I’m trying to create my own inventory for a 3 bed house. I found inventories.com mentioned on this forum but that URL doesn’t work. Does anybody have a tried and tested way to do this yourself? Are there any apps you would recommend? Or is it worth getting it done professionally? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
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Inventory hive but you need a day to do your inventory
It’s very thorough
Download the smarter inventories app. It’s a bit fiddly but it does the job.
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Inventory hive is good but it does take a couple of hours, but if you can’t spare that then you shouldn’t be self managing.
Hi @Aysha11,
We offer a pretty basic template for an inventory you can download here.
It would be interesting to know what makes a self-serve inventory service good (or bad!)
Should you opt for getting this done professionally, you can check out OpenRent’s inventory and check-in services.
Thanks for the template, but where would you add photos? These would need to be timestamped presumably?
It’s simple… if you want more than a basic template… pay for a service
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You could add photos under the column titled “Condition” or alternatively paste the images at the bottom of the document, numbering them, and referencing these numbers next to each item in the inventory.
It is important that tenants are given the opportunity to review the inventory and report any alterations that may be required. All parties should agree in writing (or with a signature) that the completed report accurately reflects the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy.
You are welcome to add timestamps but having a mutually agreed upon inventory report is more important.
There’s no obligation to use our services - but if you are concerned about having this done to a professional standard then it’s worth a look at our inventory services which I linked in my previous response.
Having a robust inventory will help to avoid any complications at the end of the tenancy.
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Give me any photo and I’ll timestamp it. You can add a timestamp with any graphics software and you can even change the date it was taken in the image’s EXIF data. I used to be a semi-pro photographer, selling my images, and I know that any so-called “time stamp” is actually worthless as proof of when the image was taken.
Instead, I upload images to a private folder on a file sharing service and give the tenant a qr code to view the images. The file sharing service adds the date that the image was uploaded and that is something neither of us can manipulate.
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How do you generate a qr code ?
use any number of websites that will do this for you
Just uploading it as a document and sharing it via the Openrent tenancy page, will timestamp the date it was shared, and both you & the tenant receive email confirmation of that sharing which can be kept as evidence.
This is how I share other documents like gas safety etc. I do share a copy of the inventory like this, but prefer Inventory Hive as a service which captures the tenants digital signature & agreement to the condition.
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Do you mean something like Dropbox? Or do you have a different recommendation? Thanks
Again I recommend smarterinventories.com
It costs around £5.00/inventory and offer a free trial for the first one.
The big requirements of inventories are:
- They need to be detailed - right down to the condition of the light switches and architraves around the doors
- The text is very important, but should be backed-up by lots of photos. I usually take about 200
- You need to be able to prove theyre agreed. Usually this means signatures on a document. It also means that this must happen before they move in or the document will not be fit for purpose.
- You need to be able to show that the document and any photos you submit to the deposit scheme are the same ones that were agreed at the start. This can be tricky as photos can be doctored or deleted by either party. I used to produce 2 CD Roms containing the photos and we would each sign and date the face of the disks. Nobody uses these now, so unless you opt for a professional third party solution like the companies mentioned, any diy solution needs to meet the conditions above.
I created my own using an previous paid for inventory report as a loose template. I thought the paid for report was fairly comprehensive for the terms and thorough for items covered/condition but I did make sure that everything was phrased clearly with minimum room for ambiguity. Attached about 160 clear date/time stamped pics in total with detailed statements of condition. It took a full day first time round. Sent to tenant next day as a PDF by email and had email confirmation of acceptance within a week so that effectively gives a time stamp. I have a clause limiting the time the tenant has to request amendents to the inventory. It is set at 3 calendar days after which it is the inventory is deemed accepted as is but I would still chase for this in an email.
Its fine to allow a period after move-in for the inventory to be queried or challenged by the tenant. This is standard practice. However if the tenant then refuses to sign it, you will struggle to enforce it. Lawyers recommend ensuring its signed immediately before the tenancy commences.
I use Google Photos… but yeah, anything like that will do.
do they? What if you ONLY detail damage and there isn’t any cos the room was redecorated before move in and your inventory states that unless otherwise noted, there is no damage to anything in the property.