Lots of terminology to deal with while renting or managing a rented property? At SafeDeposits Scotland we work hard to make deposit protection the easiest part of the process. In this A-Z series we aim to put some of the key terminology, and other considerations, front and centre to help you along the way.

D is for Detail

During the adjudication process, the most crucial pieces of documentation that the adjudicator will refer to are the check-in and check-out reports. Using these documents, the adjudicator will compare the property’s condition at both the start and end of the tenancy. One of the biggest mistakes adjudicators see in these reports is a lack of detail, which can make it harder for them to gain a complete picture of the state of the property.

Having a well-detailed check-in report when the tenancy begins is not only of benefit to an adjudicator should there be a dispute at the end of the tenancy, but it also helps keep the tenant right during the tenancy. The tenant can use the check-in report as a reference for how the property should be kept, and how it should be returned. In a longer tenancy, it would be difficult for the tenant to return the property as close as possible to its original state if they have no reference for how it looked back then. A detailed inventory will allow the tenant to return the property as accurately as possible to how it looked when they moved in.

Good examples of detail in an inventory include listing exact descriptions for provided items and furniture. If, for example, a claim was made for damage to a table, it helps the adjudicator to know the specific make, the size, how long the table has been in the property, its position in the room and so forth, so that they can make a fair decision on how much should be awarded. If an item is lost or damaged beyond repair during the tenancy, the tenant may also want to replace it themselves.

It is important to remember that the adjudicator is impartial and will never visit the property, so the description of each room should be as specific as possible. Things like the colour of the paint or wallpaper, the size of the room, which material has been used for flooring etc are all important. Additionally the cleanliness of each room should be recorded here. Subjective terms such as “the kitchen was very clean” should be avoided here, as what constitutes very clean can differ from person to person. Instead more objective terms such as “clean to a domestic standard” or “professional standard” should be used. The landlord may also wish to make a cleaning claim if there are bad smells present. In this case, as smells cannot be captured through photographic evidence, a written description would be essential. This could be recorded in the check-in report as “free of any odours”.