UK Landlord Forum / Life

I am having my first experience of a tenant dispute over damages to the property and looking for some help!

My tenant just left and caused a lot of damage to the flat (including cat faeces left on the carpet!) as well as a host of other issues. The question I have is regarding the inventory reports.

I naively didn't complete a check-in report when the tenant moved in, as I had the check out inventory done the day before the tenant in question moved in.

So just to be clear:
Previous tenant moved out 3rd March
Check out for previous tenant done on 4th March
Tenant in question moved in 5th March.

At the time I assumed I would just use the check-out from the previous tenant as my 'check-in'. I know now this is not the best thing to do!

What I would like to know, in the current dispute I'm having with the tenant over the damages she did to the flat, am I without a leg to stand on by not having done a specific check-in for the current tenant in question?

For evidence, would I still be able to use the check-out from the previous tenant, which shows photos and evidence of what the flat was like the day before the new tenant moved in? My thinking is that as it's still just the day before it's evidence of what the flat should have been left like.

I also feel that the photos I have of the flat after she moved out show the horrendous state the flat was left in, it would be clear that damage has been done. Can photos of this nature be used on their own to claim?

Thanks in advance for your time!

The Check-In should be signed by the Tenant... signing indicates agreement.

The Inventory should be signed by the Tenant... signing indicates agreement.

Do you have anything signed and agreed by the current Tenant regarding the state of the property on the day of move-in?

Otherwise, don't you just have some documents that are worthless?

Thank you for help.

But have you ever had someone ask a rhetorical question when you really need help during a time of duress and realised how annoying and frustrating that is?

I appreciate you taking the time to respond, but may I suggest a better way to write that last sentence:

"Unfortunately without having anything signed by the tenant, you may just have some documents that are worthless."

You can suggest what you like, but it doesn't really help you, I'm afraid. What you need in front of you is the facts, from someone who's an objective third party. You've been somewhat naïve - probably because you were lazy. The fact that you need help and are in a time of duress, now, is purely a situation of your own making, is it not? You've asked whether the Check-Out from a previous Tenant is useful to you as some kind of pseudo-Check-In for the next Tenant - that's "no".

Dot the is, cross the ts, or expect to be taken from behind... roughly. Be professional or be taken advantage of.

BTW - this is not meant to be sniping from the sidelines, it is intended to prepare you for the worst and stop you taking short-cuts in the future. If you're overly sensitive to things then disputes of this nature are not for you, so you must do all you can to protect yourself - or get out of the business. I take serious time over my documentation. I get signatures and initials to the point of annoyance... but it's belt-and-braces (for me) even though I always tell Tenants it's for both parties.

You can still claim - just expect it to go to ADR if the Tenant disagrees and the objective third-party, then, to arrive at a conclusion that says you've got no worthwhile proof. It could be a big waste of time, but you could get something - so don't just roll over and have your belly tickled. What I'd simple ask is this - do you think there is any chance of a reasonable agreement being reached with the Tenant? Possibly for a fraction of what you'd like, but at least it might be something?

Thanks for the advice. Nope, it wasn't laziness, it was pure naivety, I'm new to this and I was under the (wrong) impression that the inventory report was for the property not for each tenancy (i.e. one check done in between tenancies). This was just down to my experience as a tenant myself where I'd only been asked to be present for check outs and never a check in. I guess you live and learn.

The tenant is being completely unreasonable, denying she had a pet when there is clear evidence of faeces on the carpet. So unfortunately she's disputing everything. Even the rent arrears that she agreed to pay for as she was late to leave past the initial tenancy end date, she's now disputing. So unfortunately there's not much chance of reaching a reasonable agreement with the Tenant.

I'm just going to claim with photo evidence etc and see what the objective third-party comes back with.

PS thanks for your honesty, it's not that I'm too sensitive to disputes. Nor is this a question of just getting out the business. I'm sure you started somewhere and had to learn the ropes along the way. I was under the impression that this forum was for help from fellow landlords and I expected it would be a place for support.

Yes, we all started somewhere. But I did a lot of research before starting. When you say you thought the Inventory was for the property, outside of tenancies, you'll see how weird that sounds even when you play it back to yourself. Most of this stuff is common sense - but some of it requires proper research and a real attention to detail. Where is the deposit, how much is it, how much of it would you like to claim?

Don't ignore the unpaid rent. What were the circumstances, precisely?

The deposit is with the DPS for £1050 and the claim is more than that. The repairs in total are in excess of £3k as all the carpets were completely ruined and wallpaper applied everywhere that has to be stripped back and painted again.

The unpaid rent is because Tenant stayed longer than the agreed end of tenancy by three days. I have this all documented with texts and emails with me chasing to find out if Tenant had dropped keys off to Letting Agent and Tenant continuing to delay moving out from the property.

By precisely, I mean... was the end of the tenancy the end of the fixed term... or were they in a periodic tenancy and they served notice on you?

If the latter... then there's the Distress for Rent Act, Section 18 to be specific - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/apgb/Geo2/11/19/section/18

Double it up?

We always give tenants 7 days to check through reports and because we email everything have a record that it was sent. So far the DPS have never insisted on seeing a tenants signature on the reports, they just want proof that they were sent and given an opportunity to amend or comment on them. Maybe we have just been lucky as no tenant has ever turned around and said that hadn't been sent the reports.

That's good to know, but you'd not try to present a Check-Out as a Check-In, would you?