Home Inventory App for Renters

Everything inside your walls is yours to document. A home inventory helps you insure it properly, claim it if something happens, and pack it up when you move.

Renters move more often than homeowners, live in smaller spaces, and usually assume they don't own much worth writing down. Then a pipe bursts upstairs, a fire starts two units over, or someone breaks in, and suddenly they need to list everything they owned for an insurance claim. A home inventory made ahead of time turns that from guesswork into a simple handoff.

Why renters need a home inventory

A lot of renters believe their landlord's insurance will cover them. In most cases it won't. A landlord's policy typically covers the building and the landlord's own property, like the appliances that came with the unit. Your furniture, clothes, laptop, and bike are usually covered only by your own renters insurance, if you have it.

When you file a renters insurance claim, the insurer will typically ask you to itemize what was lost or damaged, with descriptions and values. Having that list ready, with photos and receipts, gives you a much stronger starting point than trying to remember everything after the fact.

Your landlord's policy

Usually covers the building and the landlord's property. Your belongings typically aren't part of it.

Your renters policy

Covers your own things, up to the limit you choose. Your inventory shows what that limit should be.

Most renters underestimate what they own

Ask someone in a one-bedroom apartment what their stuff is worth and they'll often guess low. Then you add it up: a couch, a bed and mattress, a TV, a laptop, a phone, a closet full of clothes and shoes, kitchen gear, a desk setup, sports equipment. The total can be a lot higher than the personal property limit people pick when they buy a policy in a hurry.

Once your inventory is in StowFindSell, your dashboard shows the total value of what you own, so you can compare it with your renters policy limit. Also check whether your policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value, and whether it has lower limits for categories like jewelry or electronics. Your insurer or agent can tell you how your policy works.

Build your renters insurance inventory in an afternoon

Apartments are smaller than houses, so this usually goes fast. Here's a simple renters insurance inventory checklist to work through:

Photos: a wide shot of each room, then a photo of each item worth more than a few dollars.
Values: what you paid, or a reasonable estimate. On Home and Family Pro plans, AI Vision suggests a name, category, and estimated value from each photo. AI values are estimates, so adjust them when you know better.
Receipts: snap paper receipts or save digital ones to the item they belong to.
Serial numbers: for electronics, bikes, and appliances you brought with you.
Barcodes: scan a UPC or ISBN to fill in product details without typing.

Starter covers up to 500 items and 5 locations, which is plenty for many apartments. Home and Family Pro have no item or location limit. Each item earns a grade on the Evidence Ladder as you add photos, receipts, and serial numbers, so you can see what still needs proof.

Send your insurer a Proof Pack

If you ever need to file, export a Proof Pack from StowFindSell. It's a PDF or CSV of your items with photos, values, and evidence grades, and you send it to your insurer yourself. The same export is handy when you're shopping for a renters policy, since it shows exactly how much coverage you need. Our page on home inventory for insurance goes deeper on what makes a Proof Pack useful.

An inventory that moves with you

Renters move a lot, and that's where a digital inventory pays off twice. Your items are organized by room and location, so when moving day comes you can create a location for each box or bin, print QR code labels for them, and scan a label later to see what's inside. When you unpack in the new place, move items to their new rooms instead of starting over. Nothing has to be entered again. (Starter includes 5 locations. Home and Family Pro have no location limit.)

CSV import and export are on every plan, so your data stays portable. If you're moving soon, our moving and downsizing page covers the packing side in more detail.

Pack it, label it, scan it, find it.

Keep it off-site in the cloud

A list on your laptop or a folder of receipts in your desk is only useful if it survives whatever happened to your apartment. StowFindSell stores your inventory in the cloud and runs in your phone's browser, so you can open it from a friend's couch or a hotel room. If you share the place, Home and Family Pro let roommates or a partner join your household and help keep the list current.

Renting in an area prone to storms, floods, or wildfires? Our disaster recovery inventory hub has preparedness guides for each. And to see how everything works together, take a look at our home inventory app.