental deposit Luxembourg landlord guide, the landlord must return 50% of the deposit within one month of the exit inventory, and the remaining 50% within one month of receiving the final service charge statement.

This means the exit condition report must be completed promptly and correctly on the handover date. A delayed exit inspection, or one that is subsequently disputed because it was completed without the tenant present, can create both a documentation failure and a deposit return penalty running concurrently. The two obligations are operationally linked, and managing them separately — as many private landlords do — is where compounding errors begin.

The exit report must be conducted jointly, with the tenant present or formally notified in advance. A report completed by the landlord alone, without the tenant’s signature, carries little legal weight and will almost certainly be challenged if a dispute reaches the Rent Committee (Commission des loyers).

Who Should Prepare the Property Condition Report Luxembourg Landlords Need

Landlords have three options for who prepares the état des lieux: the landlord directly, a professional letting agent, or a bailiff (huissier de justice). Each carries different implications for legal weight and practical risk.

Landlord-Prepared Reports

A landlord-prepared property condition report Luxembourg is legally valid if it meets all the criteria above. The risk is execution under time pressure on handover day — a missed meter reading, a room photographed but not described in writing, a signature obtained on a document that was not yet complete. These are the gaps that cost landlords the most, and they are almost always the result of a process managed as an afterthought rather than a structured step.

Agent-Prepared Reports

A professional letting agent prepares the property condition report Luxembourg authorities consider valid as a standard part of the tenancy handover process, using a consistent format that covers every required element. The report is documented in writing, supported by dated photographs, signed by both parties, and filed in a format that holds up if it is ever needed in a legal or administrative context. For landlords who do not want to manage this process directly, an agent-prepared report removes the execution risk entirely.

Bailiff-Prepared Reports

A report prepared by a huissier de justice carries the highest legal authority — it is an official document that is extremely difficult to challenge. This option is typically used when the landlord and tenant cannot agree on the condition at entry or exit, or when a dispute is already anticipated. It carries a fee, but in a contentious situation the cost is justified by the protection it provides.

For guidance on the broader legal framework governing Luxembourg tenancies — including notice periods, rent indexation, and tenant rights — our lease contracts and tenant rights article covers the full legislative context. For the documentation required to initiate a tenancy in Hesperange, our rental documents Luxembourg guide covers the complete landlord checklist. For the full rental management picture in Hesperange commune, our rent out property in Hesperange pillar page is the starting point.

Conclusion: Property Condition Report Luxembourg — Done Right From Day One

The property condition report Luxembourg law requires is not paperwork. It is the legal record that determines what you can enforce, what you can claim, and what protection you actually have at the end of a tenancy. A report that meets every requirement is the clearest signal to a tenant that this tenancy is being managed professionally. A report that does not — or no report at all — is a gap in your legal position that only becomes visible when it is too late to fix it.

The stakes are straightforward. Without a valid entry état des lieux, the legal presumption runs against you. With one, you have a documented baseline that is enforceable. The difference between those two positions is not a matter of legal complexity — it is a matter of execution on the day the tenant takes possession.

At zeas.immo, every Hesperange rental mandate includes a professionally prepared entry and exit property condition report Luxembourg authorities would consider legally sound — documented in writing, supported by dated photographs, signed by both parties, and filed correctly. If you are preparing to let a property in Hesperange and want the état des lieux handled correctly from the start, get in touch for a no-obligation first conversation.

Property Condition Report Luxembourg Landlords Must Get Right in 2026