Property Inventory

Property Inventory Services By Daley

At Daley Property Inventory, we specialise in providing legally-binding photographic inventory reports to a variety of different clients such as commercial property owners, councils, housing associations, letting agents and private landlords throughout Greater London.

If you are new to property inventories or need further information about what they are, how they are important and how they can help, you’ve come to the right place. Below you will find a comprehensive guide explaining everything you need to know about property inventories.

What is a Property Inventory?

In the simplest of terms, a property inventory is a list or guide to everything in the property, including the furniture, white goods, fittings, and fixtures. It also provides details about the condition of these items and any marks, scuffs or other structural damage or issues with the walls, flooring, ceiling etc., at the time when new tenants are due to move in.

A property inventory or property inventory report as it’s often referred to as is used as one of the important accompanying documents alongside a tenancy agreement. It sets a benchmark for all parties involved in the tenancy agreement and is used as a reference document when that tenancy agreement ends.

What Should an Inventory Report Contain?

A property inventory report should contain a full breakdown of everything inside the property.

That means all furnished items, white goods, fittings, fixtures, and descriptions of the condition of these along with the walls, windows, floors, ceilings, windows, and different rooms. In support of the written descriptions, there should also be photographic or video evidence as backup.

A property inventory report should also contain details of all carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, keys, and meter readings, with photographs dated and signed. The garden and any related outbuildings will also typically be included in an inventory report.

How Does a Property Inventory Report Protect Landlords and Tenants?

It more or less all comes down to the deposit. As a landlord, you obviously need to return the deposit to the tenants, as long as they have stuck to the tenancy agreement and taken care of everything.

The tenant will be looking to make sure they can get their deposit back and having a property inventory report makes this easier to do.

A property inventory report helps to provide a landlord with all the evidence they need to show the contents and condition of the property when tenants moved in. Likewise, it can help to prevent a landlord from making an unjust and invalid claim that a tenant has caused damage or not looked after the property properly during their tenancy.

Additionally, there have been several rental legislation recently introduced, that govern numerous areas including fair wear and tear, and carbon monoxide and smoke alarm regulations.

These newly introduced regulations extend existing regulations in place for annual HMO licencing, and Legionella safety. Electrical safety and gas safety to name a few.

Property Inventory Cost: How Much Does a Property Inventory Report Cost?

The price of a property inventory report varies depending on many different factors. Those factors are:

• Whether the property is furnished or unfurnished
• The number of bedrooms in the property

At Daley Property Inventory, our property inventory reports can cost anything from £59.99 to £190. We also provide the option for an inventory check-in and inventory check-out, that range from £110 to £210 and £85 to £190 respectively. Here is a link to our pricing table: Inventory Cost

How Can Landlords Find a Qualified Inventory Professional?

First and foremost, when landlords are looking for a fully qualified and experienced inventory professional they need to look for one that is covered by both Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance. It is also vital that they look into whether or not they are a member of either the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) or Arla Propertymark Inventories.

Last, but by no means least, landlords are encouraged to request inventory sample reports so that they can take a look at the kind of reports an organisation provides, before paying for their service.

Do your Inventory Clerks follow a certain Code of Ethics?

All our Property Inventory Clerks hold a professional indemnity and personal liability insurance. We carry out a criminal record background checks before hiring and all our clerks have a minimum of 2 years of industry experience.

For a detailed information on Code of Ethics within the property inventory industry, you can take a look at the Code of Practice that property inventory providers should follow on Arla Propertymark’s official website.

There are also a variety of other organisations such as AIIC that have codes of practice and service standards they expect their members to abide by when operating as property inventory clerks.

Property Inventory Check Out: What is a Check-Out?

A checkout report is a special document that is created when a tenant moves out. It is used to compare and contrast with the original property inventory report. A Check Out can then be used to inform the tenant of any changes that have been made to the property. This allows landlords the chance to get answers or explanations from tenants to questions about wear and tear and the overall condition of items listed in the report.

Once a checkout has been completed successfully, tenants will then hand back their keys to the landlord and are no longer granted access.

A check out report is an important document, and it is a good idea to hire an independent inventory clerk to take care of it. They will take a very unbiased view of the property and while compiling the report, mark whether any deterioration is normal wear and tear or not and whether the deterioration or damage caused is the responsibility of the tenant or landlord.

This can make things a lot easier when landlords need to decide whether any deductions to the deposit should be made or not.

What Happens After a Check Out?

It is normally the case after a Check Out that the inventory report and check-out report has been signed and agreed upon by the landlord and tenants. If there happen to be any points in question, it is up to all parties involved in the tenancy to come to a suitable agreement. That is why having a property inventory report is so useful as it provides an evidence-backed standard and considerations to start from.

If both parties do not come to an agreement, they each have the legal right to raise a dispute with the organisation that is holding the deposit.

What Happens After a Dispute is Raised?

Once a dispute is raised, the deposit scheme involved will issue confirmation to both parties that the request has been made. The other party, whether it is the tenants or the landlord, involved in the dispute will be requested to give a response to the dispute.

The disputed amount will be held by the deposit scheme involved until an independent adjudicator determines how much of the money is going to each party. This can often take as long as 28 days to be completed.

Need a Property Inventory Report?

If you are a landlord or property owner and require a property inventory, you want to work with an organisation you can trust. Daley Property Inventory Services is one of the leading agencies operating in London right now.

We have the experience, background and knowledge of property legislation and inventory law. Each property inventory clerk that makes up our team is fully qualified, experienced, and covered by professional indemnity and personal liability insurance.

No matter what kind of inventory for rental property you require, we can help. Before you hire us, take a look around our website. When you are ready to proceed, request a free, no-obligation quote by filling out our Quote Request Form.

If you have any questions or queries you can give us a call now on 020 8016 2986.