Tenant Disputing Deposit Deductions? We’ll Help You Respond Properly

Ensure landlord compliance and manage deposit claims.

Our Landlord and Tenant Solicitors can help you avoid a deposit dispute, or if a tenant is disputing deductions, help you respond and manage it properly.

Protect your legal position – consult with our deposit dispute specialists.

Preparing to make deposit deductions

Many landlords can avoid a deposit dispute by taking legal advice from Tenancy Deposit Dispute Solicitors in London on deposit deductions.

Before you decide to make deposit deductions, you need to check:

1. If you protected the deposit in one of the government-approved schemes.
2. If the deposit monies were protected within the 30-day time limit.
3. If the tenant was given prescribed information about the deposit.
4. If the proposed deposit deductions are reasonable.
5. The evidence you can provide to prove the deposit deduction is reasonable.

Deposit disputes can take up a landlord’s time. That’s why it is financially sensible to take unfair deposit deductions legal advice.

Reasons for deposit deductions

There are several reasons why a landlord may want to make deposit deductions, including:

1. Unpaid rent or utility bills.
2. Damage to the property.
3. Missing contents.

A Tenancy Deposit Solicitor will assess the risk, benefit, and reward of making a deposit deduction or advise if you should review your decision to make a deposit deduction and the best method of resolving a deposit dispute.

The tenancy agreement and deposit deductions

Before making a deposit deduction at the end of a tenancy agreement, a landlord needs to check:

1. The tenant’s responsibilities in the tenancy agreement.
2. The inventory and check-in list.
3. The photographs taken at the time the tenancy agreement was entered into and any subsequent photos taken during inspections.
4. The check-out list.

It's surprising how often Landlord and Tenant Solicitors come across the issue of a landlord being adamant that the tenant should forfeit their deposit, but checking reveals that may not be correct. Here are some examples:

1. On checking the tenancy agreement, the issue was the landlord’s responsibility.
2. The inventory is not sufficiently detailed to prove that items are missing.
3. Photos taken at the time the tenancy agreement was entered into show the damage existed before the tenant moved in.

What can be deducted from a tenant’s deposit?

A landlord can make deductions from their tenant’s deposit if they have suffered financial loss due to the tenant’s non-compliance with their tenancy agreement. The non-compliance could range from deductions for not paying last month’s rent to damaging the internal doors or not leaving the property in a clean and habitable condition. The unpaid rent or repair costs may take up all or part of the tenant’s deposit, but having the evidence to back up your deposit deduction avoids deposit disputes.

Deposit deductions for cleaning

End-of-tenancy cleaning is a significant area of dispute between landlords and tenants. Disputes typically centre on tenants making a nominal attempt at a clean and saying that is sufficient.

The guidelines on end-of-tenancy agreement deposit deductions for cleaning are:

1. The property only needs to be left cleaned to the same standard it was when the tenant signed the tenancy agreement.
2. The wording of the tenancy agreement and the tenant’s obligations are important in resolving cleaning disputes. For example, did the agreement say the property must be left as odour-free as when the property was let out?
3. A landlord can only submit a professional cleaning quote or bill to bring the property up to the same standard of cleanliness as when the property was let out.

At the outset of a tenancy agreement, it is vital to prepare for a potential problem tenant and deposit dispute. Whether a tenant is a keen cook or has pets, the tenancy paperwork should always say the property is let clean and odour-free and must be returned in the same condition.

Deposit deductions for missing and damaged items

Deposit deductions for damaged or missing items must be costed on a like-for-like basis. The deduction needs to consider the items:

1. Lifespan and age.
2. Quality and brand.
3. The replacement costs less an allowance for reasonable wear and tear.

Similar principles apply to redecoration at the end of a tenancy. The costs of redecoration may be claimable if the tenant has caused property damage or altered the decoration without permission. However, the redecoration costs must allow for fair wear and tear. If a property is let out for five years, the likelihood is that the property will need redecoration, regardless of whether the tenant has painted the bedroom pink. However, the landlord could argue that their decoration costs are higher because more work is involved in getting the walls back to a neutral shade.

Allowances for fair wear and tear

Properties deteriorate and items need replacing, even if a landlord rents their property to the perfect tenant. That’s why a landlord must make allowances for fair wear and tear and avoid betterment.

Betterment is where the deposit deduction leaves the landlord better off at the tenant’s expense. For example:

1. Replacing a Beko washing machine with a Bosch washer dryer.
2. Replacing a nylon carpet with a wool carpet.
3. Claiming for new carpets when the stains could have been resolved by the landlord deducting the costs of professional carpet cleaning.

A landlord can choose to upgrade items or their property, but when calculating the deposit deduction, they must allow for fair wear and tear and only cost the replacements on a like-for-like basis.

Fair wear and tear and the principle of betterment mean landlords must keep a detailed inventory, take photographs and keep evidence of the items purchased for rental properties. It can seem pedantic, but if you want to recover the costs of redecorating with Farrow & Ball paint, you need to provide evidence that Farrow & Ball paint was previously used. Even if you have evidence of the paint used, fair wear and tear means you may only be able to deduct the full costs of professional decorators if the tenancy was of short duration and the deterioration in the property is due to the tenant’s actions rather than normal usage from living at the property.

The question of normal usage will depend on the tenants. For example, if you let a flat to a professional tenant rather than a house to a large family or students, you are entitled to expect less usage and therefore less wear and tear.

Responding to a challenge to a deposit deduction

When some landlords make a deposit deduction, they fail to communicate effectively with the tenant. That may be down to frustration with the state of the property and the actions of the tenant, or an assumption that the reasons for the deduction are self-evident.

Our Tenancy Deposit Dispute Lawyers recommend that landlords respond appropriately to tenants disputing deposit deductions by getting their Landlord and Tenant Lawyer to:

1. Outline what the tenant promised to do in the tenancy agreement and how the tenant fell short of their obligations as a tenant.
2. How you, as a landlord, met your obligations.
3. Provide the tenant with the detailed check-in document and end-of-tenancy agreement check-out paperwork so the two documents can be compared.
4. Use the same style of check-in and check-out paperwork with detailed notes so the comparison is easy to judge.
5. Provide the tenant with detailed pictures taken at the outset of the tenancy agreement, during any inspections and at the end of the tenancy agreement.
6. Produce the inspection reports to show that the damage is recent and not gradual wear and tear.
7. Provide detailed quotes that show the contractor is only quoting for the damage. For example, obtain separate quotes if you want a decorator also to paint and refresh undamaged woodwork or rooms.

Talk to the Landlord and Tenant Lawyers at OTS Solicitors

Our Tenancy Deposit Dispute Lawyers in London can help you avoid a potential deposit dispute by providing unfair deposit deductions legal advice. If you are at the stage of a tenant challenging your deduction, our team of expert Landlord and Tenant Solicitors can help you resolve the dispute as quickly as possible.

Protect your legal position – consult with our deposit dispute specialists.

Appointments are available at our offices in central London, by phone or online consultation.

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