Landlords - any advice on inventory?

[Keysunshine]

Hi

I’m an accidental landlord (sadly had to move from my lovely house and rent elsewhere) and just trying to get my head around the process of getting tenants. For any existing landlords, do you go through an estate agent to get an inventory done or do you do it yourself? I would be asking estate agents to find and reference the tenants, have decided that. I’m happy to do the inventory myself but I don’t know if it holds more weight being done by someone independent (estate agent) if there are any disputes at the end of the tenancy?

Any advice would be really helpful thanks

Get the Estate agent to do it. Both for your own and your future tenants' protection.

Have you seen a proper inventory document done by an agent? It’s incredibly detailed with colour photos etc. Are you capable of doing that?

No doubt you have also done or arranged for the EPC, gas safe report and electricity safety certificate (new this year!) plus the rental guide you must give to the tenant and decided which scheme you are going to protect the deposit in. You will also have a little black book full of plumbers, electricians and decorators for those 10pm phone calls about the broken boiler.

All the above is why I pay my letting agent to fully manage the tenancy. It’s a real minefield in terms of your legal obligations and a ballache when things go wrong.

I have seen many estate agents’ inventories but to be honest they haven’t been that detailed and I’m sure I could have done better! The last one insisted that video inventories were better now so there was just a (long!) video and about 7 photos - nothing written.

@VanCleefArpels EPC, gas safety done. Can you remind me what the new electrical safety certificate requirement is if you have a link? I think my partner sorted but will double check. What is the rental guide requirement?

Thanks!

www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent/how-to-rent-the-checklist-for-renting-in-england

If you haven’t provided any one of the required documents any Notice you give to a tenant will automatically be deemed invalid and you will have to start the whole eviction process from the start

Join a proper landlords forum. Even though you are getting an agent make sure you know all of your responsibilities - a lot of agents are, to be frank, shit.

I do my own inventory (though I also sort tenants myself, the agents focus solely on finances and have missed glaringly obvious issues). Make it as detailed as possible. List everything. Photograph everything. Go through it with your tenant on move in day. Then ask them, via email, to confirm a few days later that they are still happy with it.

Are you having the agent manage the tenants or doing that yourself? If you are doing it yourself then set up an email folder and keep all communication about repairs. When you sort things by text send an email to follow up. Also if you are doing it yourself make sure you have a plan - what do you want the tenant to do if you are uncontactable?

Also make sure you know what the local housing allowance (housing benefit) rate is for your size of house. It'll give you a good idea how much people may have to make up if they have to claim - particularly important in the current climate with a lot of redundancies.

If there's not a huge difference it might be worth looking to see if your local council or a housing authority do a rental scheme. Sometimes the lower rent rate can be worth the guaranteed rent.

Join NRLA. Lots and lots of proper information and downloadable templates for multiple scenarios.

Your question is covered on this blog. I am also an accidental landlord, this blog is helpful, the writing style a bit marmite though. www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/property-inventory-form/

Thanks all. Odd, I’ve now read the requirement to provide tenant with a copy of the rental guide on gov.uk - in all my years of renting not once have I been given a copy of that!

@Keysunshine

Thanks all. Odd, I’ve now read the requirement to provide tenant with a copy of the rental guide on gov.uk - in all my years of renting not once have I been given a copy of that!

It's relatively new. A lot of lazy landlords don't bother with it. They'll regret it if they need to go through the eviction process.

One random tip from me - when you do your check in inventory on move in day have a space on it for meter readings. Take a photo of meters as well.

Another tip is to open a new bank account for rent and any rental related outgoings - it makes life a lot easier when it comes to doing your tax return. The amounts deductible for tax purposes is a moving and Byzantine target and so well worth the investment of getting an accountant to do it for you - it costs me £300 each year and SO worth it. NB also after your first year the HMRC will ask you to pay tax in advance of the following year’s liability