Inventory report (tenancy), defined: the itemised, photographed list of what is in a let property and what condition it is in, drawn up at the start and tested at the end.
An inventory report is the document that lists the contents of a rental property (furniture, appliances, fittings, keys) and describes the condition of each item and of every room's walls, floors, ceilings and windows, with photographs, at the start of a tenancy. In the UK and Ireland it is the foundation of the deposit process: the check-in report confirms it with the tenant, and the check-out report compares against it. This entry is about lettings; a stock or warehouse inventory report is a different document.
The definition matters because the three deposit schemes in England and Wales (TDS, DPS and mydeposits) put the burden of proof on whoever wants to deduct. Without a detailed, dated inventory that the tenant saw, a landlord can rarely show that a scratch, stain or missing item is the tenant's doing.
What an inventory report contains
- A list of contents per room: every piece of furniture, appliance, light fitting, curtain and blind, with make or model where it exists.
- A condition description per item and surface: not "good" but "oak-effect laminate, two small chips near the door, otherwise clean". This is the schedule of condition part of the report.
- Photographs: wide shots to place the item, close-ups of every mark, each dated and labelled to the item it shows.
- Meter readings and serial numbers, photographed.
- Keys, fobs and remotes, counted.
- Cleanliness stated per room, with the standard the property was handed over in.
- Safety items: alarms tested, with the date.
- Signatures and dates, and a note of when the tenant received it and how long they had to comment.
Inventory, check-in and check-out: which is which
The words get swapped around, and the swap causes disputes. The inventory is the list and condition record. The check-in is the moment the tenant walks the property with that list, adds anything the compiler missed, and signs. The check-out is the comparison at the end. In North American practice the check-in is called the move-in inspection and the check-out the move-out inspection, and the inventory is folded into the same form. A mid-tenancy inspection sits between them and updates nothing formally, but its dated photos become evidence of when a problem started.
How an inventory report is produced
An independent inventory clerk is the traditional route, because a report from someone with no stake in the deposit carries more weight with an adjudicator. Agents and landlords compile their own on unmanaged lets. A third route, growing in both UK lettings and social housing, is to send the tenant a guided capture link on moving-in day so the tenant photographs each room and item in a set order, and the agent reviews and finalises the report from that submission. The tenant produced the photos, so the tenant has little room later to say the record was one-sided.
Inventory report example: the missing shelf and the chipped bath
A furnished flat is let for two years. At check-out the agent finds a wall shelf gone from the living room and a chip in the enamel of the bath. The landlord claims for both.
The inventory lists "living room: floating wall shelf, white, 80 cm" with a photo. The tenant admits removing it and the claim for a replacement succeeds. The bathroom entry says "bath: white, good condition" with a single wide-angle photo in which the chip, on the rim near the taps, is not visible either way. The tenant says the chip was there at the start. With nothing in the inventory to show the rim was intact, the adjudicator cannot find that the tenant caused it, and that part of the claim fails. Two items, one well recorded and one not, two different outcomes.
What an inventory report does not do, and the mistakes agents make
It does not override fair wear and tear. A perfect inventory still leaves the tenant an allowance for normal use over the length of the tenancy.
It is not a legal requirement in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Nothing forces a landlord to produce one. The scheme rules simply mean that without one there is nothing to deduct against.
The mistakes that show up in dispute decisions:
- One-word condition ratings and no close-up photos.
- Photos stored on a phone and never attached to the report, so the report the tenant signed had no images.
- No proof the tenant received the report or was given time to comment.
- An inventory recycled from a previous tenancy with the date changed.
- A check-out done on a different template, so items cannot be matched line by line.
Where the inventory report goes
A copy goes to the tenant at check-in and a copy stays on the property file, alongside the tenancy agreement and the deposit protection certificate. At the end of the tenancy it is submitted, with the check-out report and dated photos, to the scheme adjudicator if there is a dispute, and in Ireland to the Residential Tenancies Board. Adjudicators decide from the paperwork alone, so the inventory has to explain itself without anyone there to talk it through. For what the capture side of that record looks like, see rental condition reports.
Venta Capture, a product of VentaVid, is one way to run the tenant-led route: the tenant is sent a secure, personal capture link, follows the guided steps in the mobile browser with no app and no account, and the submission arrives timestamped and sealed for the agent or landlord to review, with a copy that can go back to the tenant so both sides hold the same record. Details at the Venta Capture pages.
In practice: see how guided video capture works in Venta Capture.