Tenants should be present for check-out

Posted: 10 Oct 2008 14:17:39 GMT

When moving out of a rented property, tenants should be present at the inventory 'check-out'.

That is according to the director of online community Landlordzone, who explained that it can also cut down on disputes over deposits if tenants receive a signed copy of the ingoing and outgoing inventories.

Tom Entwistle also advised that tenants take photographs of the condition of a property when they leave in order to compare them to the check-out inventory.

"[Tenants] often don't insist on being present at the check-out - which is critical," he added, "and are then surprised some time later when demands are made, which by then is too late."

According to mydeposits.co.uk - the scheme set up to safeguard over 200,000 tenants' deposits - 38 per cent of all disputes concern cleaning costs, while 11 per cent involve damage to the property and four per cent revolve around late payments of rent.

With the average deposit protected standing at £771, the organisation estimates that over £15,000 is lost by tenants every month as a result of failure to stick to the terms of their agreement.

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