Letting agent video inventory

fearlessuk

Is it acceptable for a video inventory to be done BEFORE a property is emptied of rubbish and cleaned?

As our tenancy is coming to an end and the inventory I got 3 weeks after moving in is very short (12 minutes for a 5 bedroom property) and fails to show lots of damage to the property (broken kitchen tiles, holes in doors that were left open so you could only see one side, and the property was very dirty when we moved in.

The agent that did the inventory (2 weeks before move in date) simply stated on film the property was in process of being cleaned.

Will that be sufficient for them to claim against my deposit?

nidO

Did you agree to the inventory when you moved in being an accurate description of the property at the date you moved in?

On its own, an inventory taken before the property was cleaned and before you moved into it is useless, but if you've signed and agreed to the inventory being an accurate representation of the property when you moved in (including the lack of broken tiles etc) you might be on shakier ground.

On the flipside, if the property was in the process of being cleaned and the inventory shows it was very dirty, you only have to return the property to that very dirty state, as your landlord has no evidence that the property was any cleaner than that at the point you moved in.

Alternatively, if you didn't sign anything or agree that the inventory is an accurate description of the property when you moved in, that lack of agreement plus it being dated 2 weeks before you moved in makes it meaningless.

fearlessuk

We signed *something* regarding the inventory on move in day. I'm certain it just said something along the lines of we have seen the inventory.

We were in a hurry and were eager to get out of the office, didn't argue with them saying they would send the inventory through email. I do have an email from them 3 weeks after moving in asking to confirm if I received the inventory. Although they could argue they showed us it in their office I suppose.

The problem with the inventory is that it is such shaky footage on an old smartphone, even breaking the video frame by frame doesn't show the damage. It doesn't show they aren't damaged either, which makes me happier.

Surely they have to prove condition, rather than assume everything is OK when it comes to the DPS adjudicators?

There was no schedule of condition or anything like that signed.