14^th Jul 2017

A professional body representing inventory clerks is pressurising the government to make inventories a legal requirement for the private rented sector.

The body claims that there are many landlords who fail to see the importance of having a professional inventory, even though 12.5% of approximately 20,000 tenants have lost their deposit or had it withheld.

It is common knowledge that the majority of disputes around withheld deposits are because of the 'Usual Suspects' i.e. having to redecorate, refurbish and clean the property after a tenancy. The body argues that a 'professional' inventory will define the state of the property prior to the tenant(s) moving in. Apparently 70% of tenants that took part in a survey received an inventory of contents and a full description of the property.

It is a natural aspect within the industry that landlords and tenants will have disputes at the end of the tenancy over withheld deposits which can lead to involving a formal Alternative Dispute Resolution service. If the landlord is unable to provide 'concrete proof/ evidence to support their claim, the service will rule in the tenant's favour and the deposit will have to be returned.

Joint chair of body, Danny Zane, said: "With the election over and a new housing minister now in place, it’s time for the government to think about housing and in particular the growing private rented sector, which now accounts for around a fifth of all households. Independent, third party inventories are a fundamentally important part of the lettings process and they need to be made obligatory.

"In the past, politicians have been quick to praise the success of compulsory deposit protection – introduced in 2007. But if there is no unbiased inventory detailing the condition of the property at the beginning and end of the tenancy, then all this good work is undermined and it could be argued that taking deposits and protecting them is essentially rendered pointless. Landlords and letting agents should not be compiling what can very easily be considered as biased inventory reports that tenants must sign prior to getting access to their new home."

Richard Merrick of PIMS said: " Inventories work well for the majority of landlords and tenants, however there are always going to be 'Rogue Tenants' who frankly won't give a damn no matter how thorough the inventory is, and will end up trashing the property knowing that they will be re-housed elsewhere.

"It is highly unlikely that the government will be making inventories compulsory as any professional agent or landlord will already have one in place to protect all parties."

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