What Adjudicators Actually Want to See: An Evidence Checklist for Check-In and Check-Out

“It is not what is written in the tenancy agreement that decides the outcome, it is what can be evidenced.” — Propertymark

Around 4.7 million deposits are currently protected in England and Wales, with an average value of £1,175. Only around 1% of tenancies end up in adjudication — roughly 46,950 cases a year — but for the landlords and agents involved, the outcome rests entirely on the paperwork they can produce. TDS figures show the most common claim categories are cleaning (54%), damage (49%), redecoration (31%), gardening (14%) and rent arrears (10%); DPS data shows cleaning claims at 29.38%. Whichever scheme is used, the pattern is the same: cleaning and damage dominate, and both are exactly the categories where good evidence wins or loses a case.

Check-in: build the baseline

A check-in report that will stand up months or years later needs to include:

• A written report covering every room, not just the obviously significant ones
• Item-level descriptions rather than broad summaries
• Cleanliness recorded on a defined scale, not a single subjective word
• Dated photographs showing both good and bad condition — not only the flattering angles
• Meter readings at the point of check-in
• A record of keys and fobs issued
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms confirmed present and tested
• Signature or acknowledgement from both landlord/agent and tenant

During the tenancy: keep the record alive

The evidence trail shouldn’t go quiet between check-in and check-out. Periodic inspections, a maintenance log, and any correspondence with the tenant about the property’s condition all add weight to the eventual claim — or the eventual defence against one.

Check-out: make it comparable

The check-out report only does its job if it can be compared directly against the check-in report. That means:

• The same structure and level of detail as the check-in report
• Photographs taken from comparable angles and distances to the originals
• A clear separation between fair wear and tear and genuine damage
• Final meter readings and a reconciliation of keys returned
• Any costs claimed substantiated with quotes or invoices
• The report dated and, ideally, acknowledged by the tenant

Five things that lose claims

• Claiming for fair wear and tear, which is never deductible
• Charging the full replacement cost for an item that was already used or aged
• A vague or generic check-in report with nothing concrete to compare against
• Photographs that aren’t comparable — different angles, different lighting, no dates
• Relying on clauses in the tenancy agreement instead of evidence of actual condition

The purpose of a good inventory is to prevent disputes, not to win them. A thorough, comparable, well-photographed report rarely needs to go anywhere near an adjudicator — because both sides can already see, in black and white, what changed and what didn’t.