Tips

We've recently put together a short brochure outlining our services and explaining a little more about who we are and what we do as well as the areas we cover. To download our brochure please

click here.

How does a third party inventory compare to in-house or landlord authored inventories?

In a new guide: "Guide to Tenancy Deposits, Disputes and Damages", jointly published by My Deposits and the two government-authorised deposit protection schemes: the Tenant Deposit Scheme and the Tenant Protection Service, highlights the benefit of impartial third party inventories compared to in-house and landlord written inventories:

"The importance of a properly completed inventory cannot be underestimated. It must be robust and defensible if it is to be held up as a proper indicator of the facts and therefore viewed as acceptable by an adjudicator or court.

Tenancy deposit protection schemes do not disregard, out of hand, inventories that are not prepared by independent companies or individuals. However, they are likely to place less weight on their contents. It may also be necessary for a landlord to provide more corroborating evidence to show the condition of the property than would normally be required if the process was carried out by qualified and independent inventory clerks. For example, dated photographic evidence is useful to show any change in the property's condition. This is also true of any check-in/check-out document and process.

Read the full report here

Absolutely, our management team is always out and about meeting new clients. We would be happy to pop in, introduce ourselves and discuss any questions you might have. We've been know to bring doughnuts from time to time...

In light of the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) which was introduced in April 2007, all deductions from deposits now require explanation. It is therefore advised that a comprehensive, independent inventory is compiled, which should ensure that you avoid any dispute at the end of the tenancy and can provide justification for deducting the cost of any dilapidations or damage.

Our clerks are trained in-house for 4-6 weeks. This is full time training and only after this do we consider them ready to compile our reports. They then receive constant backup support and ongoing training from our management team. All clerks have a daily catch up with managers and undergo intermittent spot checks to make sure that our quality does not waiver.

Our office is fully staffed from 9am until 6pm from Monday to Saturday - we are often here in the evenings as well, so please feel free to try us outside these hours. We never forward your call to a mobile - all calls should be answered within two rings by one of our bookings staff based in the main office who will have access to our bespoke bookings system. Our clerks work the same hours as our office. Appointments can be booked outside these hours by special arrangement.

We understand that allowing a clerk into your home requires a level of trust. We have tried to mitigate this with clerks wearing a clear and functional uniform so that they may be simply identified without confusion.

Ideally we ask for a couple of days' notice. However, we always try to accomodate all bookings requests and can often accommodate bookings at extremely short notice, sometimes even the same day. But be warned that weekends are extremely busy so book as early as you can.

Property Inventories Ltd is fully insured. We hold £10m of employers' liability cover, £5m of public liability cover and £250,000 of professional indemnity insurance (for any one claim). Copies of certificates are available on request..

As a rule we feel that our prices are very competitive for the high quality service we provide so do not generally offer discounts. However for large volumes of guaranteed work, we are of course willing to discuss this.

Registered office: Quadrant House, Floor 6, 17 Thomas More Street, Thomas More Square, London, E1W 1YW - Registered in England and Wales No. 5850070