Inventory and inspection questions, answered

Call 01243 256553, email bookings@pshinventories.com or send us an enquiry online. Existing clients can also book and track jobs through our paperless portal, where reports, past bookings and invoices are kept together.

Reports are normally with you within 24–48 hours of the visit, delivered through the portal and ready to issue to the tenant.

Once the report is issued, the tenant has 7 days to respond, adding their own comments and photographs directly against the report. If they raise something, it’s captured at the start of the tenancy rather than argued about at the end. If they raise nothing, the record shows they were given the chance — which is what makes it credible later.

Yes. We work with letting agents across Sussex and Hampshire, from single properties to regular instructions across a portfolio. Paul Holden leads a small team of clerks working to the same method, so busy periods don’t depend on one person’s diary. See how we work with letting agents.

Our reports are specific, dated and supported by timestamped photography — the kind of evidence deposit protection schemes rely on when deciding a dispute. No report can guarantee the outcome of an adjudication, but a thorough, independent inventory and check-out give you the strongest possible starting point.

Yes, openly. Every check-out takes into account the length of the tenancy, the number of occupants and the age and quality of each item, and the schedule of dilapidations separates what is arguably chargeable from what is not. More about our check-out reports.

Yes. Smoke and CO alarm testing, a Legionella risk assessment, an HHSRS assessment and PAT testing can be done in the same visit as a Landlord Compliance Pack, with the EPC carried out separately by our accredited assessor partner. One booking, one invoice.

Chichester, Portsmouth and across Sussex and Hampshire as standard, with wider coverage across the South East of England and the Isle of Wight through our network.

There’s no legal requirement to have an inventory, or for it to be independent. But if you take a deposit and want to make deductions at the end of the tenancy, it’s up to you to show what the property was like at the start. Without a detailed record that the tenant has had the chance to review, a deposit protection scheme may not be able to award deductions. An independent inventory gives you that evidence.

Not in England. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, landlords and letting agents can’t charge tenants for inventories, check-ins or check-outs, so the cost sits with the landlord or agent.

In England, the main requirements for most private lets include:

• Smoke and CO alarms — a smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a CO alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers), checked on the first day of each new tenancy.
• Legionella — a duty to assess and control the risk in the water system.
• EPC — a valid Energy Performance Certificate with a minimum rating of E, unless an exemption applies.
• Gas safety — an annual check by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
• Electrical safety — an EICR at least every five years.
• Hazards — keeping the property free from serious hazards under the HHSRS.

We can help with alarms, Legionella, EPCs and HHSRS assessments. Gas and electrical checks must be carried out by qualified engineers. This is a summary rather than legal advice, and HMOs have additional requirements.

No. Landlords have a legal duty to assess and control the risk of Legionella, but there is no requirement for a Legionella certificate or for routine water testing in a typical rented home. A proportionate risk assessment by a competent person is what compliance looks like, and the HSE recommends reviewing it at least every two years. More about Legionella risk assessments.

A press-button test only confirms the alarm has power and the sounder works — it doesn’t test whether the sensor still detects smoke. Sensors degrade over time, which is why alarms carry an expiry date. We test with a smoke and CO test canister, which proves the sensor works. More about alarm testing.

In England, a property can’t be let — and an existing tenancy can’t continue — with an EPC rating of F or G. The minimum is E. The government has confirmed its intention to raise the minimum for rented property to C by 1 October 2030, so it’s worth planning any improvement works with that in mind. More about EPC certificates.

Most letting agents carry out a mid-term inspection every six months. A regular visit catches damp, leaks and maintenance issues while they’re still small, and keeps a dated record of the property’s condition between check-in and check-out. More about mid-term inspections.

Prices depend on the service and the size of the property, and booking several checks together — as a Landlord Compliance Pack, for example — costs less than booking them separately. Call 01243 256553 or email bookings@pshinventories.com for a quote.

An independent inventory is an impartial record of the property’s condition at the start of your tenancy. It protects you as much as the landlord: if a mark or fault was already there when you moved in, the inventory shows it, so you can’t be charged for it at the end.

No — and we’d generally suggest you don’t. An inventory or check-out is more accurate when the clerk can complete it independently and without interruption. That said, you do have the right to be there if you’d like to be. Your letting agent or landlord will confirm the access arrangements.

You’ll receive the report by email with a link to review it. You have 7 days to add your own comments and photographs directly against the report. Anything you raise becomes part of the record — so if you spot something we haven’t recorded, or disagree with a description, that’s the time to say so.

Fair wear and tear is the natural deterioration that happens through ordinary everyday use — lightly worn carpets in walkways, faded paintwork, minor scuffs. You shouldn’t be charged for it. When we carry out a check-out, we take into account the length of the tenancy, the number of occupants and the age and quality of each item, and we state openly what we consider wear and tear rather than damage.

No — not in England. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, landlords and agents can’t charge tenants for inventories, check-ins or check-outs.

A few things make a check-out straightforward:

• Clean the property to the standard recorded on the inventory at the start of your tenancy.
• Remove all your belongings and rubbish, including from the garden, loft and any outbuildings.
• Return every key listed on the inventory.
• Let your agent or landlord know about any faults before you leave.

Your inventory is the best guide to what the property should look like when you hand it back.

We don’t — our role is to record the condition of the property impartially. Your landlord or agent proposes any deductions, and if you disagree, your deposit must be protected in a government-approved scheme that offers free dispute resolution. Our check-out report, compared against the inventory, is the evidence everyone works from.