For UK letting agents, inventory clerks & landlords
A property inventory report is the evidence your deposit deduction stands or falls on. Photograph the property, and the AI drafts the room-by-room schedule of condition with every image attached to the line it belongs to — check-in, mid-term and check-out.
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A property inventory report is a dated, photographic record of a rental property’s contents and condition at a fixed point in a tenancy. It is not a formality — it is the document a deposit adjudicator reads when a tenant disputes a deduction.
Every UK tenancy deposit is protected in a government-approved scheme, and each of those schemes — TDS, DPS and MyDeposits — resolves disputes on documentary evidence rather than recollection. The burden of proof sits with the landlord or agent claiming the deduction.
That makes the report a pair, not a single document. The check-in report establishes the baseline. The check-out report records what came back. The difference between them, minus fair wear and tear, is the deduction you can actually defend.
Where claims usually fail is not the absence of a report but the absence of proof inside it. A written line reading “carpet: good condition” with no photograph is an assertion. A timestamped image attached to that line is evidence.
Four steps. The slow part — writing the schedule of condition — is the part the AI does.
Walk the property and photograph each room, plus every item of furniture, appliance, meter and key set. Capture a wide shot for the room and close-ups of anything already marked, worn or damaged.
The AI analyses each photo and writes the room-by-room condition entries, describing surfaces, fixtures and any defects it detects, with the supporting image attached to the line it belongs to.
Check the draft, correct anything the AI has read differently to you, and add the opening meter readings, key count and alarm test results.
Generate the branded PDF and send it to the tenant for review and signature, so the record is agreed rather than merely asserted.
Three report types, one continuous record of the property.
Produced before or on the day the tenant moves in. This is the baseline every later claim is measured against, so it is the one report you cannot afford to leave unsigned.
Taken during the tenancy. Its job is early warning: catching a small leak, a failing seal or a ventilation problem while it is still cheap, and confirming the property is being looked after.
Produced at the end of the tenancy and compared line by line against the check-in. Anything that changed beyond fair wear and tear is what a deduction can reasonably cover — and the paired photographs are what make that case without argument.
Adjudicators expect a property to age. Carpets thin, paint scuffs, seals discolour. A deduction has to separate that ordinary decline from actual damage, and the only way to draw the line credibly is a dated image from each end of the tenancy.
More on choosing and running inventory software in the UK lettings market.
A property inventory report is a dated, photographic record of a rental property's contents and condition at a specific point in a tenancy. It lists every room, its fixtures, fittings, furnishings and decorative condition, alongside meter readings, key counts and smoke alarm checks. Its purpose is evidential: when a tenancy ends, the check-out report is compared against the check-in report, and the difference between them is what a deposit scheme adjudicator uses to decide whether a deduction is fair.
No single statute makes an inventory report compulsory. In practice it is close to essential: if a tenant disputes a deposit deduction, the burden of proof sits with the landlord or agent, and adjudicators at TDS, DPS and MyDeposits decide on documentary evidence. Without a check-in report the tenant has seen and signed, there is usually nothing to prove the property's original condition, and the deduction commonly fails.
At minimum: the property address and tenancy dates; a room-by-room schedule of condition covering walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors and fixtures; an itemised list of any furniture and appliances with their condition; timestamped photographs of every item and area recorded; opening meter readings for gas, electricity and water; the number of keys and fobs handed over; and confirmation that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms were tested. It should end with space for the tenant to review, comment on and sign the record.
A check-in report records the property's condition at the start of the tenancy and is the baseline everything else is measured against. A mid-term or interim report is taken during the tenancy to catch maintenance issues early and confirm the property is being looked after. A check-out report records the condition at the end, and is compared line by line against the check-in to identify damage beyond fair wear and tear.
Written by hand, a full inventory for a two-bedroom property typically takes a few hours between the visit and the write-up. With The Property AI you photograph each room on your phone, the AI analyses the images and drafts the schedule of condition, and you review and publish a branded PDF. Most reports are finished before you have left the property.
Yes. Serve the check-in report to the tenant at the start of the tenancy and give them a reasonable window to review it, comment on anything they disagree with, and sign. An unsigned inventory carries far less weight in an adjudication than one the tenant has had the opportunity to challenge and has accepted.
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