Tips On Tenancy Deposit Disputes 17: Video Evidence

Tip 17: Video Evidence

This is something I get asked about quite a lot. There is a great deal of variation in the quality of video evidence sent to adjudication, some of it very good, some of it very poor.

I have seen some horrific, wobbly, homemade videos submitted in evidence that proved absolutely nothing. They are often tiny, as if filmed with a mobile phone and move around so fast that if you attempt to freeze frame to get a better look at something, the picture is nothing but a blur. Another common problem is the length of the file. I have sat through films that were over 30 minutes long, waiting for something relevant to appear on the screen. Wasting the adjudicators time will never improve your chances of winning.

On the other hand, I have seen some excellent examples of video evidence, which have provided conclusive proof and resolved a claim in seconds. These have usually been produced professionally and always by someone who really knows what they are doing. The good videos are split into sensible sized files, so it is easy to navigate to the exact footage you require, and are shot in such a way as to give a clear image of the property even on freeze frame. Whereas photographs are useful, seeing the damaged area in the context of the rest of the property gives adjudicators much more to go on when deciding the value of the award.

A word of advice, though. Adjudicators will normally expect to see some evidence that the tenant accepted the video as an accurate record of the condition of the property.

Tom Derrett is the Principal of Deposit Claim, an ex-adjudicator and an expert on the Deposit Protection Schemes.

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