Standards & condition
What is an inventory and schedule of condition?
An inventory, or schedule of condition, is the dated record of a property's contents and condition at the start of a tenancy. It is the evidence any end-of-tenancy deposit deduction rests on.
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<img src="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/inventory/diagram.svg" alt="inventory — diagram from PropertyOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/inventory">What is an inventory and schedule of condition?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk">PropertyOptix</a>
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</figure>Its worth is decided at the start and spent at the end. A deposit adjudicator comparing a detailed, dated, photographed check-in against a check-out can allocate responsibility; without it, the benefit of the doubt goes to the tenant.
Tenant agreement at check-in is what makes it evidence rather than an assertion. An inventory the tenant never saw or signed is one party's account of the property.
Fair wear and tear is the concept that limits it. An inventory cannot make a tenant liable for reasonable deterioration over a long tenancy, and deductions that ignore this are routinely reduced.
What goes wrong in practice
- Photographs undated or unattached to the inventory they evidence.
- Check-in never agreed or signed by the tenant.
- Condition described in general terms rather than item by item.
- Deductions claimed for wear and tear, which undermines the credible parts of a claim.