Check-out reports
The same property, recorded the same way
A check-out is the inventory revisited at the end of the tenancy — same rooms, same method, same standard of detail — so the difference between the two is a matter of record rather than recollection.
The problem
The end of a tenancy is where memory runs out
Twelve months have passed. The tenant remembers a property they’ve lived in every day. The landlord remembers a handover they attended once. Neither account is dishonest, and neither is reliable on its own.
Without a like-for-like comparison, what follows is a negotiation between two impressions — which is slow, uncomfortable, and often unfair to whoever is less confident at arguing.
There’s a second thing that goes wrong, and it cuts the other way. Fair wear and tear. A property is expected to deteriorate through ordinary use, and a tenant should not be charged for it.
A check-out that lists every mark without distinguishing normal wear from actual damage isn’t rigorous — it’s just indiscriminate, and it deserves to be discounted.
What’s included
What’s in a PSH check-out
- A line-by-line comparison against the original inventory, item by item and room by room
- Every difference recorded with its location, extent and likely cause, photographed and dated
- Fair wear and tear assessed and stated openly, taking into account the length of the tenancy, the number of occupants, and the age and quality of the item
- Cleanliness compared against the standard recorded at check-in, not against a subjective ideal
- Final meter readings
- Keys returned, photographed and compared with the photographs taken at check-in
- A schedule of dilapidations that separates what is arguably chargeable from what is not
- 4Condition & contents
That last point is the one clients mention most. A schedule that has already set aside what shouldn’t be charged is a schedule everyone can take seriously.
How it’s delivered
How you get it
Your report arrives within 24–48 hours through the portal.
There’s a 7-day grace period. If something has been missed, or needs a closer look at the property, the landlord or managing agent can let us know in writing and the clerk will go back to address it, before the report is used as check-out evidence.
So the report that goes forward as evidence is complete, not just quick.
- Report within 24–48 hoursdelivered through the portal
- 7-day grace periodfor the landlord or agent to raise anything missed, in writing
- Final reportready to use as check-out evidence
Why the record holds
Why it stands up
Every entry points to the inventory line it relates to and the photograph that supports it. Anyone reading it afterwards — agent, landlord, tenant or adjudicator — is looking at the same two dated records and can draw their own conclusion.
Nobody is asked to take anyone’s word for anything. That’s what makes it work, and it’s why an independent clerk is worth more than a report written by an interested party.
Coverage
Where we cover
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.
Book a check-out
Tell us the property and the date, and we’ll confirm availability and price.
Related services
Often booked alongside a check-out
Inventories
The other half of the pair. A check-out is only as useful as the inventory behind it.
Mid-term inspections
Evidence from partway through, so changes can be dated rather than guessed at.