Missing Inventory or Check In/Check Out for dispute with TDS

Zayk786

Hi,

I have got a dispute going on with tenant for deposit. I will be submitting my evidence to support my claim including photographs, videos, invoices and quotes etc. I will be also giving tenancy agreement to adjudicator to consider where tenant has breached the terms of contract.

However, I have not got any check in/check out reports or inventory report signed by tenant. Will this weaken my case or can it go against me? Or adjudicator will just refuse my claim in the case of not having inventory report?

Thanks.

need_an_answer

was the tenant given a copy of the inventory report at check in?

If you can prove they were given a copy and asked to make comment and return to you within a specified timescale then it will not invalidate your claim/ if they did not return the report or failed to make any comment then you may be able to conclude they were in agreement with its contents.

However if no inventory was supplied to the tenant you will find it much more difficult to substantiate your claim for damage now.

muhandis

From deposit dispute experience (as a tenant), where the landlord’s claim is about damage, the starting point for the adjudicator is whether the condition has deteriorated between the start and end of the tenancy, and whether any of that could be classed as above fair wear and tear.

Inventories are usually a key piece of evidence to support a claim but they will consider other evidence. The difficulty is while that inventories are designed to tick all the boxes to make it an acceptable piece of evidence, other ad-hoc evidence (photos, videos, emails, etc) are easy to question by the tenant and difficult for the adjudicator to accept as a starting point.

To answer your questions -

1. No, they will not refuse your claims outright just because of the lack of inventory

2. Yes, it will weaken your case when compared to having a proper inventory check in and check out.

sal_III

Is it the case that the inventory is just not signed by the tenant, but you can prove they received a copy (e-mail for example). If the latter and they didn't object at the time, the lack of "wet" signature should have minimal bearing on the case.

Your post isn't clear what are the claims for, breach of contract or damages or both.

lookstraightahead

Did you invite the tenant to join you at the check out?

need_an_answer

lookstraightahead wrote: »

Did you invite the tenant to join you at the check out?

There is no obligation to invite a tenant to be present at check out.

Zayk786

I did not know I had to produce inventory and check in when I handed over property to them so I totally missed it and the agent I used he did not even warn me about this.

Now when tenant left the property, he never returned to sign the check out. I have a check out papers with me but he never returned to sign them. Can this help?

My claim is to recover costs for garden maintenance, internal damages and unpaid rent. I don't think inventory will affect anything regarding due rent.

Regarding other damage, I understand I don't have inventory but I have check out papers which he never signed, I also have invoices of works which were carried out just before my tenants occupied the property, before and after photos and a quote for recent date showing all works which needs doing (talking about gardening because it's a massive garden and costs are higher)

muhandis

The lack of inventory should not impact the claim for unpaid rent.

Assuming this is the first time you'll be experiencing a deposit dispute, I would advice you to keep your expectations low.

Adjudicators are generally fair and balanced but expect the landlord to be able to clearly justify claims being made. Their view of "wear and tear" is far more liberal than most of us would expect. Even as a tenant I was surprised by some of the claims that were rejected/downgraded (mostly damage to walls and fittings) in my favour.

Having said that, it's good that you have evidence of work that was done close to the start of the tenancy plus before/after photos as that should be taken into consideration.

Plus the adjudicators can and will make judgements upon the reasonableness of quotes so it would be best if you tempered your expectations.

Zayk786 wrote: »

I did not know I had to produce inventory and check in when I handed over property to them so I totally missed it and the agent I used he did not even warn me about this.

Now when tenant left the property, he never returned to sign the check out. I have a check out papers with me but he never returned to sign them. Can this help?

My claim is to recover costs for garden maintenance, internal damages and unpaid rent. I don't think inventory will affect anything regarding due rent.

Regarding other damage, I understand I don't have inventory but I have check out papers which he never signed, I also have invoices of works which were carried out just before my tenants occupied the property, before and after photos and a quote for recent date showing all works which needs doing (talking about gardening because it's a massive garden and costs are higher)

need_an_answer

The problem that you now face is unless there was a check in inventory,you have nothing to compare the check out inventory to.

In the absence of knowing what condition things were in at the start there is very little basis on which to support your claims.


Look at it logically(or even in the shoes of the tenant) if you cant document clearly what it was like in the beginning how can you now compare your check out inventory to anything...ideally the 2 documents are mirrors of eachother but a set time apart.

The rent issue will be treated separately and does not form part of the inventory.

By all means raise a dispute with TDS although you may find they rule in favour of your tenant simply because of the lack of anything substantially representing an inventory at check in.


A lesson learnt for next time.

lookstraightahead

How will new photos help when there's nothing to compare them with? You might have some lovely photos but the tenant hasn't seen them. How did you not think to do an inventory yet you know all about the deposit scheme etc?

Zayk786

I have before and after photos. I have invoice showing works were carried out just before the tenancy started and then I have 'after' photos/videos and quotes showing works are required. I have a check out inventory which he never returned to sign.