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Can a landlord keep my deposit?

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Can a landlord keep my deposit

Common reasons for deposit deductions

Unless there are deductions to be considered, you should be able to get your full deposit back from the landlord at the end of the tenancy. The reason why you may not get the full amount could be due to unpaid rent, damage to the property, missing inventory items, cleaning of the property and unpaid utility bills.

The complex issue of property damage

Whereas deductions in lieu of rent arrears are pretty straightforward, property damage may be a hotly contended issue. Many landlords think that broken items must be all costed at full value, whereas the law takes depreciation into account and does not allow any profit to be made from the replacement. On the other hand, some tenants are surprised to learn that unauthorised decorating or repainting of a room is classified as damage and that landlords are well within their rights to use the deposit to rectify it before the next tenant moves in.

Missing items and the importance of an inventory

Paying for missing inventory items only becomes contentious when the inventory is poorly done or is rushed. It helps both parties if a professional service is used and most reputable letting agents offer this. It is free for tenants and gives peace of mind all round.

Navigating cleaning standards

Cleaning is another grey area as levels of cleanliness can be subjective, but common-sense dictates that you should leave a property in the same state as how you found it. Landlords in the private rental sector generally use a professional cleaning service prior to a tenancy regardless of the property’s condition, and so it is expected that you provide the same standard of cleaning before you leave the property, but this can be challenged by a tenant as it is not supported legally.

Your protection: The Tenancy deposit scheme

Your deposit should be lodged by your letting agent or landlord with a Tenants Deposit Scheme and most tenancy agreements are covered by these services which act as impartial and secure custodians of the funds.

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Marc von Grundherr

About the Author

Marc has been a director at Benham and Reeves since 2001 and works closely with Managing Director Anita Mehra in the growth of the company in all areas from investments to sales to rentals and tax. You may have seen Marc within the UK and international media on a regular basis where he is now the property expert of choice for multiple news organisations including the BBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Times, Telegraph, Financial Times, News UK and more. His analysis in always well-informed and topical and delivered with a professionalism and passion that news producers seem to like. He is never short of an opinion on the property market. Marc is also an experienced panellist and webinar host especially when curating subjects such as property investing and the economics of housing domestically and overseas. He leverages his long-term investor contact-book well and is always happy to provide advice and insight to would be property speculators.

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