Help CentreGuidance on getting your deposit back
1. Check the inventory and tenancy agreement.
At the start of a tenancy the landlord or letting agency should provide an inventory list to record the condition of the property before you moved in. It covers things like paintwork, burn marks, candle wax stains, marks on the carpet etc. Have a look over this and see if everything matches up with how it was at the start.
Make sure you look at how your landlord would like the property returned to them to avoid any extra fees. You can find this in your tenancy agreement, in here look out for things like extra charges for a professional cleaning service.
2. Clean! Clean! Clean! Give everywhere a good clean before leaving. Don’t forget the garden!
The main areas to check are the kitchen and bathroom. Common things we see students miss is the oven, make sure any burnt bits of food are cleaned out. Make sure you clean up all the grease marks on the extraction fan above your cooker.
If the shower/bath has mould around the seal, make sure you clear this away. You can get cheap but effective products from your local discount store.
Do you have a garden? If so, are you expected to cut the grass? Clear up any rubbish left lying around. If there is any garden furniture, make sure anything that is broken has been reported before you leave.
3. Remove all belongings and rubbish (even if you think the next people will benefit from them being left)
You might think you are being helpful leaving behind some unopened food, a basket of cleaning products that you don’t need or some furniture for the new tenants but unfortunately we see landlords and letting agents charge for disposal of these. If you are looking to leave anything behind, reach out to the landlord and see if they would like to keep it in the house. This way, you can avoid being charged a cleaning/removal fee.
4. Take time stamped pictures of how you left it for proof
Hopefully you wouldn’t need to prove how you left the house but it is always worth taking timestamped photos of any cracks, marks or scratches that aren’t recorded in the inventory. This can be used as evidence to support your case.
5. Take up-to-date meter readings
Nobody wants to get an overdue unpaid gas or electric bill. Make sure you take the readings before you leave the property and submit them to your supplier. Also let them know that you are leaving the property. It might also be handy if you take a picture of the final meter reading in case you need to provide the reading again.
6. Ensure the property has no unreported damage
Ideally you will have been reporting any damages or concerns throughout your tenancy. This way it will have given the landlord time to get them fixed. However, when you leave make sure to include your timestamped photos as evidence to support all areas of concern. The sooner you do this the better.
My landlord is refusing to give my deposit back
If you do not know the details of why your landlord is refusing to give the deposit back, ask. It is likely this is due to damage in the property, such as marks on the walls, damage to furniture or cleanliness. Ask for a full list of what you are being charged for against your deposit and ask for receipts to evidence the costs. Look at your tenancy agreement to see if they mention anything about charges at the end of the tenancy, such as professional cleaning fees. If you dispute any of the charges you can open a case with the tenancy deposit scheme this was protected with. If you are being charged for disrepair already in the property when you moved in and you reported this, you can include this information when you open your case. Check your tenancy agreement for details of which Tenancy Deposit scheme was used. Details of the 3 scheme are below.
DPS - Deposit Proctection Service
If you would like help with any concerns on your deposit, please contact the Advice Team via su.advice@northumbria.ac.uk