Property Inspection
If you are a landlord or an agent managing rental properties you will already know that a professional property inspection is vital for all rental property, whether it is residential or commercial. Properties should be inspected before a tenancy commences, and periodically during the term of the tenancy as well as when the tenant checks out. Failing to carry out inspections can lead to a property being unsafe for tenants, and the landlord being exposed to the risk of legal action. Further, there is the risk of damage being caused to the property which the landlord is unable to recover from the tenant.
Tenants should notify their landlord or the letting agent if they become aware of any issues with the property. If issues are not brought to the attention of the property manager it is all too easy for minor damage to lead to significant problems which are costly to repair. However, not all tenants will be aware of issues and others may be aware but neglect to notify their landlord or agent. It is therefore essential that inspections of the property take place not just before the property is let, but also periodically during the term of the tenancy.
Pre-letting inspection and inventories
A rental property should be inspected before a tenancy begins and the tenant moves in. During this inspection, your letting agent, inventory clerk or property manager will be checking the state and condition of the property against their checklists. The inspection will cover essential health and safety matters such as fire safety routes and whether all the necessary smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are installed and working. It will also check all the plumbing installations, looking for leaks and drips, as well as assessing the state of repair and condition of the property.
A property professional experienced in inspections and inventories will then be able to draw up a detailed inventory report which can be attached to the tenancy agreement and signed by the tenant to record the condition of the property when the tenancy commenced. This will be vital evidence for the landlord to prove that the property complied with the landlord’s responsibilities for the state and condition of the property when it was let. The inventory provides a starting point which can be used to show whether the property has deteriorated in condition during the tenancy. Without the inspection report, the landlord would find it very difficult to prove that the tenant had caused damage during the term of the tenancy.
Periodic inspection
It is just as important for those managing property to carry out periodic inspections during a tenancy as it is to carry out a pre-letting inspection and inventory report.
A periodic inspection will look at the condition and state of repair of the property. Any repairing issues can then be attended to promptly, meaning that the property is less likely to deteriorate significantly. Those in the property sector will know, for example, that an untended drip can all too quickly lead to damp and water damage which is far more difficult and costly to repair.
Periodic inspections also help the landlord keep an eye on how the tenant is using the property. It is not unheard of for tenants to breach their tenancy conditions, for example allowing a property that has been let to a single family to become overcrowded, running a business in a residential property, using a property for illegal uses or subletting.
Record management
Inspections are of limited value unless detailed and accurate records are kept. It is also essential for these records to be easily accessed as and when required. This is where using the Inventorybase property inspection software makes life simpler for those involved with property inspections.
The InventoryBase property inspection software makes preparing detailed professional inventory and condition reports simple and straightforward. It includes a property inspection app, a live dashboard showing what actions are required against each property, and professional templates for building reports. Once an inspection report has been prepared it can easily be shared with the tenant and digital signatures obtained, making the inspection and inventory process as streamlined and straightforward as possible.
Using a dedicated property inspection software like InventoryBase will help all property managers and inventory clerks to manage their inspection reports and properties effectively.
Find out more here: Property Inspection Software