Oxford has an unusually high proportion of shared housing. Students at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes, researchers, hospital staff and young professionals all compete for rooms in shared houses across Headington, Cowley, East Oxford and Jericho. Many of these properties are houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), and HMOs are licensed and regulated by Oxford City Council. Landlords and agents should always check the council’s current licensing requirements for each property.
Room-by-room, plus communal areas
In a shared house with individual tenancies, each tenant is responsible for their own room and shares responsibility for communal spaces. The inventory should reflect that: a complete, self-contained record for each let room, and a separate record for the kitchen, bathrooms, hallways and garden that everyone shares.
The changeover problem
Rooms in Oxford HMOs often change hands at different times of year. When one tenant leaves, the clerk should record their room in full and take a dated snapshot of the communal areas, without a full inspection of other tenants’ occupied rooms. Over time, those snapshots show when communal damage happened and narrow down who could be responsible.
Fire safety and licensing items
HMOs carry extra safety requirements. A good inventory records the presence and apparent condition of fire doors and self-closers, interlinked alarms, fire blankets and escape routes at every visit. It is not a fire risk assessment, but it is a useful dated record that equipment was in place.
Furniture and fair wear and tear
Shared houses tend to be furnished and see heavy use. Recording the age and condition of beds, mattresses, sofas and white goods allows fair apportionment at the end, taking account of normal wear and the age of each item.
Independent inventories across Oxford
We cover all OX postcode districts, including Headington, Cowley and the surrounding villages. See our property inventory services in Oxford and our student and shared house inventories.
Interested in inventory work around Oxford?
We are building our local network of clerks. Find out how to become a property inventory clerk with us.
