Before the advent of the deposit protection schemes back in 2007 many landlords didn't bother with an inventory, or if they did, it was generally a few scribbled notes on a scrap of paper. The fact was prior to deposit schemes, landlords were free to be both ‘judge and jury’ when it came to tenants deposits and if a tenant felt aggrieved with a landlords’ decision on their deposit, under the pre April 2007 system the only course of action was that they were able to take the landlord to court to argue that they thought that they were unreasonably withholding their deposit. However, the ‘hassle’ and inconvenience to the tenant of carrying this through, meant that in most cases tenants didn't bother to take matters any further.
These days, having a full and detailed inventory report conducted at the start of a tenancy is vitally important for all landlords. When your tenants move out, you should then have a ‘check out report’ conducted to assess the change in the condition of the property. Any differences noted between these two reports, allowing for fair wear and tear, are then items a landlord would be able to claim.
Most Letting agents will now have an added charge for an inventory for landlords that is not included in the initial set-up fees, as many agents outsource to self-employed companies or individuals for their inventories and they pay for each inventory on an individual basis. A benefit of this means landlords can be certain they are paying extra for detailed, professional reports conducted by these external companies which are therefore impartial and a definitive record of the property at that specific point in time.
A good inventory report will be dated and will have a detailed description of each room including items like the skirting boards, condition of walls and flooring and light fittings. All furniture and its condition will also be listed including where it is situated. Be wary of ‘blanket statements’ and if they are included always ensure the cleanliness is noted rather than just the condition. The photographs should be of good quality and the inventory clerk should not only provide scale (important for claims for stains and burns) but also a dual ‘view’ of far away so the position in the room can be seen and close up for detail. Don’t forget meter readings and due to the change with season, gardens pose a problem but these should have several photographs and be detailed in full. Finally, be aware that ALL rooms must be detailed and reports that miss rooms such as garages, lofts or sheds create issues as you may need to prove this information at the end of the tenancy (I have seen many inventories where garages housing landlords’ items have been missed off and the landlord then running into difficulty with claiming for these items at the end of a tenancy).
Once the inventory is complete and the tenancy has begun, a good agent will send your tenants a copy and chase it back from them within 7 days of the start of the tenancy. Your tenants have their opportunity to make comments on the condition and cleanliness of the property as stated and these comments should be saved. If the tenants don’t return their copy, the condition as noted in the dated report will then be taken as the confirmed starting condition.
Landlord Inventory mini – case study horror stories:
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Landlord (1) Refused to pay extra fees for inventory, didn’t get one done. However, did pay for check out report. |
This landlord’s tenants vacated and caused severe damage to several rooms in the property including horrendous redecorating. The cost to redecorate and repair was £3000. Although the agent had taken a deposit, the landlord had no starting condition to base the check out on. Without a starting report, it was difficult to prove the change had occurred. The tenants refused the landlords claims entirely and the landlord went to adjudication, as the landlord had no starting evidence of property, the landlord was awarded zero funds in compensation. Landlord out of pocket: £3000 |
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Landlord (2) Didn’t want to get inventory done through agent, conducted own inventory. |
Landlord (2) conducted his own inventory, it consisted of 3 sides of A4 paper and had such lines as ‘Lounge – condition – good’ throughout. It was dated but it did not contain photographs. Tenants then left the property and some of the landlords items were missing including a new bed, wardrobe, kitchen utensils and microwave. The total cost to replace these was £1200, and the landlord put forward this as a claim. The tenants refuted these claims on the basis these items were never there. The case went to the TDS for adjudication and as the basic inventory did not specify the items were present to begin with, the landlord was awarded zero funds in compensation. Landlord out of pocket: £1200 |
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Landlord (3) Didn’t want to get inventory done through agent, outsourced to inventory clerk found ‘online’ |
Landlord (3) did not agree with his agent’s costs for an inventory and decided to source his own at half the price. The Inventory included a blanket statement at the beginning that ‘property was in a good condition throughout unless otherwise stated’ but did not mention overall cleanliness. Tenants vacated and property was in need of deep clean costing £350. The tenants refused the claims entirely on the basis that the property was not clean to begin with. The case went to the TDS and as cleanliness not stated explicitly in inventory report (good condition being difference to cleanliness), the landlord received zero funds in compensation. The inventory company the landlord had sourced had ceased trading and his agent was also unable to assist as not instructed through them. Landlord out of pocket: £350 |
Landlords who have detailed inventory reports conducted are much more successful with deposit claim when the tenancy ends. So landlords, based on the case studies above, can you afford not to have an inventory?
Angharad Trueman – Operations Manager