Landlords have been urged to make sure they document inspections after a tenant managed to avoid eviction by blaming the lack of a recorded carbon monoxide detector.

Rent Smart Wales reports that the Neath-based landlord lost his repossession case when the case was deemed invalid by the court. He had argued that the detector was in place at the time the notice was served, however, there was no photograph or paper trail to show this had been purchased or installed.

Recording your findings is important as it creates a property condition record which can be shared with the tenant, according to the Welsh government scheme.

“In this case, if the landlord had been able to produce a routine property inspection record, dated and signed by the tenant demonstrating a CO detector was present and in working order, the repossession case may have been successful. The landlord will now have to wait six months before issuing a further no-fault eviction notice.”

"Landlords will need to be even more organised to ensure their property is being looked after correctly over potentially longer periods.

Suzy Hershman (pictured), resolution department lead at mydeposits, says any good landlord or agent will have done a documented inventory at the start of the tenancy, including whether there is a CO detector.

When the Renters’ Reform Bill is introduced – with no end of tenancy built in – landlords will need to be even more organised, to ensure their property is being looked after correctly, over potentially longer periods, she tells LandlordZONE.

“That’s why property inspections – every three to six months – are so important, particularly with those tenants who aren’t fantastic. Although make sure they aren’t too frequent otherwise you could be accused of harassment.”