Deposit Disputes
At the beginning of a tenancy, it is important that you thoroughly check and approve any inventory that the landlord provides.
If the inventory is inaccurate then you don’t sign it but raise the issues in writing to the landlord and hopefully, have those included in the inventory or rectified.
It’s useful at the start of the tenancy to take photos of the condition of the accommodation and any flaws/damage that you may inherent and it’s key that these are dated.
Also, take a photo of any meter readings.
The Contract
This sets out the terms and conditions that you have agreed to in order to live in the property. These are likely to include things like; “the accommodation is returned in a clean and tidy condition bearing in mind fair wear and tear”.
Sometimes landlords request that a house is professionally cleaned, so it is really important to check what is written in the contract that you have signed as you will be held responsible.
At the end of the tenancy the landlord will do another inspection and compare against the original inventory for any damages above fair wear and tear and any cleaning not completed. The landlord will then claim for the cost to rectify any issue from the security deposit.
Shorthold tenancy deposit protection
If you are living in an assured shorthold tenancy (please see contracts) the deposit should be protected in one of the deposit protection schemes and the landlord will have provided you with information about that within 30 days of you paying the deposit.
Please have a look at Shelter’s webpage on tenancy deposit protection rules. A lot of contracts have this information included within the contract.
If at the end of the tenancy you cannot reach an agreement with the landlord about the amount of deduction the landlord wants to take from the deposit, then you can open a deposit dispute resolution with the deposit protection scheme.
Firstly, you need to know which scheme to contact so check your paperwork.
If in doubt look at how to check that your deposit is protected. The scheme will then have instructions on their website on how you can raise a dispute.
It is important that you do this as soon as possible as there will be a time limit on applications.
Please look at how to dispute unfair deductions and note that any dispute can delay the return of your deposit and both you and the landlord will need to provide evidence in support of your case. This is when photos and records of communication around disrepairs may come in useful alongside an invoice for professional cleaning if relevant.