What if a resident damages something or does not return it?

It goes through the resident's account with the provider. The building is not the debt collector and should not be written into the process as one.

How non-return usually works

A rental has an agreed window. Past it, the resident is reminded, and past a further threshold the item is treated as retained and charged for at a rate set out before they borrowed it. The mechanics matter less than the fact that they are pre-agreed and visible in the app rather than invented after the fact.

Damage

Items are checked on return, which is one of the reasons restocking visits exist. Ordinary wear is a cost of doing business and is priced into the model. Genuine damage is chargeable, and the threshold between the two should be written down rather than left to judgement in the moment.

Shrinkage is real and should be budgeted

Some proportion of shared inventory in any building walks. Any provider claiming otherwise has either not been running long enough or is not looking. Under a provider-owned model this is entirely their exposure, which is a decent argument for that model in a building where it worries you.

What to check in the contract

Whether the building carries any liability for resident non-payment, and whether unpaid charges can ever become the property's problem. The answer should be no, and it should be in writing.