Renting newbie... how likely am I to get my deposit back?

pilliepop

Hi everyone,

I've been living in a 3 bedroom house for 18 months now and it is my first rental property. I'm moving out on 30th May and am completely naive about how much - realistically - of my deposit will be returned.

I've rented through a local estate agent, and the deposit is protected by the tenancy deposit scheme (for what it's worth).

I've kept the property well... no damage to speak of but it's an old property and there is some damp as well as electrical issues which have all been brought to the attention of the landlord.

In your experience - if I've kept the house clean and damage free, will all my money be returned, or am I likely to have to fight for it?

Many thanks,

Mary

illusionek

Been renting 10yrs. Every single time I got 100% deposit back. I would stay for over 3yrs in each property so obviously there would be some fair wear and tear. Rented through either EAs or directly from landlord.

always_sunny

depends, have you had an inventory when you moved in?
Does the inventory match when you move out?
Can you identify damages vs wear and tear and fix them before you move out?

I always got mine refunded, when I move in I go through the inventory report and take photographic evidence and report immediately any errors.

G_M

Having never met either your landlord or his agent, I cannot comment on whether he/they are likely to return your deposit without a fight.

But this post should help you


* Deposits: payment, protection and return

DumbMuscle

Electrical issues: Were these present when you moved in? If so, they're not relevant.
If not - were they the result of something you did (e.g. plugging an incompatible bulb into a dimmer switch)? If so, you may lose some of the deposit. If not, then it's likely to be fair wear and tear.

Damp: This is always a bit of a sticky point. Landlords can claim that some of this is due to you not managing condensation properly (e.g. ensuring airflow from kitchen/bathroom, opening windows occasionally). If there's mould anywhere, get some remover (the more warning labels it has on it, the better it works :P ) and clean it off.

If the landlord has not made any comments blaming you when you've reported issues, then you're probably OK.

Hutchch0920

Just a note that if charges are made on the deposit that you are unsure are fair, first ask on the board and then use the protection scheme's adjudication process. On the two occasions when claims have been made on my deposit I have successfully used the adjudicator to reduce or remove the charges.

pilliepop

Thanks everyone for your helpful messages - I feel a bit better now that I'm going to get it back! I've just heard some horror stories about deductions being made willy nilly... but my landlord has always been absolutely lovely so I hope there won't be any problems :-)