A Landlord approached one of our offices as his Tenant has complained that slats in the base of a double bed were damaged two weeks after he and his partner had moved in. We will leave it to your imagination how the bed broke!
Inventory Disputes- Navigating Responsibility for Furnishings
In this case the Landlord had produced his own inventory which both he and the tenant had verbally agreed. The question that the Landlord came to us with was; who should replace the bed? We discovered that the Tenant had accepted the inventory as just a list of furnishings, as it did not detail the condition of the items. To further complicate the issue the tenant had not even signed the inventory.
In this case the answer will depend on the quality of the inventory and the detail in the tenancy agreement, both were substandard in this case and this is why we recommend you use a regulated agent like Belvoir.
Protecting Your Investment – The Significance of Quality Inventory in Tenancy Agreements
If there had been a quality statement of condition included in the inventory, signed by the Tenant, there would be no question, the Tenant would have been responsible. The solution now relies on negotiation and in our experience it is likely that the Landlord may have to replace or repair the bed.
The schedule of condition and professionally prepared inventory sets out the baseline condition of the property at the beginning of the tenancy and if not prepared correctly a Landlord could very easily find themselves out of pocket. If you use a professional agent like Belvoir you can be rest assured that your paperwork will be correctly worded and so at least you will be able to sleep easy!
For more details on the services that my team and I provide, give us a call on 01252 328 384, pop in for a chat or check out our website.
