As landlords we are all used to treading the fine line between treating our tenants fairly while making sure that our investment is protected. This has gotten increasingly difficult over time.
Recently, the government approved the tenancy deposit scheme, mydeposits.co.uk confirmed what we all knew; it is getting harder and harder to withhold a tenant’s deposit.
It comes down to the fact that the burden of proof lies with us. So, even if a tenant has damaged our property to an extent well in excess of their deposit, unless we can prove it beyond doubt we have to return their money. In fact figures from the last part of 2008 confirm that of 125 disputes dealt with by the independent adjudicator only around 12 where decided completely in the landlord’s favour.
How do we make sure that we increase the odds for ourselves?
It seems that the best way is to do a comprehensive inventory that includes photographic evidence.
Each room needs to be photographed from all angles. Carl Haagensen of Redbrick Inventories felt he had spotted a gap in the market and now offers this expert service in an attempt to help landlords and letting agents manage the problem of property damage more efficiently.
It seems likely that more and more businesses will offer this new service and landlords really need to consider taking advantage of it. This photographic evidence, if done well, should be sufficient proof of damage done and help us to get the correct recompense.
In our landlord software solutions you are able to take as many pictures as you want and store them within the software. This means that if a dispute ever arises you will have all the evidence you need at the touch of a button!
I believe strongly that there is nothing at all unfair about landlords protecting our investment.
