Mar

How do you work out your deposit claim amount?

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Dilapidations:

It’s the end of a tenancy and the property has been damaged, so how do you arrive at a compensation figure that will be accepted by the tenant and deposit protection agency?

Do you know the industry formula used by letting agents & professional property managers to work out compensation?

There are influencing factors that must be taken into account when working out compensation and damages for dilapidations at the end of a tenancy. As a Landlord you can’t just charge a full replacement cost for each damaged item. This is then deemed to be “betterment” and could then cause a problem with your claim.

When working out a fair costing there are a few things that need to be considered, for example, replacement cost, original condition, original age, length of tenancy and so it goes on.

Oakley Jane inventory services has produced a dilapidation app which helps you to clearly demonstrate how you have arrived at the amounts being asked for. It does this by showing a full break-down of all the known factors.

Simple to use and quick to compile, the professional looking report can then be emailed directly to the tenant for them to read through.

There is an in-built handy dictionary with over 300 items showing life spans. A sliding bar can be adjusted to take into account varying qualities of such items, i.e. where the item was purchased, budget carpet, medium grade or high end etc.

This app is a guideline app, the figures can never be set in stone as so many different scenarios exist, but it’s better than just putting your finger in the air and guessing. It definitely gives you a flying start, a starting point for conversation with your tenants, and one that’s far more likely to be accepted when presented in a professional way!

Oakley Jane inventory services has been established for over 22 years, providing good quality professional inventories, check-ins, check-outs and property inspections.

Oakley is on the board of the AIIC, members of ARLA Propertymark & they work for the country’s leading letting agents.

Company Director, Amanda Kingham says:

“During 22 years of business operation we have come across many situations of unreasonable expectations from both tenants and landlords. We decided to take all of our industry knowledge and create this application to help explain what should be taken into consideration.

“We are passionate about our industry and believe dilapidations should not only be worked out fairly, but should also be consistent between one property manager to another, or from one Landlord to another.

“Landlords should not expect betterment, nor a tenant expecting no financial loss when damage has occurred and by using this tool, the influencing factors during a tenancy can be clearly shown.

“We have designed a ‘guideline’ app. The formulated calculations are based on replacement cost, recognised life span (there is a dictionary included with over 300 items) original age, original condition, length of tenancy, occupancy, level of damage and area of damage.”

We believe that this will help to educate Landlords, tenants and agents with some basic knowledge of how to work out fair compensation.

It should be noted that all scenarios will vary and that correct information must be inputted by the user and should be used only as a starting point.

Dilapidation App – Deposit Compensation Calculator

Dilapidation App – Calculator

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