The short answer, in plain words
Yes. Nothing requires an inventory to be made by a professional clerk. What makes one useful is that it is thorough, dated, photographed item by item, and seen and signed by the tenant at the start. A landlord with a phone and an hour or two can produce that, and an app makes the photos, the order and the signature part of one record instead of loose files.
The value comes at the end. An inventory on its own proves little; a check-out done on the same rooms and items, compared line by line, is what turns “the carpet is ruined” into a specific, dated difference.
Why it matters: the end of a two-year tenancy
A tenant leaves after two years. There is a burn on the kitchen worktop, the oven needs a deep clean and a curtain pole is missing from the back bedroom. You want to keep part of the deposit. The tenant says the burn was there when they moved in. If the check-in shows the worktop unmarked in a close-up photo they signed for, the conversation is short. If the check-in says “kitchen: good condition”, it is your word against theirs, and the deposit scheme decides on the evidence in front of it.
There is a second reason to do it yourself. Under the Tenant Fees Act rules you cannot pass the cost of an inventory on to the tenant, so whatever a clerk charges comes out of your own pocket at every change of tenant.
How to do your own inventory, step by step
- Do it after the clean and before the tenant moves in, in daylight, with the property empty of your own clutter
- Go room by room in a fixed order, and include the places nobody lives in: the loft hatch, the meter cupboard, the garden, the garage, the outside tap and, in an HMO, the communal stairs
- For each item, record the condition and cleanliness in a few exact words (“two 3cm scratches on the left door”), with a wide photo of the room and a close-up of every mark
- Take the meter readings, list the keys handed over and test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on the day the tenancy starts
- Give the tenant the finished report and a short window to add comments, then get it signed. A signed report is much harder to dispute later
- At check-out, walk the same rooms in the same order, compare each item and allow for fair wear and tear before you work out any deduction
- Agree the deductions with the tenant, or raise a dispute with the deposit scheme if you cannot agree
Your options, compared honestly
A paper or Word template with phone photos. Free. Hard to compare at check-out, because the photos live apart from the text and the tenant’s signature is on a separate sheet, if anywhere.
An independent inventory clerk. Someone else spends the time, and an independent report carries weight with a tenant. You pay for every check-in and every check-out. For comparison, the clerk visits LetCompliance offers locally cost £95 for an inventory, £145 for an inventory with a check-in appointment and £85 for a check-out, plus £20 for a furnished property and £20 for each bedroom beyond the first.
A dedicated inventory app. Several exist, mostly priced for clerks and agents producing many reports. Compare the cost of a report with how often your tenants change, and check whether the check-out comparison is included.
Landlord software with inventories built in. The inventory sits with the tenancy and its deposit record, which is how LetCompliance does it.
How it works in LetCompliance
Rooms already laid out. Start an inventory and the rooms of a British property are already listed, each with its usual items: walls and ceiling, flooring, door, window and locks, light fittings, sockets, radiator, and what belongs in that room, down to the consumer unit and the smoke alarm in the hall. Every row starts as “not inspected”, so nothing is marked good until you look at it. Delete what the property does not have and add what is unusual.
Photos per item. Take photos with the camera or choose several from the gallery, and they attach to the item you are on.
Signed by the tenant. Send the report for signature and choose who signs: on a joint tenancy each tenant signs. The signing record comes with an audit certificate showing who signed and when.
Check-out and comparison. When you start the check-out, you choose the check-in it is measured against. The newest is picked for you, and on a re-let you can pick the one this tenant signed for instead. The check-out can start from that check-in’s rooms and items, and what changed is listed item by item.
A fair deduction. For each damaged item the deduction is worked out as replacement cost × remaining life ÷ total life × the tenant’s share. A carpet that costs £600 to replace, with an 8-year life and 5 years left, at a 50% tenant share, comes to £187.50. You choose the share from 100%, 75%, 50% or 25%, and fair wear and tear is never claimable.
The dispute pack. If you cannot agree, one PDF for TDS, DPS or mydeposits puts the deposit and its protection, a timeline, and both inventories with their photos together.
What it costs. Inventories come with Portfolio at £19 a month for up to 10 properties, Portfolio Plus at £29 for up to 20 and Professional at £49 for any number. They are open during the trial and in agency workspaces, but not on Single or Solo.
What the law says
GOV.UK’s “Fees you can charge as part of a tenancy” (updated 7 July 2026, read 20 October 2026) lists the payments a landlord in England may take from a tenant: rent, a refundable deposit and holding deposit, and a short list of others. It says plainly that you cannot charge your tenant any payment that is not on that list, and it gives requiring a tenant to buy an inventory service as an example of a prohibited payment.
GOV.UK’s “Deposit protection schemes and landlords” (read 20 October 2026) says the deposit must be protected within 30 days of getting it, must be returned within 10 days of you and the tenant agreeing how much they get back, and stays protected in the scheme while a dispute is settled. Neither page makes an inventory compulsory. It is your evidence, not a legal duty.
Common mistakes
- Writing “good condition” for a whole room. Describe each item and photograph each mark
- Skipping the tenant’s signature, which leaves the tenant free to say they never saw it
- Leaving the check-out for a week, by which time a cleaner or a contractor has changed what you are recording
- Claiming the full price of a new item for an old one. The deduction has to reflect the age of what was damaged
- Claiming for fair wear and tear, such as worn carpet on a stair after years of normal use
- Charging the tenant for the inventory itself
Do I need a professional inventory clerk?
No. A landlord’s own inventory can be just as useful if it is detailed, photographed item by item and signed by the tenant. A clerk saves you the time and is independent of both sides, which some landlords value in a dispute.
Can I charge the tenant for the inventory?
No. In England the inventory is not a permitted payment, so its cost stays with you.
What counts as fair wear and tear?
The deterioration that comes from normal, reasonable use over time, such as faded curtains or a carpet flattened along a walkway. It is not claimable at any share. Damage beyond that, such as a burn or a stain, can be, at a share that reflects the item’s age.
What LetCompliance does not do here
- Inventories are not on Single or Solo, only on Portfolio and above, the trial and agency workspaces
- You enter each item’s cost and lifespan. LetCompliance does not supply a table of lifespans or decide them for you
- The deduction and the dispute pack set out your case. The decision belongs to the tenant, or to the scheme’s adjudicator
- Clerk visits are local only, covering Crewe, Cheshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Chester, Warrington, Manchester, Liverpool, Wrexham, Derby, Nottingham and Birmingham
