“My Landlord Wants To Carry Out An Inspection, What Is This?”

During your time living in a rented property, whoever manages the property – either the landlord themselves or the letting agent on their behalf – will schedule regular inspections with you to ensure the property is in a good condition.

What is it?

A property inspection, in simple terms, is where a Landlord or Letting Agent visit a property to ensure that the property is in a good state and all appliances and features are in good working order. They’re also important as the Landlord or Letting Agent can grasp whether the tenants are behaving themselves and treating the property as they’re supposed too.

How often are they?

Inspections, more often than not, are arranged on a quarterly basis, so every three months of the tenancy agreement. If you’ve been a tenant for a longer period of time and have passed a number of inspections, your Landlord or Letting Agent may reduce the frequency of your inspections to every 6 months rather than every 3 months.

If your Landlord or Letting Agent is requesting to inspect your property ‘too regularly’, e.g. every 2-4 weeks, this could be classed as harassment and you may be within your rights to file a formal complaint. On the other hand, if your property is in need of maintenance and repairs than your Landlord or Letting Agent have valid reasons to visit the property more frequently but only until the issues are resolved.

What is looked for during an inspection? 

During an inspection, the Landlord or Letting Agent will be looking for a whole range of things. Here are a few examples:

• Any possible repairs/maintenance problems
• Any leaks/dampness/mould
• General condition of fittings that were provided in the property by the Landlord e.g. White goods, carpets, curtains etc.
• Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
• Potential illegal behaviour, e.g. Drugs
• General tidiness/mess

What is Inspection Notice?

To carry out a property inspection, the Landlord or Letting Agent must provide the tenant with notice. The tenant must receive a minimum of 24 hours notice before anyone accesses the property. The inspection must also be scheduled at a “reasonable time” of the day – most commonly between standard working hours such as 9am – 5:30pm.

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