Sallymd76
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We are planning on starting them again from July 1st. We have currently been using a self assessment report for tenants to complete that has worked very well but it seems soon we will be expected to visit in person. My concern has been the clerk can visit up to 10 properties a day and it feels too early to be doing that right now. Maybe asking tenants to wait outside while the inspection takes place could be an option.
The government guidelines I believe are if you are working inside a house you need to stick to the social distance rules and wear a mask, gloves, use sanitiser.
I have received some information from 2 different sources, AIIC and a very large estate agent that we are to maintain a 3 meter distance inside a property not the standard 2 meter.
Hope that help a little!
I guess a way of working out if we are key workers is to ask any inventory clerks if their children have been offered a place at school for the next few weeks
I’ve had 3 tenants try to book check outs today for the weekend. When booking I asked them to inform me if they had any symptoms and they all said they were self isolating at their new apartment but could ‘pop’ back and meet the clerk for the check out. I told them we are not carrying out the booking and directed them back to the agent.
One was quite offended and could not understand why.. honestly.On another note, we told all our CLIENTS at the beginning of the week we were only willing to do a key handover and the actual inventory or check out would be in tenant absence. They ALL agreed and said they understood so it’s worth just putting it to your clients.
Stay Safe.
I emailed the below to my clients yesterday. So far a few have answered and agreed to it. Feel free to copy / use / amend.
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic due to peak in the upcoming weeks, our goal is to keep our staff / clients and any tenants as safe as possible.
The clerks are already taking precautions and carrying soap and handwash, however this can only protect them from items they touch, we still have the problem of face to face contact with tenants, especially ones who want to stand in a close proximity and point out any damage!
We have already had 1 case this weekend where a clerk was showing symptoms and therefore currently in self isolation. To protect the other clerks and continue to be able to fulfill the appointments for the foreseeable future we are proposing to carry out the check in and check out appointments in absence of tenants. The best way we feel for this to work is as follows:
Inventory check in:
We will collect keys from the agent or concierge – carry out the inventory, meter reads, smoke alarm test etc and ask the tenants to meet our clerk outside the property for a very brief key handover or the keys can be returned to the agent for the tenant/s to collect.Check out:
We will ask the tenant/s to meet the clerk outside the property and hand the keys to the clerk, or return keys to the agent or concierge for the clerk to collect. The clerk will return them back to the concierge or office after the check out has been conducted.We will continue to book appointments in the normal way but will inform the tenant/s of the temporary changes regarding the check in / check out procedures. We will also be asking the tenant prior to the appointment whether or not they are self isolating or have recently travelled from an affected country or region. If the answer is yes, then the clerks will not be able to meet the tenants at all and access will have to be via the agent or concierge.
We understand this is not ideal however we need to protect the clerks in order to be able to provide a continuous service throughout the peak of the pandemic. We will review the situation and will immediately return to normal procedures at the earliest opportunity when new information becomes available from the government.
We are looking to implement the changes immediately
I will also be advising clients we will soon ONLY be offering check ins and check outs through key collection during the Pandemic.
In regards to property visits we have had a lot cancel within the last week, where tenants are worried about our clerks coming to their properties so I think over the next few weeks we are going to see a lot more of it so we may also suggest not booking them for the time being.
Also agree AIIC it would be very helpful for some guidance or a statement we can show to our clients which advises appointments are carried out alone.
One of my clients has told me one of their Gas engineers is refusing to carry out gas safety inspections with tenants present, I feel we should be doing the same.
I agree with Phil. It would assign it as a tenant liability. The tenant should then try to claim compensation / damage from the cleaning company.
I would say it is the same as if a tenant employs a cleaning company to do an end of tenancy clean, if it is not up to standard it is the tenants responsibility and they need to compensate the landlord then try and claim back some of the cost from the cleaners for a poor job.Hi Nicky
I was also asked yesterday to include the assessment as part of the inventory AT NO EXTRA COST. My concerns are exactly the same as yours, we are not trained to do this and if we were to do it for the agent we would need adequate / quite extensive training and we would need to charge for it. I have spoken to my insurance company too this morning who said we could do it but they strongly suggest we get some disclaimers drawn up by a solicitor – again another cost.
I see from a newsletter in December from AIIC they are pushing hard for us to carry out this assessment as part of the inventory. It would be helpful to know where they are getting their training in the 29 subjects above.
I only inspect both sides if I can lift the mattress and the bed is not fully dressed. Some mattresses are just too heavy for 1 person, my mattress at home takes 4 people to lift.
If there is an instance where I can’t see underneath I would just say ‘too heavy to lift – underside not inspected’
Every year we send xmas hampers to our clients consisting of a mixture of wine, chocs, biscuits, sweets etc.