AIIC: Landlords must encourage tenants to attend check-out

The UK's landlords must encourage their tenants to attend a check-out at the end of a tenancy.

This is the call from the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC), which says that if more tenants attended check-outs, there would be fewer deposit disputes between both sides of the rental transaction.

A check-out takes place at the end of a tenancy and provides the landlord or their letting agent with the opportunity to record the condition of the rental property in comparison to when the tenants arrived.

The AIIC's plea comes in response to data released by the Deposit Protection Service in July, which suggested that 48% of tenants had not attended their check-out.

What's more, some 46% of those who didn't attend said they had either not been invited or were not informed of the date or time.

According to the AIIC, this is where landlords and their letting agents must ensure they are holding up their side of the bargain.

“We were disappointed to see that so many tenants didn't attend check-out and that almost half of these non-attendees were not invited or made aware of the arrangements,” said Pat Barber, chair of the AIIC.

“We are urging landlords and their agents to invite and remind their tenants about their check-out. It is an extremely important part of the inventory process and a successful inventory can go a long way to reducing the likelihood of a dispute at the end of a tenancy.”

“As always, we advise landlords and letting agents to utilise the services of an independent inventory clerk in order to maintain impartiality and professionalism,” she added.

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