So many landlords still insist on doing their own inventories or not having one at all, which never fails to amaze me. The inventory is one of the most important documents in the tenancy files for protecting the landlord's property and interest. Unfortunately though, by creating the inventory themselves, this actually takes away some of the weight of the document as the landlord is unlikely to be impartial, as opposed to if it was outsourced.

o from an adjudication stance, if an inventory can be outsourced although more expensive, it is more likely to be taken as written and to be up to the current required standard offering the landlord much higher protection.

Many landlords feel that an inventory is purely for expensive properties or fully furnished properties, but in most properties the most expensive damage that can be caused will actually be to the fabric of the building NOT the furniture.

One of the worst cases I have ever seen was when I went to see a new landlord about taking on his property, and the tenants had painted the entire property black. But not just the walls, it was the skirting boards, light switches, UPVC window frames…everything and it wasn't in emulsion paint either, they had gone the whole hog and used gloss paint. It was awful!