Nobody argues about the fridge on move-in day. They argue about it on move-out day, eleven months later, when one person is leaving and the other has forgotten who paid what.
A kitchen inventory takes twenty minutes and settles it permanently. Here is how to build one.
Three categories, and they behave completely differently
1. The landlord's fittings. Anything that came with the flat — a fitted cooker, cabinets, a built-in extractor, the sink. These are not yours in any sense. Under section 7(3) of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011 you must keep the premises in good and tenantable repair, reasonable wear and tear excepted, and damage to these comes out of your caution deposit.
Photograph every one of them, with the date, before you move a single item in.
2. Individually owned. Brought by one person, leaves with them. The blender someone already had, the pots from their mother's kitchen.
3. Jointly bought. Purchased together, for the household. This is the only category that causes real disputes, and only because nobody decides in advance what happens to it.
The inventory
One shared note, four columns: item · owner · what it cost · what happens if that person leaves.
Fill it in as you buy, not at the end. Cover at least:
- Fridge or freezer
- Gas cooker and cylinder (note these separately — the cylinder is often the disputed one)
- Microwave, blender, kettle, toaster, rice cooker, air fryer
- Pots, pans, plates, cutlery, glassware
- Water dispenser or filter
- Fan or extractor
- Bins, mop, bucket, cleaning equipment
For anything jointly bought, write the exit rule beside it now. Two workable defaults: the person staying buys out the leaver's share at an agreed fraction of cost, or the item is sold and the proceeds split. Pick one per item and record it.
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The big three, specifically
The fridge. The most expensive and least portable item in the kitchen, so it causes the most trouble. If one person owns it, the household is dependent on that person staying — worth acknowledging out loud. If bought jointly, agree the buy-out figure at purchase, not at departure. And agree shelf allocation on day one: a shelf each plus one shared shelf prevents most food disputes.
The gas cooker and cylinder. Distinguish them. A cylinder gets refilled by whoever notices it is empty, which means it quietly becomes a running cost rather than an asset. Agree who refills, on what rotation, and that refills settle on your normal bills day.
The blender. Cheap, constantly used, and constantly the subject of "who broke it." Whoever owns it should say plainly whether others may use it. "Yes, but wash it immediately" is a perfectly good answer and far better than silent irritation.
The rule that prevents most of it
Anything shared should be jointly bought. Anything personal stays personal and is asked for.
The trouble comes from the middle: one person's item that everybody uses. Either it becomes a household item — with the others contributing to its cost — or it stays private and people ask each time. Drifting between the two is what produces the resentment.
Who pays when something breaks
Agree this while everything still works.
- Normal wear on a jointly owned item: split the repair or replacement.
- Obvious misuse by one person: that person replaces it. Say so now so it is a rule rather than an accusation later.
- The landlord's fittings: report it in writing immediately. Section 7(7) requires you to notify the landlord where structural or substantial damage occurs as soon as practicable, and section 8 puts external and common parts on him.
- Anything you install: section 7(5) — no alterations or additions without the landlord's written consent. A fitted extractor or new cabinets need permission, and under section 6(2), improvements made with previous written consent can be claimed as compensation when you leave.
Do the handover properly
When someone leaves, walk the kitchen together with the inventory open. Tick off what goes, settle any buy-outs, and photograph the landlord's fittings again so the condition is evidenced for the caution deposit.
Then update the list for whoever replaces them. An inventory that is kept current is worth ten times one written once and forgotten.
There is a companion guide on sharing a kitchen, fridge and groceries for the food side of this, and one on building a cleaning rota for who washes what.
Find someone who will sit down and fill in the list on roommates — willingness to do it tells you most of what you need to know.
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