In 2020, the time of lockdowns, social distancing, and COVID, inspection protocols have changed.  Some property managers suspended inspections altogether, at least for a time, despite the huge drawbacks inherent in doing so.  Others devised temporary workaround procedures, such as cumbersome video conference walkthroughs of properties that often yield ineffective inspection documentation. For forward-thinking property managers who understand the importance of uninterrupted inspection routines,  a truly effective COVID inspection routine would need to work well during this unusual time while also providing a disruption-proof method of occupied property inspection once the specific pandemic restrictions have lifted.

Within weeks of the first U.S. lockdowns in 2020, zInspector accelerated release of COVID inspection resources and made them available to all accountholders free during the height of the crisis; over 6 months later, as of November 2020, these provisionally free resources are still available to anyone with a zInspector account, whether free or premium.  Tenant-completed annual, periodic, and renewal inspections are being performed—thousands of them every week. By asking the important questions, requiring specific documentation for certain findings (such as photos or explanatory comments), and being automatically tailored to the specifics of the property the tenant inhabits, these inspections are providing fantastic documentation, keeping tenants and inspectors safe, and competently preserving the obligation of the property manager to the property owner they serve.