The recent TDS Guidance Notes on Disputes states that good detailed evidence at the start of a dispute case, plus a few photographs to back it up, helps to win cases. However, according to The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC), glossy presentation with photographs and video is being used to replace essential written descriptions in inventories at both check-in and check-out, leaving landlords exposed to potentially costly disputes over wear and tear.
An increasing number of landlords and property professionals are using photography and video evidence in tenancy deposit dispute cases. Landlords and letting agents are now beginning to see that clear evidence is needed, if they want to withhold all or part of their deposits.
Pat Barber, Chair of The AIIC, comments: “It is good to see that landlords are trying to provide the most detailed evidence they can, but a thorough and detailed inventory will provide the best evidence in a potential dispute. Photographs and video can provide good illustration, but are not at all helpful without a detailed inventory.
“There is no point in producing a picture book for an inventory with very little proper description and hundreds of photographs – inventories like these just do not provide enough detail. Photography and video are great for large areas of damage such as carpet burns, serious damage to worktops and interior décor etc. However, they are not so good for showing really fine detail - the sort of problems that occur most frequently on a check out, such as small chips and scratches in sinks and baths, knife marks on worktops, scratches to halogen hobs. All of which, will cause financial loss to the landlord if negligence cannot be proved.
“We have seen some excellent inventories with the right balance of detail, supported by photography and video. But, more often than not, the photographs submitted in inventories are little larger than thumbnails and hence make it extremely difficult to see detail. To back up a damage issue, photographs need to be of a reasonable size so that the damage can be actually seen clearly. A glossy inventory that relies heavily on photographs will be of little use in a dispute.”
In a recent 'a recent dispute, a landlord who had supplied his tenant with a photographic style inventory at check in. Since none of these were dated and no other written evidence was produced the tenant won his case and the landlord had to fund some expensive replacements.
Inventory reports should contain a full description of a property and its contents with detail on every bit of damage and its exact location at the start of a tenancy. This can be supported with photographs and video – but the photographs need to be of a high quality when printed up to A4 or A3 size, so that any damage can be seen clearly.
AIIC has outlined some guidelines for photographs below:
- Ideally, ‘before and after’ photos should be taken with a clear narrative as to what the photo is showing e.g. colours, item description, marks on surfaces
- Photographs should include something to show scale within the photo and they should clearly show the condition of the property at the given time
- Even if the photographs are just to be incorporated in the inventory for reference they need to be a decent size
- Photographs should be dated, as in camera set to automatically put the date on the picture.
- If photographs are going to be printed out the printer used needs to be good quality. Too often cheap printers distort the colour. Even good printers give false colours when cartridges start to run out.
The AIIC is committed to excellence and professionalism in the property inventory process and works hard to ensure that all landlords, tenants and letting agents understand the importance and benefits of professionally completed property inventories.
For further information, please visit www.theaiic.co.uk
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