Tip 9: Get A Check-Out Report
In the majority of deposit protection disputes, adjudicators need to see evidence of the condition of the property at the beginning of the tenancy and corresponding evidence from the end of the tenancy, to show whether any damage has occurred in the intervening time. Without evidence of the state of the property both before and after the tenancy, an adjudicator will need additional evidence in order to be certain that the tenant should be responsible for repairing any damage, and your claim will be much more likely to fail.
Many landlords and letting agents are wise to the advantages of commissioning an independent inventory and schedule of condition before the tenant moves in, but often neglect to protect themselves by obtaining a report on the property when the tenant moves out. All inventory agencies offer this service and, in my experience, it is well worth investing in.
The trouble with deposit disputes is that you often don’t know that you have one until quite some time after the end of the tenancy, so it is imperative to be prepared in advance. Although you may be able to gather photographic or video evidence of the damage several weeks after the end of the tenancy, the more time that elapses, the less certain the adjudicator can be that the damage occurred during the course of the tenancy, and the less weight they will place on your evidence. By obtaining an independent check-out report, you prevent the tenant from shirking responsibility by arguing that the damage occurred after the end of the tenancy. A check-out report can also give you the peace of mind of knowing exactly what work, if any, needs carrying out before the next tenant moves in.
Tom Derrett is the Principal of Deposit Claim, an ex-adjudicator and an expert on the Deposit Protection Schemes.
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