My landlord will not return my deposit, what can I do?

Question

I moved out weeks ago and left the flat clean, but my landlord is refusing to give my deposit back and will not really explain why. What are my options?

Dylan Cook · Accepted Answer

If you rented on an assured shorthold tenancy in England, your deposit should have been protected in one of the government-approved tenancy deposit schemes, and the landlord should have given you the scheme details within 30 days of receiving it. The landlord cannot simply keep the deposit; they can only make deductions for genuine reasons such as unpaid rent or damage beyond fair wear and tear, and they should be able to justify each deduction. The good news is that each protection scheme offers a free dispute resolution service. If you disagree with the deductions, you can raise a dispute through the scheme and an independent adjudicator decides, using the evidence such as the inventory and check-out report, how much should be returned. That is usually the quickest and cheapest route.

Stella Mitchell · Answer

First, ask the landlord in writing to explain and evidence any deductions, and find out which scheme holds your deposit. If they cannot agree, use the scheme's free adjudication. There is an extra point worth knowing: if the deposit was never protected in a scheme as required, you may be able to bring a claim in the county court and the court can order the landlord to pay you between one and three times the deposit amount as a penalty, on top of returning it. Keep your tenancy agreement, inventory, photos and correspondence. This is general guidance and the rules differ slightly across the UK.

My landlord will not return my deposit, what can I do?

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