SaroxaiWhat is a schedule of condition?
A schedule of condition is the backbone of every good inventory report — the detailed, photographed record of what state a property is in before a tenant moves in. Get it right and end-of-tenancy disputes are straightforward; skip it and you're arguing without evidence. Here's what it is, how it differs from an inventory, and what a strong one looks like.
What's in this guide
What it is
A schedule of condition is a dated record of the state of a property and its fittings at a single point in time, supported by photographs. In a residential tenancy it's normally prepared at the very start — before or on the day the tenant moves in — and it becomes the reference against which the property is judged at the end. Think of it as a time-stamped snapshot: "this is exactly how everything looked on this date."
Schedule of condition vs inventory
People use the terms interchangeably, but they describe two different things:
- An inventory answers "what is here?" — the contents, furniture and appliances included with the let.
- A schedule of condition answers "what state is it in?" — the condition of those items and of the property's own surfaces and fittings.
In practice, residential reports combine the two into a single "inventory and schedule of condition" document, so each room lists both its contents and their condition together. (If you're comparing the reports used through a tenancy, see check-in vs check-out reports.)
What it should include
A strong schedule of condition covers, room by room:
- Dated photographs of every room from consistent angles — the single most valuable piece of evidence.
- Walls, ceilings and floors — finish, colour and any marks, cracks or wear.
- Doors, windows and fittings — including handles, locks, blinds and curtains.
- Kitchen and bathroom — worktops, units, appliances, sanitaryware and sealant.
- Appliances and fixtures — make, and whether each is working and clean.
- Meter readings and the location of meters, stopcock and consumer unit.
- Existing defects — anything already marked, chipped or worn, described honestly.
How detailed should it be?
Detailed enough that someone who has never seen the property could understand its exact state from the report alone. That means specific written descriptions ("light scuff to skirting, left of window") rather than vague ones ("good condition"), and clear, well-lit photos that match those descriptions. Consistency matters as much as depth: describe every room the same way, so the check-out can be compared like for like.
Why it matters
At the end of a tenancy, a deposit dispute is settled on evidence. The schedule of condition is that evidence: it's the agreed starting point a check-out is measured against. Without it, there's no fair way to tell whether a mark on a wall was there on day one or caused during the tenancy — which is why deposit scheme adjudicators put so much weight on a detailed, dated, photographed record. A good schedule of condition protects the landlord's asset and protects the tenant from unfair deductions.
A note on commercial leases
The term also appears in commercial property, where a schedule of condition is often attached to a lease to limit a tenant's repairing obligations — recording the state of the building at the start so the tenant isn't required to hand it back in better condition than they took it. The principle is the same (an agreed, evidenced baseline), though commercial schedules are usually prepared by a surveyor and are more technical. This guide focuses on the residential lettings version.
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