Items in a property.
It is common sense that the equipment in a property should be appropriate to the price and size, e.g. crockery for four people is inadequate in a large family house. If the landlord has any items that have personal or financial value or are valuable these should be removed from the property. Although deposits are held, if a valuable piece of furniture is damaged it can take all or part of the deposit to repair.

When landlords decide to alter furniture in a property, either because they are taking certain items with them or they are to valuable to leave, the furniture should be replaced before the property is shown, as tenants cannot envisage how the property will look with different furniture. They rent what they see.

What is an inventory? A professionally prepared document detailing the condition of a property room by room, together with a listing of the contents, noting there age, appearance and general condition.

Why should a professional inventory be carried out?
Many landlords seek to cut costs by preparing their own inventory, but this is false economy as rarely does a home-made inventory provide enough detail of the property and contents, thus making accurate assessment of dilapidation's at the end of a tenancy difficult.

Why is an inventory important?
The largest bone of contention between landlords and tenants is damage. The inventory is used to assess cost of damage at the end of a tenancy, thus the importance of a good inventory cannot be stressed enough, as it describes in detail and very clearly the original state of the property and contents. Few landlords realise the importance of an inventory - it can mean the difference between a legal dispute.