Student Deposit Dispute Season

If the weather is anything to go by, summer is upon us already, which can only mean one thing for thousands of landlords up and down the country: student changeover time.

In my, admittedly anecdotal, experience adjudicating deposit disputes, there are three groups of people responsible for significantly more damage to rented property than everyone else put together. They are:

1. Barristers (the shame!)
2. Doctors. I saw a defence from a tenant once that read “I don’t have to clean, I’m a doctor”. They didn’t win.
3. Students. It’s no surprise really. Students have a well deserved reputation for trashing properties and there will be very few student landlords who don’t need to make a claim on any protected deposits this summer, so here is some advice for landlords in the run up to changeover season.

Better Inventories Required

Better Evidence For Landlords

I have been very busy recently getting a new project off the ground which could really change the fortunes of landlords and letting agents in deposit protection disputes. 

The Problem With Inventories

All too often landlords lose deposit disputes simply because their inventory evidence doesn’t show what they need it to show. Inventory clerks tend to focus their attention on any parts of the property that are already damaged, whereas what landlords require is an inventory that shows the property in it’s undamaged condition at the beginning of the tenancy. Only with concrete evidence that the property was in good condition to start with can the landlord show that the tenant is responsible for any change in condition - damage to the property.

Ordinary inventories tend to come with a dozen or so photographs by way of supporting visual evidence. It is simply not possible with a few photographs to categorically demonstrate the condition and cleanliness of every part of every wall, every metre of skirting board, or the inside of every kitchen cupboard. 

A New Inventory

I have been working closely with the Video Inventory Network on their video inventory training course, developing a system that enables inventory clerks to take an average of 60,000 still images per inventory to corroborate their work.

Useful Guidance From The Deposit Protection Schemes

I was very pleased last week that the deposit protection schemes have finally got together to offer some joint advice on the dispute process. The advice itself is very practical and if you are involved in a dispute, I would recommend you read it. Each scheme has published their own version, but I am assured the text is the same in each. Even I am not dull enough to compare them. Read the booklet here:

The Future Of Deposit Protection Disputes

I had a really enjoyable day last week giving an inventory masterclass to the experienced team at Inventory House in London’s Docklands, who had asked me to consult on the format and content of their inventories. Their inventory product is already very professional and the guys really know their business inside out, so we were able to delve very deep into what makes a great inventory, touching on subjects as diverse as how deposit protection adjudicators arrive at decisions and awards, how to maintain admissibility of evidence for criminal court and how language is used to describe phenomena in quantum mechanics.

One of the recurring themes of the day was whether the deposit protection dispute model as currently practiced is sustainable and how the inventory industry, and other interested parties, might be able to influence any developments.

Several questions kept recurring which included: 

Whether the methodology for resolving disputes through adjudication could be standardised, as there is a feeling that the standard of proof was interpreted differently across the schemes?

Whether the schemes could agree a baseline of expected lifespans for commonly claimed for items (such as carpet) in an average tenancy, to prevent landlords claiming with unrealistic expectations, or unnecessarily pursuing claims that are without merit?

A feeling that the trained inventory professional’s opinion is underused led to discussion of whether a (self?) regulated inventory industry adhering to common standards could remove some of the burden from the deposit protection schemes’ dispute resolution departments?

Answers on a postcard please...

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

As a landlord, the onus is on you to take action to avoid deposit disputes and to ensure that you win the ones that you cannot avoid. There are a few things that you can do that will really help.

Negotiating a Settlement in a Deposit Protection Dispute

If, at the end of the tenancy, you and your tenant cannot agree over the distribution of the deposit, tempers can flare. Often relations break down entirely between landlord and tenant and both sides are reduced to communicating by increasingly acrimonious emails.

If your relationship with your ex-tenant is strained, you could be missing out on your best opportunity to resolve the matter quickly and painlessly.

Landlord Assist

I am very pleased to say that ADR Solution is now helping Landlord Assist clients.