Surge in illegal safety and compliance issues in private rental sector - claim

Inventory reports are increasingly revealing illegal safety and compliance issues within tenanted property, a trade body claims.

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks says the recent introduction of the Fitness for Human Habitation Act has prompted increased use of inventories.

“The level of mandatory checks has increased greatly over the last decade, from Gas Safety to smoke detectors being present in the right places and working on the move in date” claims Danny Zane, founder of My Property Inventories and chair of the AIIC.

“For example. when a landlord instructs us to carry out the inventory check-in, they can gain solid proof that the detectors were present, power tested and working on the move in day. However, our clerks are finding properties that just do not tick all the required boxes when it comes to habitation and lawful responsibility” he adds.

Zane says the Fitness for Human Habitation act covers many points that must be examined and ticked off as compliant for a tenant to live ‘well’ and legally in a property. 

He believes a recent rise in awareness of risks associated with irresponsibly managed properties has put greater emphasis on identifying health and safety issues. 

“Independent property inventory reports are now about much more than the cosmetics of a property; our services are a vital part of the system that keeps tenants and landlords safe and well” he insists.

The AIIC acts for some 1,400 inventory clerks.