As this is tenancy deposit week, I have asked Tom to help me out with a few blog clinic questions. So he is the one answering todays question which comes from Matthew (not his real name):
I’m unsure if this has been answered but here is my problem,
I’ve asked my landlord/estate agent to preform an inspection as its coming to the end of my tenancy, I ideally wanted them to do an inspection tell me of any defects before i move out so i can put the problems right at my own expense and then have a final inspection done when i hand the keys back.
However they tell me that they only perform one inspection and that I have no choice but to hand back the key once this inspection is complete. Do i have any legal standing in correcting any issue that are found during an inspection myself and asking for a final inspection when handing back the keys?
If the inspection takes place at the very end of or after the tenancy, then you have no further right to enter the property to complete remedial work because your rights to occupy the building end with your tenancy. Most agents and landlord would refuse you any further access under these circumstances.
If the inspection was prior to the end of the the tenancy, say a day or two before, and you wanted to go back in to complete the necessary work, the agents would be on difficult ground if they tried to prevent you because you would still have a legal right to occupy the property, but forcing such an issue would probably not be advisable. It may sour relations between you and the agent and any redress could involve a lengthy court dispute.
It is likely that the agent doesn’t want to perform a second inspection for financial reasons. No doubt they are only being paid for one inspection. If you require a second inspection, you should offer to pay for it, as it is an extra service that you require from the agent. This may soften the agent’s attitude towards you. If you were to do so, my advice would be to insist on an independent inventory company and ensure that they collect photographic or video evidence that you get a copy of.
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If YOU have a problem, why not put it to the blog clinic? However there are a lot of questions submitted, so if you need an answer quickly remember that members of my Landlord Law service can ask me questions in the members forum area, and will normally get an answer with 24 hours.
I think this raises a very valid point about the expectations of both the landlord and the tenant. If the landlord has provided a comprehensive inventory with either photographic evidence or a HD video then the tenant will not need an inspection prior to the check out as they only have to use the inventory as a guide to rectifying any faults prior to handing back the keys. I believe that the landlord has a clear duty to provide detailed evidence of the state of the property when leasing to the tenant and the tenant then has an obligation to review the inventory and ensure the property is handed back in the same condition. The need for a second inspection prior to check out is then negated.
That is very true Sian. Personally I think all landlords should use a professional inventory company.
Unfortunatly many landlords fail to provide an adequate or sometimes any inventory.
However I suppose the tenant would then have a good chance of defending any proposed deductions at arbitration
Even with the best inventory in the world, there will still be differences of opinion over what constitutes fair wear and tear that can be resolved by an independent inventory professional at the end of a tenancy.
In my experience, disputes can be also be avoided by giving tenants clear instructions on how you expect the property to be left, which might remind them to refer to the inventory. We lettings professionals can often forget that others (tenants included) just don’t give that much thought to the practicalities such as allowing adequate time for cleaning. Tenant’s often just need a little guidance on how to plan for their moving day for things to run smoothly.
Totally agree which is why, from my point of view, it is all about setting expectations at the outset of any tenancy….
@ Tom “disputes can be also be avoided by giving tenants clear instructions on how you expect the property to be left”
Couldn’t agree more. When we send the letter accepting notice we also enclose a Tenancy End Check List and separate detailed Cleaning Checklist.
It’s pointless doing a visit before the tenancy ends. Personal belongings can hide a multitude of sins. If you miss something the Tenant would then complain that you never told them about it. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
We have been asked in the past to carry out a pre checkout visit and always advise our tenants that it would be difficult to do with their furniture in place. As all of the requests we have received have come at least a month before they are due to checkout. So we would be putting ourselves in an impossible position, if we carried out this meeting for two reasons. If we did miss anything the tenant could quite easily blame us and if anything happened after our visit when we said that everything is OK how would we prove this. I can assure you it is nothing to do with payment purely managing expectations.
As a landlord we are being charge £60 for a formal checkout by the agent, the tenant is being charged the same. I would be happy to do an informal check if the property was empty before the end of the tenancy and cancel the formal checkout if there were no issues. However so as to allow enough time to cancel the checkout the tenants would have to vacate at least a week before the tenancy ended.
I see the main problems being personal belongings and furniture being in the way making any “pre-check” impossible in most cases.
When we were tenants ourselves a few years ago, we sent the agent some photos of a cupboard and handrails we had fitted, asking if the landlord wished us to remove it and make good, this worked well as it allowed the landlord to say he was happy with them remaining while still giving us time to remove them (and make good) if he had so requested.