Final inspection of a rented house

nubsj

Hello,

our letting agent has told us the date that they will be conducting the final inspection after we vacate our rented property

is it usual for us, as tenants, to attend this? I'd like to as we've had a tempestuous relationship and i don't entirely trust them, but i need to know if it's reasonable to insist that we are there

thanks

BitterAndTwisted

You can ask but most will not want you there interfering.

What's most important is the check-in inventory. You should go through this with a fine-tooth comb and make doubly certain that you are returning the property in the same condition as at the start of your tenancy. Take dated photographs before you vacate.

tbs624

If you can't agree a mutually convenient check out time with the LA on the exit day itself then you may want to consider asking the LA or LL to call at a time to suit you *prior* to you moving out so that any potential areas of disagreement can be flagged up in advance. Make the request in wiritng and keep a copy.

Read up on what constitutes "fair wear and tear" - mydeposits has a pdf guide for LLs which is just as useful for Ts.

As B& T says, that original signed inventory is important and take *many* detailed photos when you move out. Include the inside of white goods if any supplied, inside & on top of cupboards, on tops of shelves, inside basins, lav, bath , shower, outside area etc.

If the LL wishes to propose any deductions remember that they cannot seek "betterment" at your expense - an allowance has to be made for the age & condition of decor and contents at start of tenancy ( hence the importance of that original inventory).

superted187

I hope it goes well - this is where they may potentially try and shaft you. A common one is

"We had to have the place professionally cleaned as it was dirty" - and then they might skim a few hundreds off of your deposit.

See if you can find any history of the LA ripping people off over at http://www.allagents.co.uk/

nubsj

Thanks so much, that's really helpful. It's unfurnished and all the white goods are ours so once we've moved everything out it shouldn't be too hard to give it a thorough clean ?famous last words)