Inventory and Schedule of Condition: A Photo Guide

An inventory and schedule of condition records what is in a property and what state it is in at the start of a tenancy. At the end, it is compared against the property as the tenant leaves it. Written descriptions matter, but in a dispute the photos usually decide it, and many landlords discover too late that their photos do not show what they need them to. Here is how to take photos that still work two years later.

Before you start

• Clean the property first. Photos of dirt at move-in make it hard to claim for dirt at move-out.
• Take photos in daylight, with lights on, and with the camera's date and time set correctly.
• Use a camera or phone that records the date and time in the file. Do not strip that information when you transfer the photos.
• Have the written inventory to hand, and photograph in the same order as the written list.

Wide, medium, close

For each room, take three layers of photos:

1. Wide shots from each corner, so the whole room is covered and anyone can see where everything is.
2. Medium shots of each wall, each item of furniture, each appliance, each window and door.
3. Close-ups of anything already marked, worn or damaged, with something in the frame for scale, such as a ruler or coin.

The close-up without the wide shot is the classic mistake: a picture of a scratch that could be anywhere. Take the medium shot that shows where the scratch is, then the close-up.

The places people forget

• Inside the oven, fridge, freezer, dishwasher and washing machine.
• Carpets and floors, including under movable furniture.
• Walls behind doors, skirting boards and window sills.
• Bathroom sealant, grout, taps and plugholes.
• Ceilings, especially for damp patches.
• Garden, outbuildings, bins, and the condition of any outdoor furniture.
• Meter readings, smoke alarms, and the keys handed over.

Link photos to the written entries

A folder of four hundred unlabelled photos is hard to use. Number the entries in the written inventory, and name or group the photos to match, so "Bedroom 2, item 7, wardrobe door" leads straight to the right images. The written description should say what the photo shows: "Wardrobe, left door: 3 cm scratch at handle height, see photos 2-7a and 2-7b".

Get the tenant's agreement

Give the tenant the inventory and photos at move-in, with a set number of days to add comments. Record what they said, or that they said nothing. A signed or acknowledged inventory carries far more weight than one only the landlord ever saw. This fits into the wider set of move-in documents described in the tenant move-in pack.

Store them where they will survive

Move the photos off your phone on the same day, to storage that is backed up and linked to the tenancy record. Keep the original files, not compressed copies from a messaging app, which often strip the date and reduce detail. If you use a case-based system for your tenancies, the photos, inventory and acknowledgement can sit on the tenancy record itself.

At the end, repeat the same shots

At checkout, photograph from the same positions, in the same order, in similar light. Side-by-side comparisons are the most persuasive evidence there is. The remaining steps are in the end-of-tenancy checklist.