When student landlords move to periodic tenancies under the Renters' Rights Act, they will lose an important tool for carrying out property inspections, one firm says.
Research from Inventory Base reveals 46% of landlords don't intend inspecting their properties more than once a year when fixed term assured shorthold tenancies are abolished.
They will be replaced with indefinite periodic arrangements and 26% will inspect every year, and 3% say they intend to do so less frequently.
However, 18% of landlords will inspect when a tenant flags a problem.
Prepare for new regime
The firm's operations director, Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, said: "As the Renters' Rights Act reshapes the private rental sector, landlords and agents will need to move beyond treating inspections as isolated reports and start building a continuous understanding of how their properties perform over time.
"With indefinite periodic tenancies replacing fixed terms, many properties may remain occupied for much longer without the traditional reset point that previously came with a new tenancy.
"That means property management can no longer rely on occasional snapshots of condition."
She added: "What landlords and agents will increasingly need is property intelligence — the continuous insight gained from HHSRS assessments, inspections, inventories and habitability checks throughout the life of a tenancy.
"By structuring inspections within a clear tenancy lifecycle framework, property managers can build the property intelligence needed to identify risks early, respond quickly to emerging issues and demonstrate that a home has been responsibly managed while it is occupied."
Landlords need regular checks
Inventory Base says the fixed-term renewal point has long served a practical function when running a tenancy.
That's because each time a tenancy ended and a new one began, landlords had a natural, defensible moment to carry out condition reviews.
They could also commission inventory reports and document the state of the property, but under the Renters' Rights Act, that checkpoint will disappear.
Alongside the removal of fixed terms, Section 21 'no-fault' evictions are being abolished which could see tenancies running longer with no formal break.
The firm says that local authorities will focus on maintenance patterns and documentation when looking into property complaints.
Use a lifecycle approach
Now landlords are being urged to follow a lifecycle approach to property evidence gathering.
That means landlords create a continuous operational record throughout the life of a tenancy rather than compiling reports at set intervals.
It says the model begins before tenants move in with an HHSRS risk assessment, followed by a detailed check-in and inventory to record the property’s condition.
A pre-tenancy inspection should include evidence, including photographs, of any repairs or cleaning.
Structured inspection schedule
From that baseline, an inspection should be carried out at three months to highlight potential mould or early maintenance issues before they worsen, it says.
Inspections then continue on a quarterly basis before switching to checking every six months – and this first check should include a Fitness for Human Habitation with the results recorded on the HHSRS risk profile.
These inspection records should include observations and any action that was taken.
That might include the arranging of repairs, monitoring a situation or advising the tenant, along with a brief account of the reasoning.
Where an issue is resolved, the documentation should record who acted, when and whether the matter was closed, and including photographs or written confirmation.
Landlords will be protected The bottom line is that Inventory Base says that under this framework, landlords will build a chronological record showing the safety and cleanliness of a property when the tenancy began.
There will also be a record of the risks being monitored and how hazards were dealt with.
Plus, what work was done for the property to be returned to the required standard before re-letting.
That audit trail, the firm argues, will carry as much weight in disputes and compliance checks as the physical condition of the property itself.
Plan for student landlords
Simon Thompson, the managing director of Accommodation for Students, said: "The Renters' Rights Act will scrap fixed-term tenancies, which means student landlords will no longer have a built-in renewal point to inspect a property and review its condition.
"This research shows nearly half of landlords plan to inspect just once a year or less under the new rules, which could leave you exposed if a dispute arises over damage or disrepair."
He added: "Instead of waiting for problems to be reported, you should carry out structured inspections at around three months in and then regularly throughout the tenancy, logging what you found and what action you took each time.
"It is more time consuming but having a continuous paper trail, covering everything from your initial inventory to maintenance decisions and habitability checks, will be your strongest defence if a tenant or local authority ever questions how you managed the property."
