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Inventories | Information for Landlords | Information for Tenants

Inventories

Information for Tenants

When you move into your home it is likely you will have to provide the landlord or letting agency with a deposit. This should be requested to cover any unpaid rent or damage to the property. Sometimes, when you decide to move on, there maybe disputes with your Landlord concerning the returnable amount.

According section 38 of the Residential Tenancies Act, as a tenant you have the responsibility to:

• Keep the place reasonably clean;
• Tell the owner within three days if there is any damage;
• Make sure you don't cause or allow damage to be caused,
• either on purpose or by being careless.

The Housing Act 2004 introduced provisions to remove the risk of misappropriation of tenants' deposits by landlords and letting agents. Hence, when a tenant pays a deposit, and he or she is entitled to get all or part of it back, the tenant can be assured that this will happen.

You should ask for an inventory of the property's contents when you move in, as well as checking the details to see what your deposit will cover and how it will be returned. The Department for Communities and Local Government wants to see the continued use of inventories as standard good practice to reduce the potential of a dispute at the end of the tenancy.

For more information see the government web link www.direct.gov.uk