To find tenancy inspections really annoying?

[TheHazelReader]

Those of you who rent, how much do you put into tidying for them? Do you go all out or just a quick once-over?

I used to bloody hate them, I flat out refuse to tidy for them though they are there to look at the structure of the house, not judge my housekeeping.

We've just had one this week. We spent a couple of days deep cleaning.
Our letting agent is fussy. We have pets and clumsy teenagers so spent time trying to deep clean the carpets.
Who puts cream carpets in a rental property!!

Actually your housekeeping is very relevant if the hob is greasy and the bathroom mouldy because you don’t clean regularly.

well it’s only every 6 months so not that often in my opinion but I keep my house very tidy and clean so I’m not rushing around for them. I don’t go over and above though.

As a landlord when I inspect I don't care if it's tidy or not. I care about whether the tenants are doing anything that either devalues my property (like making modifications without consulting me first) or invalidates my insurance (like smoking) or otherwise damages my property (like the kind of uncleanliness that could attract vermin). I would hope that my tenants wouldn't feel the need to worry or tidy up on my account - it's their home and it's completely normal for a home to look lived in.

I have two minds about them.
The first is that it puts huge stress on the renter, to tidy etc and that doesn't seem fair.
But otoh I remember going with an estate agent to view a house we were thinking of renting, that the renters were moving out that week.
They hadn't inspected it for 6 months and oh dear. The garden was 2' under nettles (apparently they'd had a warning about the garden at the previous inspection); one of the light switches had been removed from the wall leaving bare wiring; there was a hole in one of the walls and in the floor ceiling (the latter deliberately done to run wires down, but the hole was around 6" wide; the washing machine had been pulled out and unplumbed, there was a burn mark on the kitchen surface, the outside light had been pulled off... and that was just the beginning.
The poor estate agent just stood there apologising. She did say she didn't think they'd get their deposit back.
We didn't bother viewing beyond the kitchen and living room; there was no way it was going to be ready for us to move in within a month.

I find them intrusive I deep clean & tidy. Mine are quarterly, the agent takes pictures which I absolutely hate. I guess it’s reassuring for landlord though… necessary evil

We rented for two years after our flat was water damaged and I absolutely hated those checks, ours were done by an agent and it did feel very intrusive, bearing in mind the landlord popped over fairy regularly anyway. But I do understand why they are necessary- with two very young children it was hard to get it as clean and tidy on the day as I would have liked, but I did try and deep clean a few days in advance! Mind you, as the house was all greasy and grimey when we moved in I probably shouldn’t have worried that much! Hopefully it will be done quickly and smoothly for you!

We don't live in private let now, but for about 2.5 years we did (in the noughties,) and I fucking HATED tenancy inspections. The first couple were bearable, (they were every 5-6 months,) but the more they went on the more I hated them/dreaded them. The last one we had was a new/different company than the previous 4 or 5, and the man doing it said he has to look around every room (big ex council house, 4 bed, utility, bathroom, back hall, front hall, downstairs loo, lounge, kitchen, dining room, conservatory loads of rooms.)

He said 'I have to take photos for the landlord,' and proceeded to take around TEN photos in each room. I was gobsmacked and blindsided, and didn't stop him. (I regretted it hugely later and was angry with myself for not stopping it.) (DH was at work.)

I mean, he took a LEAST 140 photos, and I know it sounds dramatic, but I felt a bit violated. There were our private meds lying about, family photos, personal belongings, jewelry, clothes, various collectibles (some quite valuable,) and even bits of underwear on the radiators and a clothes rack in the bedroom, etc. Just nosed around every single INCH of the house, and took photo after photo... I felt so annoyed, and was determined I would never let this happen again. I do NOT know why he took all these photos, but the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Especially with myself, for not stopping him.

But we left before the next inspection anyway, so it didn't happen again.

I know I should have complained to the property management company, but at the time, I was afraid of losing the house. Luckily, we were able to leave some 5 months later.... For somewhere permanent. Sooner than we thought!

Yes I tidied for my inspections and
like the others I hated having photos taken and wish I’d stopped them. It’s so intrusive and I felt violated. I’m surprised EAs are allowed to do this tbh. How would they like it?