Ask any experienced letting agent which parts of a tenancy generate the most avoidable admin and the answer is rarely the dramatic ones. It is the utility bill nobody can attribute, the missing window key at check-out, and the smoke alarm that turns out not to have been tested. All three are covered in a few lines of a good inventory report, and all three are the lines most often skipped by a clerk in a hurry or an agent skimming the PDF.
Meter readings: what a proper record looks like
A meter reading in an inventory report should consist of four things: the meter type and location, the serial number, the reading itself, and a photograph of the meter face that shows the reading clearly. The photograph is not optional. A typed number with no image is a claim; a photograph of the display with a visible timestamp is evidence.
For electricity, note whether the meter is single or dual rate and record both registers if so. For smart meters, the display may need to be cycled to the correct screen; a clerk who knows this will record the cumulative reading rather than the current usage figure. For gas, note whether the reading is in cubic feet or cubic metres, because suppliers treat them differently. For water, note whether the property is metered at all; many are not, and recording “no water meter” is itself useful information.
The reason this matters is the gap between tenancies. When a tenant disputes a final bill, or a new tenant is billed for a previous occupant’s usage, the only independent record of the reading on the day of handover is the inventory report. Suppliers accept a dated, photographed reading from a third-party clerk. They rarely accept a landlord’s recollection.
Keys: list, count, photograph
Every key, fob, card and permit handed to the tenant should be recorded: what it is for, how many, and a photograph of the full set laid out. Where keys are unlabelled, the clerk should test them and describe them by function rather than appearance. “Three keys” is not a record. “One front door Yale-type key, one front door mortice key, one rear patio door key, one window key (fits all ground floor windows), one meter cupboard key, one communal entrance fob” is.
At check-out, the same list is worked through and each item confirmed as returned or not. This is where an incomplete check-in record costs money. If the tenant returns four keys and the report says “keys handed over”, the landlord cannot prove there were five. If the report lists five by function, the missing one is identified, the replacement cost is defensible, and if it is a front door key the landlord has a clear case for a lock change.
Agents should also record which keys the agency retains and which the landlord holds. Tenants are entitled to know who else can access the property, and a clear record protects the agency if entry is ever disputed.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: the compliance item
Since 2015, private landlords in England have been required to have at least one smoke alarm on each storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers). The alarms must be in working order on the first day of every new tenancy. Since 2022 that carbon monoxide requirement has extended to gas boilers and heaters, and landlords must repair or replace alarms once told they are faulty.
The inventory clerk is very often the only independent person in the property on day one, and their record of the alarm test is the landlord’s evidence of compliance. A good report lists each alarm by location and type, states that it was tested and the result, and photographs it. It also notes anything relevant: an alarm with a missing cover, one that is clearly past its expiry date, a room with a wood burner and no CO alarm.
An alarm recorded as failing a test is not a problem with the report; it is the report doing its job. It gives the agency a same-day action and a record that the fault was identified and addressed. An alarm not tested at all leaves the landlord exposed to a fine of up to £5,000 per breach and, far more seriously, to the consequences if something goes wrong.
Other safety items worth recording
While not always required, a thorough check-in will also note the location of the fuse board and whether it is labelled; the location of the stopcock and whether it turns; the gas emergency control valve; and the presence and date of any fire blanket or extinguisher in an HMO. It will record the dates on the gas safety certificate, EICR and EPC where these are on display or provided. None of this takes long and all of it has, at some point, been the detail that resolved a problem months later.
Making sure it happens
When instructing a clerk, ask specifically whether meter photographs, an itemised key schedule and alarm testing are standard in their reports. They should be. When the report arrives, check those three sections before filing it. If a meter was inaccessible, arrange access and get the reading recorded. If a key was missing, cut it. If an alarm failed, replace it and record that you did. Ten minutes on the day of check-in closes off a disproportionate number of the tenancy’s future headaches.
