When a tenant comes to leave a property, landlords are increasingly being left with dirty and poorly kept properties at the check-out stage.
The latest data from the Tenant Deposit Scheme (TDS) has found that cleaning is responsible for 58 per cent of all disputes between landlords and tenants, making it the highest accountable problem for the majority of tenancy deposit disputes.
Tenants leaving properties unclean
However, there is currently a grey area for landlords as the scale of uncleanliness can vary. With cleaning problems mounting, there needs to be a greater amount of understanding to lower the volume of disputes at the end of the tenancy.
Some disputes end involving a formal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service that generally sides with the tenant if the landlord cannot provide suitable evidence.
Property damage and poor cleanliness are easier to identify if there is an inventory management report and schedule of the condition in place, enabling the landlord to use the tenant’s deposit to compensate.
Because of the thorough analysis of the property, tenants have a greater awareness of the issues related to maintaining the property’s original state throughout the tenancy. Unless landlords and agents have a thorough inventory, they are at risk of disputes and expensive repair bills.
Reporting on cleanliness to prevent disputes
Skribes is Birmingham’s leading independent inventory and property services specialist. We provide landlords with inventory reports, check-in reports, interim reports, check-out reports and legionella reports, all of which aim to minimise issues that arise when a tenant’s contract has ended.
Our team of inventory clerks have been trained to meet our strict standards and currently have a 100% success rate in winning disputes.
To find out how we can make it easier for you to manage your property, call us today on 07891 551 905 or email info@skribes.co.uk.