Check-Ins & Check-Outs · Lincoln & Lincolnshire
The record both sides sign.
The inventory and schedule of condition before the let, the check-in on day one, and the check-out walked against it at the end. Same clerk, same wording, same numbering, so the two compare row for row.
- Inventory from
- £75+VAT
- Check-in
- Included
- Check-out from
- £75+VAT
- Report
- Next day
The Ladder · Four Visits
Sold against the tenancy, not the document.
Each visit is written against the one before it, so the record never starts again from blank.
Before the let
FlagshipInventory & Schedule of Condition
Room by room, ceiling to floor. Every fixture, fitting and item, graded and photographed with an exhibit number.
This is the document everything later is measured against. Get it wrong and the check-out is worthless.
Agent or landlord · per tenancy
Day one
Check-In
Meter readings photographed, keys catalogued and counted, alarms tested, and the tenant walked through the inventory and signed onto it.
The tenant agreeing on the day is what stops the argument eighteen months later.
Agent · per tenancy
During
RecurringMid-Term Inspection
A short visit every three to six months. Condition, obvious maintenance, damp and mould, and whether the tenancy is being kept to.
Same clerk, same rows, so the mid-term reads against the check-in rather than from memory.
Agent · 2 to 4 times a year
End of tenancy
Check-Out & Comparison
The same rows as the check-in, walked again. Changes appended, never rewritten. Fair wear and tear separated from damage.
This is the one that reaches an adjudicator, so it is the one written to be read by someone who was not there.
Agent · per tenancy
The Schedule Row · Our Device
Only the changed rows light up.
The check-in entry is never edited. At check-out the same row is walked again, the new entry sits beside the old one, and the change column says whether it is beyond fair wear and tear. Where nothing changed, it says so. An adjudicator can read the whole tenancy in one pass.
Illustrative · Living room · check-in vs check-out
In · Good. White emulsion, no marks.
No change
In · Good. Light grey emulsion, one small filled hole left of window.
Out · Fair. Two picture-hook holes, unfilled, above sofa.
Beyond wear · tenant
In · Good. Grey twist pile, professionally cleaned.
Out · Fair. Light traffic-line wear, no stains.
Fair wear and tear
In · Good. uPVC double glazed, both handles lock, seals intact.
No change
In · Good. White, TRV fitted, no leaks.
No change
| Ref | Item | Check-in | Check-out | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LR.01 | Ceiling | Good. White emulsion, no marks. | Unchanged | No change |
| LR.02 | Walls | Good. Light grey emulsion, one small filled hole left of window. | Fair. Two picture-hook holes, unfilled, above sofa. | Beyond wear · tenant |
| LR.03 | Carpet | Good. Grey twist pile, professionally cleaned. | Fair. Light traffic-line wear, no stains. | Fair wear and tear |
| LR.04 | Window | Good. uPVC double glazed, both handles lock, seals intact. | Unchanged | No change |
| LR.05 | Radiator | Good. White, TRV fitted, no leaks. | Unchanged | No change |
On Every Visit
What goes in an inventory report.
- Every room, including hallway, landing, cupboards, meter cupboard, garden, bins and any garage or outbuilding
- Every item, top to bottom: ceiling, walls, woodwork, floor, windows, doors, fixtures, then contents if furnished
- A grade per item on one scale, Good, Fair, Poor or New, and a plain description beside it
- A dated, exhibit-numbered photograph for every line, referenced from the row
- Keys, meter readings and smoke and carbon monoxide alarm tests on page one, each photographed
- Cleanliness, stated and photographed, because cleaning is the most common deduction and the most commonly refused
- The tenant's signature on the day, after a walk-through
EXH 004 · Bedroom 1 · check-in
Who Books It
Same record, three doors.
For letting agents
One clerk for the whole ladder. Keys from the branch, tenant notice handled, report the next working day, and the check-out compares row for row because the same person wrote both.
Everything for agentsFor self-managing landlords
An inventory you did not write yourself is the one an adjudicator believes. Book it once; the check-in is included and the check-out is priced now, not later.
Everything for landlordsHMOs and student lets
Rooms recorded individually, communal areas separated, and the licence conditions that a mid-term is expected to evidence. Lincoln is a university city; we do a lot of these.
HMO inspectionsPrices · Plus VAT
By bedrooms. Nothing on top.
Inventory & schedule of condition, with the check-in included free when booked together. Furnished adds £20 + VAT. Travel inside Lincolnshire is included, and the quote is the invoice.
Prices are shown plus VAT, with the VAT-inclusive figure beside them. VAT is charged at 20%.
Inventory & check-in
Check-in included- Studio / 1 bedroom£75£90 inc
- 2 bedrooms£90£108 inc
- 3 bedrooms£110£132 inc
- 4 bedrooms£135£162 inc
- 5+ bedrooms / HMOPriced per roomQuoted
Check-out & comparison
- Studio / 1 bedroom£75£90 inc
- 2 bedrooms£85£102 inc
- 3 bedrooms£100£120 inc
- 4 bedrooms£120£144 inc
- 5+ bedrooms / HMOPriced per roomQuoted
Asked & answered.
Same idea, different market. An inventory report, or tenancy inventory, is the residential term, used for a tenancy, and it usually lists contents as well as condition. A schedule of condition is the commercial term, used for a lease, and it is condition only, since a shop unit does not come with furniture. For a residential let, we produce one document that does both jobs.
Yes, when it is booked with the inventory. The inventory is from £75 plus VAT by bedrooms, and the check-in on day one, with the tenant present and signing, is part of that price. Booked on its own, a check-in is £75 plus VAT.
No. Since the Tenant Fees Act 2019 the cost of an inventory, check-in or check-out cannot be charged to a tenant or taken from the deposit. The landlord or agent pays.
A one- or two-bedroom flat takes about an hour on site; a four-bedroom house two to three. The written report, with every photograph embedded and numbered, is with you the next working day. Anything that needs your attention is emailed the same day rather than held back for the report.
It is the point of booking the ladder from one company. The check-out is walked by the same clerk, against the same rows, using the same grading scale, so the two documents compare line by line. If the check-in was written by someone else we can still walk a check-out against it, and we will say where its wording makes a comparison weak.
No. An inventory, check-in or check-out records condition, photographed and dated, without an opinion on structure, value or whether anything is defective. If the record shows damp or mould we point at it and our sister company The Damp & Mould Man diagnoses it.
Read Before You Book
Worth ten minutes.
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.
ReadBook the first one.
Most agents who book an inventory book the whole ladder. Tell us the property and the tenancy dates.
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