Pet Damage Inventory and Evidence: A Landlord's Guide for England

Why the Inventory Is Your Only Real Protection

The tenancy deposit cap means you cannot charge extra money for pet permission. Your financial protection against pet damage comes down to one thing: the quality of your inventory evidence. At deposit adjudication, the scheme looks at what the property looked like at check-in, what it looks like at checkout, and whether the difference constitutes damage beyond fair wear and tear.

Without a detailed, dated baseline, you have no case — regardless of how obvious the damage is.

What to Photograph Before the Pet Arrives

The moment you grant pet consent, schedule a property inspection before the animal moves in (or, if you granted consent at the start of the tenancy, ensure the check-in inventory covers these areas). Document:

• Carpets and flooring: close-up shots showing fibre condition, any existing stains, and the pile direction. Pet claws, urine, and chewing damage are the most common adjudication claims, and they need a clean baseline.
• Door frames and skirting boards: scratch marks at pet height are distinctive. Photograph every frame in the property, both sides.
• Walls at low level: particularly around corners and behind furniture where animals rest.
• Garden and exterior: fencing condition, lawn state, soil beds, any existing holes or worn patches.
• Soft furnishings (if furnished): fabric condition on sofas, chairs, curtains at hem level.

Use a camera or phone with automatic date-stamping. If it doesn't date-stamp, include a newspaper or printout with the date visible in the frame.

Fair Wear and Tear vs. Pet Damage

Deposit adjudicators apply a straightforward test: would this deterioration have happened anyway through normal use, or did the pet cause it?

Fair wear and tear examples: slight carpet flattening in high-traffic areas, minor scuff marks on walls at standard height, faded curtains, slight garden lawn thinning.

Pet damage examples: claw marks on door frames, urine stains on carpet, chewed skirting boards, scratched wooden flooring, holes dug in the garden, flea infestation requiring professional treatment.

The grey area is odour. A faint pet smell that a standard clean removes is wear and tear. Embedded odour in carpets or underlay that requires professional deep cleaning or replacement is damage. Document the property's smell at check-in (a written note is sufficient) so the comparison is on record.

Mid-Tenancy Inspections

Schedule inspections at least quarterly, giving at least 24 hours' written notice and arranging a reasonable time with the tenant. Photograph the same areas you documented at check-in. This does three things: it catches damage early so you can raise it with the tenant, it establishes a timeline if damage worsens, and it demonstrates you managed the property responsibly.

If you spot damage during an inspection, write to the tenant identifying the issue and referencing the relevant condition in the pet consent letter. This creates a dated record and gives the tenant the opportunity to remedy the problem.

Building the Checkout Case

At the end of the tenancy, repeat the inventory process identically. Photograph every area from the same angles. Then compile a comparison document: check-in photo on the left, checkout photo on the right, with a brief description of the damage.

Adjudicators handle thousands of claims. A clear, organised comparison wins over a pile of unsorted photographs and a narrative about how bad the damage was.

The Tenant Pet Requests guide includes an inventory baseline protocol with room-by-room photo checklists and a checkout comparison template, designed specifically for properties where pet consent has been granted.

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