DIY Landlord Inventory vs a Professional Clerk: How to Choose the File Route

Friday before keys, the landlord either writes a thin file an adjudicator may treat as one-sided, or pays a clerk and still cannot pair check-out to a missing start line. A DIY landlord inventory vs professional inventory clerk UK decision is who produces the start file — not how to write every room. Write DIY or clerk on this property first. Then meet the three weights, or book the clerk where the contents list or first-file risk justifies the fee.

Friday. Claire’s unfurnished two-bed in Reading. Two hours with a Word file and dated photos, or about £150 for a clerk. She guesses and writes “walls OK”. Twelve months later a clerk walks check-out against that start line. The tenant says the scuff was already there. There was no comment window. In practice both reports in the same tenancy folder would have been the file.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

What does an adjudicator weigh on the start file?

They weigh three things: whether a third party wrote the file, or you closed that gap with a comment-chance trail; dated photos that confirm the written comments; and proof the tenant saw the file and could agree or mark differences. Job title alone does not decide the weight.

An inventory clerk is a third-party inspector who writes the start and end reports. The joint scheme (TDS / DPS / mydeposits) treats the typical best set as a third-party clerk, dated photos, and a tenant signature. A landlord file is not discarded if the tenant saw it and could comment. TDS judges quality whoever wrote it.

Do score those three weights before keys. Do not assume DIY always loses. TenancyPilot: a sloppy clerk PDF can lose to a signed, dated DIY file. Dated photos sit next to the written line; how you shoot them is inventory photograph standards.

When to stay with a DIY landlord inventory?

DIY is enough when the let is unfurnished or lightly furnished, you can give about one to three hours, and you will meet the bar every time: specific condition words, dated photos, and a sent comment window. Experienced landlords can stay in-house here.

No statute forces a clerk. mydeposits: an inventory is not a legal requirement, but without a start file a deduction is hard to prove. NRLA: anyone can create one; a clerk helps if you lack time or experience. Hiscox: experienced landlords might DIY; newer landlords may want a detailed first file.

Do stay in-house on a simple empty let if you will spend the time. Do not pay a clerk on an empty studio you could finish in two hours — unless this is your first file. Latch: DIY suits a basic unfurnished let if you are methodical; guides cite about 1–3 hours. For example, Claire’s two-bed is that case if she writes condition, not “OK”, and sends a comment window.

When does a professional inventory clerk earn the fee?

Book a clerk when the contents list is long, fixtures are higher-value, this is your first inventory, or you expect friction. The fee buys independence and a standard format — you are not learning the bar on a sofa claim.

Do book the clerk on a furnished let, higher-value fixtures, or your first file. Do not recharge the tenant. GOV.UK Tenant Fees Act guidance: the landlord may do the inventory but cannot require the tenant to pay. Guides commonly cite roughly £80–£200 for a typical check-in — competitor practice, not an IziRento price. AIIC (Association of Independent Inventory Clerks) is a quality signal, not a duty.

Typical mistake: a camera-roll dump on a furnished first let. How you write the room schedule — if you stay DIY — is the check-in inventory. This page only chooses the producer.

What is the minimum DIY bar if you stay in-house?

Stay in-house only if you will write place-specific condition, put dated photos next to those words, send the file, and keep a written comment window — commonly about seven days. A thirty-minute walk that says “good throughout” fails this bar.

Do write specific room and item condition, not “good” or “OK”. Do put dated photos that confirm those words. Do walk with the tenant or send a written window — commonly about seven days — and write amendments on the same lines. Name who produced the report on the cover sheet. TAS: 2–3 hours for a 3-bed; 30 minutes is a weak file.

Do not leave the file unsigned with no sent date. Named fails: vague “good”, no photos, no comment chance. A Word file is enough.

How do you store either report so check-out can compare?

Put whichever report you chose — your Word or PDF, or the clerk PDF — in one folder with the lease, named by property and start date. Email the tenant their copy. Open that file at check-out. Do not start a new template. Do file either report with the tenancy.

Do keep the same route both ends if you can. NRLA and TDS want the same person or company so the comparison is like-for-like. If you mix, the start file must already meet the bar. How you walk the empty home is the tenancy check-out report. Labelling a later scheme pack is the deposit dispute evidence pack.

Do not leave the PDF in email and the photos on a phone. Success bar: producer named; three weights met; DIY only if unfurnished with 1–3 hours; clerk if furnished, first, or high-value; same route both ends; either PDF with the tenancy. Verify that checklist, then stop.

Name producer → three weights → DIY if unfurnished + time + bar → clerk if furnished / first / high-value → same route → store → stop

A workspace that keeps the lease and inspections together can hold either PDF next to the tenancy.