Guides · Read Before You Book
The record, explained.
What goes in a record, how it is read when there is a dispute, how often a property should be looked at, and what a survey does and does not tell you. Written by the people who write the records.
All Guides · 28
Five categories. Start with yours.
EPCs & energy
Ratings, the law, and what actually moves a D to a C.
How long does an EPC last, and when do you need a new one?
Ten years from the date it is lodged. The exceptions, how to check yours for free, and the three situations where a valid certificate still is not enough.
ReadYour EPC says D. What does that actually mean?
A D is legal to let today and may not be for long. What the bands mean, where the proposed 2030 threshold sits, and what typically moves a D to a C.
ReadEPCs for landlords: the minimum rating, exemptions and penalties
What rating you need to let a property, how the exemption register works, what the penalties are, and what is likely coming.
ReadHow to improve an EPC rating without wasting money
The measures that move the score most per pound, the ones that are usually not worth it for the rating alone, and the order to do them in.
ReadSelling a house: when you need the EPC and what buyers read into it
The certificate has to exist before marketing, not before completion. What a low rating does to a sale, and whether it is worth improving first.
ReadWhat is an EPC certificate, and what is actually on it?
The rating, the potential rating, the running costs, the features table and the recommendations. What each part of an EPC certificate means, who needs one, and what it does not tell you.
ReadHow to check the EPC register, and how to find an assessor
Every EPC in England and Wales is public and free to look up. How to find yours in a minute, what to do when the entry is wrong or missing, and how to choose an assessor without overpaying.
ReadHow much is an EPC, and why the cheapest quote often is not
What an EPC costs across the UK and in Lincolnshire, the four things that move the price, what should always be included, and how the cheap headline figures work.
ReadInspections
Intervals, notice, HMOs and empty property.
Mid-term inspections: how often, what to record, and the notice rules
The interval, the notice, the checklist, and why the mid-term is the visit that stops month-four problems becoming month-eighteen bills.
ReadHow often can a landlord inspect a property, and what notice is needed?
The notice rules, the sensible interval, what a landlord may and may not do during a visit, and where insurers and lenders set their own requirements.
ReadEmpty property: what your insurer expects you to do
Unoccupied property cover almost always carries an inspection condition. What the intervals typically are, what has to be recorded, and how claims get declined.
ReadHMO inspections: what to check, and what a licensing officer looks for
The condition and safety points that matter in a shared house, how often to visit, and why the file between licence renewals is the thing that saves you.
ReadThe mid-term inspection checklist
Everything worth recording on a routine visit, in the order a clerk works through it, and the three things people forget every time.
ReadDeposits & tenancies
Inventories, wear and tear, and how disputes are decided.
What a check-in inventory must include, and why most fall short
The seven things a check-in inventory needs before it will carry a deposit claim, and the three ways a home-made one usually fails.
ReadFair wear and tear vs damage: how deposit adjudicators decide
What counts as wear and tear, what counts as damage, why betterment is never allowed, and how an inventory makes the difference provable.
ReadDeposit disputes: how adjudicators actually decide
Who decides, what they read, why most landlord claims fail, and the five deductions that come up again and again.
ReadNine ways landlords lose a deposit claim before the tenancy starts
Most failed deposit claims are lost on day one, not at check-out. The nine most common failures, and what each one costs.
ReadWhat does an inventory clerk actually do?
The four visits, what each one produces, why independence is the point, and what an inventory clerk is not.
ReadThe Tenant Fees Act: what a landlord can and cannot charge
The permitted payments, the banned ones, the deposit caps, and where inventory and check-out fees sit.
ReadBuying a house
Surveys, viewings, and what a report is really telling you.
House survey cost: what you pay, and what you actually get
Typical prices for RICS Level 1, 2 and 3 reports, why a mortgage valuation is not a survey, and how to decide which one a property needs.
ReadLevel 2 vs Level 3 survey: which one does this house need?
A practical test based on the age, construction and condition of the property, rather than on your budget or the estate agent's suggestion.
ReadWhat to look for when viewing a house
The things worth twenty minutes of a second viewing, in the order a professional would look at them, and the ones that genuinely do not matter.
ReadHouse viewing checklist: what to take, and what to check
A room-by-room checklist you can work through on a second viewing, with the four things worth taking with you.
ReadSnagging a new build: what it is, when to do it, what it costs
Why a new build still needs inspecting, the difference between snags and defects, and how the warranty period actually works.
ReadCommercial leases
Schedules of condition and dilapidations, explained plainly.
A schedule of condition on a commercial lease: what it does, and what it doesn't
How a schedule of condition caps a tenant's repairing liability, why the solicitor asks for it, what an interim and an exit record add, and what it is not.
ReadCommercial EPCs: what a non-domestic certificate is, and who can do one
Non-domestic EPCs work differently from the home version: three assessment levels, a different qualification, and an E minimum that already applies to existing commercial leases.
ReadDilapidations explained: what a claim is, and how to cap it
What a dilapidations claim is, when it arrives, the protocol it follows, and why a schedule of condition at the start is the cheapest defence there is.
ReadWhat a schedule of condition costs, and when it is worth it
Typical prices by unit size, what drives them, and the simple test for whether the document will pay for itself.
ReadWho It Is For
Start from where you are.
AUD.01
For landlords
Self-managing? Start with what a check-in inventory must include.
GoAUD.02
For letting agents
One clerk for the whole ladder, and mid-terms run as a round.
GoAUD.03
For buyers
What a survey costs, what to look for at a viewing, and when you need a surveyor.
GoAUD.04
For commercial tenants
A schedule of condition before you sign, not after.
Go