Compliance evidence that survives an inspection
For portfolios where the check happens but the proof does not hold: photos on a phone, ticks in a sheet, no reason recorded when an item does not apply.
45–60 min · Free · No pitch
A tick in a spreadsheet proves someone intended to check, not that the check happened. Evidence that stands up is captured at source in the app, stamped with time and location, and bound to the property and the individual device. When an item does not apply, the record says why. We build evidence systems that enforce all of that by default.
What the evidence system does.
Examples, not a feature list. Yours is shaped by the bottlenecks the Discovery Call surfaces.
Capture at source
Photos and video are taken inside the app at the moment of the check. Nothing is imported from a camera roll, so nothing arrives without a provenance.
Time and location stamping
Every item is stamped with when and where it was captured, at the moment of capture, so the record shows the check happened at the property on the day.
Device-level binding
Each requirement is tied to a real device in a real room on a real storey: this smoke alarm on the landing, this CO alarm beside this boiler.
Not-applicable reasons
An item can only be marked not applicable with a recorded reason, such as an all-electric property with no gas supply or a storage-only loft.
Failed checks stay failed
A failed check is recorded as failed and stays visible until a new check passes. It cannot be quietly overwritten.
Export for inspection
Per-property and per-obligation exports that carry the stamps, device and reasons with each item, so the evidence survives print and email.
Three properties of evidence that survives
There is a difference between a record and evidence. A record says something happened. Evidence lets someone who was not there check that it did. Evidence that holds up has three properties, and each one blocks a specific way the record can fail.
Captured at source
The photo or video is taken inside the app at the moment of the check, not imported afterwards from a camera roll. This blocks the most common failure: the old photo. A picture from a previous visit, or a different property, looks identical once it is uploaded. Capture at source means every item has a known origin.
Stamped with time and location
Each item carries when and where it was captured, recorded at the moment of capture. This blocks the reconstructed record, where the test was written up days later and the date is whatever someone remembered. For smoke alarms that matters directly: they have to be tested on the day a new tenancy starts, and only a stamp shows that.
Bound to the property and the device
Evidence attaches to a specific device in a specific room on a specific storey. This blocks the missing device. Smoke alarms are required per storey with living accommodation, and CO alarms per room with a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers. A record that lists devices can show that every required one was tested. A record that says "alarms OK" cannot show which were missed.
And one rule on top
"Not applicable" must carry a reason. A storage-only loft is not a storey with living accommodation; a gas hob is not a fixed combustion appliance for CO purposes; an all-electric home has no gas safety requirement. Each of those is a legitimate NA, and each needs saying. A checklist that lets someone tick NA with no reason cannot survive an inspection.
The compliance evidence guide covers the standard in more depth, and the property compliance pillar shows where evidence capture sits alongside renewals and repairs.
The before picture.
A camera-roll photo with no reliable time or place, and nothing tying it to the property.
A ticked box with nothing behind it: proof someone meant to check, not that they did.
"N/A" against an alarm nobody checked, with no reason recorded.
An inspector asking who tested it and when, and nobody able to say.
The after picture.
Evidence created in the app, stamped with time and location at source.
Video showing the button pressed and the sounder audible, not a photo of an alarm on a ceiling.
Every requirement tied to a real device in a real room.
Not applicable only ever recorded with a reason.
Why an evidence record beats photos and a spreadsheet.
Photos uploaded from a phone after the visit, filed in a folder per property.
Evidence captured in the app during the check, stamped with time and location, attached to the device it records.
Why it matters: An uploaded photo can be from any day and any house. A stamped capture cannot.
A row per property with ticks and the occasional "N/A".
One item per device per check, with a pass, a fail or a reasoned not applicable.
Why it matters: Smoke alarms are per storey and CO alarms are per room. A row per property cannot express that.
Edited in place. Last version wins, and nobody can see what changed.
Corrections are new entries with their own author, time and reason. The original stays in the audit trail.
Why it matters: Evidence that can be silently changed is not evidence.
How this gets built
The capability pages below describe the actual build patterns we use to deliver this. Pick the one that matches the part of your operation you want to fix.
Property Compliance (pillar) →
The full obligation map for rented homes in England, and how a compliance system is built.
Compliance Admin Automation →
The wider admin layer the evidence system plugs into: renewals, repairs, reporting.
Compliance evidence that holds up →
Why a tick in a spreadsheet is not evidence, and what an inspector looks at.
Smoke and CO alarm rules →
Per storey, per room, not per floor plan, and how to record the test.
Thermova case study →
The live EPC and property operations platform we built: bulk EPC matching across a portfolio.
Book a discovery call →
Agree the evidence standard your portfolio needs, and what it would take to enforce it.
Common questions
A photo on its own proves that something existed at some point. It does not prove when, where or on which property, and a camera-roll photo can be months old. A photo becomes evidence when it is captured in the app at the time of the check, stamped with time and location, and bound to the property and the specific device it records.
Because an alarm being present is not the same as an alarm being tested. A still photo shows a smoke alarm on a ceiling. A short video shows the button being pressed and the sounder going off, which is what "tested on the day the tenancy starts" actually means.
Evidence is not edited in place. If a check needs correcting, the correction is recorded as a new entry with its own time, author and reason, and the original stays in the audit trail. A failed check stays failed until a new check passes; it is never overwritten into a pass.
At the moment of capture, from the device doing the capturing, and stored with the evidence item alongside the time. That stamp is what ties a photo or video to the property it claims to show. Because location is personal data, how it is captured and retained is set out in the system's documented data flow.
Tenant photos are useful, especially for repair reports, and the system accepts them into the repairs queue. But a photo a tenant sends you was not captured at source by the person doing the check, so for a duty that is yours it is treated as a prompt to check, not as the check itself.
Yes. Evidence exports per property or per obligation, with the time, location, device and any not-applicable reason kept alongside each item, so the record still makes sense printed, emailed or handed to an inspector.
Still have a question? Book a Discovery Call, direct line to me, Dean.
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