Periodic Inspection Checklist: Walk the Occupied Home Against the Last Report

The mid tenancy periodic inspection process UK starts with written notice, then a walk of the occupied home against the last report — not a new inventory. You check leaks, damp, alarms and open tickets, raise work orders the same day, send the tenant the written findings, and book the next window. A Saturday pop-in with a phone-note that never becomes a ticket is not that file.

Saturday, Helen texts “I’ll pop in” after a WhatsApp. The last check-in sits in an email she cannot open on the doorstep. She notices a brown stain under the sink, says “I’ll sort it”, and leaves. Three months later the cupboard is swollen and the tenant says nobody ever wrote it down.

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

Which details belong on the written notice before you arrive?

Write the notice before you travel. Email or letter: the property, the purpose (periodic condition check — not check-in, not check-out, not a new inventory), the date and time window, who will attend, that you will photograph fabric and repairs not belongings, and one alternative slot. Send it at least 24 hours ahead; a week if they want to be present. Keep the sent copy.

A WhatsApp “Saturday ok?” is not the file. Copy the same words into email the same day. LTA 1985 s.11(6) is the implied access line: 24 hours’ notice in writing, reasonable time of day. NRLA’s periodic guide treats a week as kinder when they want to be in the room. Shelter (updated 1 May 2026) says they can offer another slot or agree key access. GOV.UK How to let: do not enter, even if they are out, without permission. If they refuse, offer another date and write it. NRLA: do not walk in after a refusal.

How do you walk against the last report instead of starting a new inventory?

Open the last report on site — the check-in or the last periodic — and walk the same rooms in the same order. Record changes, not a second baseline. An occupied visit is an overview: obvious damage, open tickets, and safety items. Do not rewrite a deposit schedule or grade every cushion.

This is the surprising bit. TDS says do not create a brand-new inventory mid-tenancy — two baselines confuse the later file. The original check-in stays the comparison document at the end. This visit is a snapshot stored beside that file. For the empty-home baseline, use how to do a property inventory check-in. The empty-home comparison at the end is the check-out report against the check-in file — a different day. In practice, Helen’s last PDF on the phone is the map, not a blank form.

Which leaks, damp, alarms, and open tickets do you log on site?

On the occupied walk, look for leaks, damp, alarms, and every still-open ticket. Photograph each change wide then close. Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms as good practice; if a unit is dead or the tenant reports a fault, log repair or replace. Do not score a 21-hazard table on this visit.

For example, look under sinks, around baths, and at gutters you can see. A musty cupboard or a dark patch is a line, not a lecture. NRLA lists leaks, damp and gutters as the useful mid-visit checks. Alarms: the statutory working-order check is on the day a new tenancy begins. GOV.UK’s smoke and CO booklet then says repair or replace once informed and the unit is faulty. A mid-visit test catches a dead unit; it is not a second start-of-tenancy duty. Typical mistake: a cleanliness lecture while the brown ring under the sink goes unlogged.

How do findings become work orders the same day?

Each finding becomes a work order the same day — a ticket a vendor must close, not a chat message. Write the room, what changed versus the last report, the photo, the urgency, and who you will book. Do not leave “I’ll sort it” in the car park. Then stop. The full repair-ticket process is a different guide.

Same-day means you raise the ticket, not that you become the plumber. For intake, triage, written ack and close pack, use how to manage tenant repair requests without losing them in chat. Do one ticket per finding. Do not bundle a dead alarm and a dripping tap into one “kitchen stuff” note. GOV.UK How to rent a safe home asks tenants to report hazards in writing — your ticket is that trail from the visit.

What written findings do you send the tenant?

Send the written findings the same day or the next working day: what you saw, what you will fix, what you asked them to do, and the photos of changes. Invite a short written comment if they disagree. Courtesy in UK landlord guides is about seven days — not a statute.

Do write it down so both sides know who does what. NRLA’s mid-year note is the same habit: follow up in writing. If a scheme later asks for mid-tenancy evidence, this email sits beside the signed check-in — see how to assemble a deposit dispute evidence pack when that file starts, not today. The risk is a voice note in the car and a promise to “type it up Sunday”.

When do you put the next inspection window in the diary?

Book the next window before you close the file. Typical cadence is three to six months, earlier if you are watching damp or a live leak. Tell the tenant it is the next routine visit, still with fresh written notice when the time comes. Monthly visits without a reason feel intrusive.

There is no statutory minimum or cap. Industry practice is often a first visit around 8–12 weeks, then every three to six months. Citizens Advice gives 8am–6pm as an example of a reasonable time. Check any insurance cadence; do not invent a legal interval. Too-frequent visits can look like harassment. Scotland’s notice clock can differ — stay on this England process.

Workflow: Written notice → Walk the last report → Leaks / damp / alarms / open tickets → Same-day work orders → Findings to the tenant → Next window in the diary.

Success bar: dated notice, last report walked, leaks/damp/alarms/tickets logged, same-day work orders, findings sent, next window named. Verify that file before you close it. That checklist is the confidence test — then stop before a check-in, a check-out, or a deposit pack. IziRento is operations software for that record — property, lease, inspections and requests — not a clerk or a lawyer.