Renters - do you get your full deposit back?

ilovecheese

Hey everyone

We have recently recieved the full deposit back from our latest rental, we are currently on our 5th property, and have received our full deposit back on the previous 4 places we have rented.

Just being curious (well nosey really!) do most tenants get their money back? and have the depost protection rules made any difference for those that have been renting before the new rules came in?

abaxas

100% record.

noodles86

I did get 100% back but it took 5 months as we were disputing what the letting agent were trying to claim for - thank goodness for inventories!

ilovecheese

So far so good :j

But 5 months!! wow! I think all our deposits have been re-paid within a week of handing back the keys.

I think maybe I should set up a cleaning business!! I am so fussy when I move out - I cleand doors, door frames, skirting boards, door handles, window frames, light switches, sockets and just about every surface.

I have never moved in to a clean house, but alwasy move out of a clean house:D

marliepanda

I did on my last one, and i am determined to get it back on this one too! Been in this one MUCH longer and there is some 'wear and tear' to the bathroom floor lino which I think may be the only sticking point... but we shall see.

Tirian

Personally, I have always received full deposit back - although the last place I lived in I had to go through the TDS dispute service as the landlord refused to authorise the return of any of the deposit on the basis of a stain in the carpet that was there when we arrived (and which he, in fact, spent 20 minutes telling us how he would get some specialist cleaners in to remove it ... but never did).

He then failed to respond to the TDS meaning that we had to wait for weeks for them to register the dispute, to contact him and give him his "right of reply" etc. etc. (having already attempted for a couple of weeks to meet with him to resolve the issue directly, only for him to cancel at last moment.)

My wife had money deducted from her last deposit for some spurious grounds (insufficient maintenance of the garden or something - despite the fact that it was in substantially better condition than when she moved in, when it was completely overgrown and had a shed full of previous tenants' junk .. including dirty nappies!!). She'd even repainted the living room at her own cost, with the permission of the landlord ...

Personally I would have fought that one too.

Fuzzyness

last place but one got 100% back within a week of moving out. dont expect the property i moved out of this week to go so well, but as no signed inventory when we moved in should help our case if the LL does try and deduct money.

sharpee

Wer ecently moved out of our last rental and are in dispute with our LL over our deposit. Its been nearly 3 weeks since we moved outand he still hasn't told us what deductions he is planning on making Really want it back, no reason why we shouldn't technically, as we want to fit a new bathroom in our new home start of agust so its needed!

girl_withno_name

We got £70 taken out of our last one, for gardening... we didn't dispute as the grass was up past our knees (we moved out in Jan 2011 and the snowy winter mixed with mutant grass didn't help!)

ilovecheese

mutant grass - that made me laugh!!!

Callie22

Always got 100% of every deposit back. I make sure to protect myself by going through the inventory with a fine toothed comb, and taking lots of dated photos. I also produce dated lists of any problems at every inspection and make the letting agents sign them, so they can't argue that they haven't been informed of problems. When I move out, I clean thoroughly and take further photos, again in case of a dispute (haven't had one yet though). I've never had a landlord or agent dare to try anything, because I make it clear that I won't play.