Originally published at: https://blog.openrent.co.uk/a-tenant-guide-to-inventories-and-check-ins/
When you move into a new rented property, one of the first bits of life admin you will have to deal with is the inventory. But most tenants are not actually sure what an inventory is or what it’s meant to do. I see a lot of questions from tenants about this, like: Do you…
We signed the contract on 18th august 2018 which mentions the inventory fee of 150 pounds. Our tenancy ends on 17th August 2019 and as per new tenancy act landlords cannot charge for inventory check, my question is as we have signed the contract which states we have to pay the inventory check cost, are we still liable to pay it?
Thanks
Hi Kiran, yes if the fee is in a tenancy agreement signed before 1st June 2019, and is due to be paid before 1st June 2020, then it can still be charged (unfortunately).
Sam
Hi Sam, the article is very interesting, but still I was wondering if these sections below are common and legal to be asked/written in a lease agreement.
Inventory and Check Out:
28.17.To pay for the making of a fully comprehensive Inventory and
Schedule of Condition prior to the commencement of the
Tenancy
28.18. To pay for the cost of checking the Inventory and Schedule of
Condition at the termination of the Tenancy.???
Hi Daniel, in my experience, these terms were very common before the Tenant Fees Act banned these payments.
I recently came out of a tenancy myself and had to pay £75 for a ‘check out’ because of a term such as these. (The tenacy began before the new rules come into force.)
If these terms were included in a tenancy signed today, they would not be enforceable because they describe a prohobited payment according to the Act. From 1 June 2020, these terms will not be enforceable wherever they appear.
Sam
Hi Sam,
Thank you for the information, I actually had to sign a lease agreement today, where these clauses were included.
Anyhow, I will definitely keep in mind your advice.
Many thanks,
Daniel
Ah ok - well take comfort from knowing that you will not have to paid those fees!
You could report the agent/landlord to your local trading standards team.
Sam
Hello,
I have a question and would appreciate any clarification.
I started an assured shorthold tenancy with another tenant in october 2019. We are both due to leave this month.
According to the agency, although i started a new tenancy agreement, i also agreed to an inventory from 2015 that is over 4 years old. This is because I started a new tenancy with one of the original tenants. She has occupied the flat with various flatmates and numerous shorthold tenancy agreement. However, agency claim they could not do a new inventory as property was not vacated completely. Furthermore, according to agency, the tenant was responsible for informing about this. However, i was not given a copy of the inventory at any stage. Therefore, can an inventory from a previous tenancy be used for a different tenancy as agency is claiming?Even if one of the occupants is from the original tenancy?
Hello Sam,
I hope you are doing ok.
Can you please help me out with something?
My previous agency want to charge us over a £1000 due to a bit of burnt spot in kitchen counter and some scratches. They are saying they need to change the whole top of kitchen counter which I absolutely see unnecessary as they are just small cosmetic defects. We moved out on the 13th of march. My inventory was done without us a few days after, they sent the report like a week after and later they did not came back to us till today which are actually over the 15 days legal agreed day. Also they want to charge us £120 to fill up holes and paint. We did not make any wholes in the walls.
My question is, What are my legal rights? How can I avoid these charges. We, my friend and I lived there for about 3 years. We always paid in time we never had any problems, I would say we were good tenants. I feel like the agency just want to charge us for no reason. What can I do?
Thanks for your help in advance.
Regards,
Sandor Nagy