According to industry experts, poor inventories currently cost UK landlords around £12 million per year in lost claims due to the fact that the absence of prepared evidence counts against them in deposit disputes. Since the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme was introduced back in 2007, it has been firmly incumbent upon the landlords to prove their case. As a result, however, of improperly prepared inventories and a paucity of real evidence, it is now claimed that landlords have lower than a 1-in-10 prospect of prevailing in the event of a dispute.

There were 23,500 deposit disputes in 2009, and this figure has been growing at a rate every year. Also during 2009, 92% of all cases were decided in favour of the tenant and cost landlords approximately £12 in lost claims according to figures from the Video Inventory Agency.

According to Frazer Fearnhead, founder of the TDPS, the new system is vital in order to protect tenants, although he states that the residential property market in general “has been consistently undermined by incomplete or sub-standard inventories.”

‘When it comes to inventories, landlords have traditionally got away with the bare minimum. In my time I have seen inventories that have been scribbled on the back of an envelope. However, since 2007, the balance of power has swung in favour of the tenant. This is positive since many would-be cowboys have been pushed out of the market. However, it also means that law abiding landlords are losing money unnecessarily,’ Mr Fearnhead explained.

Mr Fearnhead began TVIA after facing a deposit dispute in one of his properties, when an incomplete photographic inventory resulted in a lack of evidence to back up his case. After the case, he was determined to protect the property-owning community.

To this end, the TVA offers landlords up-to-date video inventories designed specifically to protect the assets of landlords. Each inventory uses similar practices to those found in police standard procedures in filming crime scenes, and every written inventory is supported by high definition video evidence t is specifically designed to be presented in court. Mr Fearnhead is convinced that landlords should avail themselves of the service, as video evidence “offers no room for debate.”