Contact Howard Inventories

Terms of Business

It is the responsibility of the instructing party to settle payment for any bookings, regardless of receipt of client funds
It would be appreciated if keys for properties are made available promptly upon the clerk’s arrival. 

If there is an intruder alarm in a property Howard Inventories must be advised of disarming instructions – if we arrive at a booking without the appropriate information the booking will be aborted and our fee will apply. 

Report Makes
The quote/price list will serve as a guide and only the onsite appointment will confirm the invoice price. Any rooms or furnishings not mentioned at the time of quotation will be charged in addition i.e. extra areas include hallways/landings,
lofts, garages, gardens, sheds, extra receptions, conservatories, studies, basements, bathrooms guest WC’s, morning rooms etc. Heavy furnishings refer to items of cutlery, crockery, bed linens, ornaments, pots, pans, DIY tools, books/DVDS.  Please note that large volumes of books/DVD’s will be counted but we are unable to list them individually.

If you are a private client and have authorised a credit card payment for the booking, the above charges will be automatically debited from your account.

Abortive Fees
Agents must ensure that all parties involved are aware that cancellation of an appointment within 24 hours will result in an abortive fee charge of £50 + VAT. If the clerk attends the booking and it cannot take place for whatever reason, the abortive fee maybe charged at the full rate of the booking at the companies’ discretion.

Please ensure the clerk is able to access the property at the agreed time. For every 30 minutes clerks are made to wait there will be an accumulative charge of £15 + vat. If you are a private client and have authorised a credit card payment for the booking, the above charges will be automatically debited from your account.

At the end of the tenancy all personal items must be removed and cleaning must be concluded prior to check out date. If a check out is attended and the tenant has not completely moved out, the booking will be aborted and relevant charges will be incurred.

If a check in is arranged and the landlord’s/tenant’s representative does not arrive promptly at the specified time this will result in an abortive visit and an abortive fee will be incurred. 

Meter Readings
It is the agents and / or landlord’s responsibility to make the clerk aware of the locations of any meters and to ensure that they are clearly labelled and accessible. Should meters not be located or accessible to read then no readings will be taken and we cannot be held responsible for this.

The appropriate utility companies must be assigned to check any meter readings. We cannot be held accountable for any discrepancies.

Delivery
All reports will be delivered via E-mail to the instructing party unless otherwise requested.  By law we are unable to forward reports to anyone other then the booker.  If the booker instructs us to send reports elsewhere we will happily oblige but are unable to do so without their consent, regardless of the circumstances. 

General information for all parties
An inventory/check out presents a precise record of the contents and condition of the property in question on the date the report was carried out. It is the responsibility of the tenant, landlord and respective agent to agree on the accuracy of this report and it is advised that both parties sign it as confirmation.

Please note that it is strongly advised that the parties examine the contents of the report produced prior to signing. Howard Inventories cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Any discrepancies regarding the accuracy of the report should be brought to the attention of Howard Inventories within 7 days after receipt; otherwise it is accepted the report is accurate. Changes will only be made provided the clerk finds the comments acceptable.

We do not undertake to remark on any structural defects. We are unable to assign a value to any object at the property.

We will not move any large or heavy items, nor describe the contents and condition of any unattainable areas, such as basements and lofts, we cannot inspect items put away in such a manner that they cannot be taken out easily to be examined. We do not undertake to comment on the exact specification of items and are not furniture/furnishing specialists. We will therefore only describe an item as it is seen and will not state if it is antique, designer, modern or refer to the exact type of wood/tile/granite/colour paint etc. Any items left in locked rooms or cupboards are the sole responsibility of the landlord and won’t be included in reports.

All descriptions within reports are for identification purposes only.

Any electrical appliances tested will be for power only and this will only be carried out where practical. Boilers, gas fires, water supply, fire alarms and radiators are not tested. Fire alarms are only tested where appropriate and provided they are accessible. Regarding electrical appliances tested, no account will be given of the efficiency or safety of the items. We merely state that such an item exists at the property and its current condition. Other areas such as garden, garages, lofts, basements and garden sheds will only be checked upon instruction and an extra charge maybe incurred.

The Fire and Safety regulations regarding furnishings, gas and electrical items alike are the responsibility of the Landlord. Where the inventory notes that an FFR label is seen this should not be interpreted as that the item complies with the furniture and furnishings (Fire) (Safety) (Amendments) act of 1993. It is merely a record that the item had a label as described or similar to that detailed in the guide to the regulations as published by the Department of Trade and Industry, January 1997 (or subsequent edition), attached at the time the inventory was compiled.