A deposit dispute is decided by one person, on paper, who has never seen the property and never will. Understanding that single fact explains almost every rule of thumb about winning one.
The short version
The money starts as the tenant's. The landlord has to prove a deduction, item by item, with a check-in record, a check-out record and photographs. No inventory usually means no award.
How the process runs
- The tenancy ends and the landlord or agent proposes deductions.
- If the tenant disagrees, either side can raise a dispute with the scheme holding the deposit.
- The undisputed part is paid out promptly; only the disputed amount is held.
- Both sides submit evidence within a deadline.
- An adjudicator reads it and decides. The decision is binding if both parties agreed to adjudication.
The three schemes in England and Wales are the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Deposits must be protected within 30 days of receipt and the prescribed information served on the tenant. Failing that is expensive on its own and can block a section 21 notice.
Where the burden sits
On the landlord, entirely. The tenant does not have to prove they left the property in good order; the landlord has to prove they did not. An adjudicator who cannot see a starting condition will not assume one, and will usually decline the deduction.
The five deductions that come up most
1. Cleaning
The most claimed and the most refused. It fails when the check-in record does not establish the standard the property started at. 'Professionally cleaned throughout, oven and carpets photographed' at check-in is what makes a cleaning claim at check-out stick.
2. Redecoration
Nearly always reduced, because paint has a life and the tenant is not liable for its natural expiry. A landlord who redecorates a whole room because of two scuffs will be awarded a proportion at best, and often nothing.
3. Carpets
Apportioned by age. A carpet with an assumed ten-year life that was five years old at check-in is half spent already, so a claim for full replacement is halved before anything else is considered. See fair wear and tear vs damage.
4. Damage to items
The most winnable category, because damage is usually obvious in a photograph. It still needs the item listed and graded at check-in; 'sofa' with no condition is not enough.
5. Rubbish and possessions left behind
Usually awarded if the removal cost is evidenced with an invoice and the items are photographed in place at check-out.
What good evidence looks like
- A check-in inventory, signed and dated by the tenant, with a condition grade per item.
- Photographs at check-in, numbered and referenced from the rows they support.
- A check-out report walked against the same document, in the same order, showing the same items.
- Invoices or quotes for the actual work, not a round figure.
- An account of the tenancy length, so wear can be judged fairly.
If you are the tenant
Ask for the check-in inventory at the start and read it. Note anything you disagree with in writing within the period the agreement allows. Photograph the property when you leave, on the day. And be aware that the fee for the inventory itself cannot be charged to you: under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 the landlord pays.
The sample report shows what a check-in and check-out comparison looks like when it is written to be read by an adjudicator.
Written by The Surveyor Co, a trading name of LW Renovation Group Ltd, Lincoln. This guide describes how records are written and read; it is not legal advice. Where a deposit scheme, lease or insurer sets a rule, that rule wins.