Tenancy deposit dispute – what I've learnt about negotiating

Lunatunes1

I’m going through a tenancy deposit dispute and thought it might be useful to share my experience. My deposit is held in the Custodial Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

My landlord initially wanted £380 deducted for 3 different items. I disagreed and initially rejected all deductions.

Rather than just arguing about whether the amounts were “fair”, I started asking for the evidence behind each claim – check-in/check-out evidence and quotations or estimates for the amounts claimed.

The negotiation was conducted on email with clear non-emotional language. This has been very useful as I had a ready made evidence trail to submit on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme website to demonstrate that we had made attempts to resolve the issue before engaging the dispute process.

We couldn't reach agreement, so it has now gone into the dispute process. The Landlord now has 5 working days to provide evidence for their claim.

The interesting bit for me is what happened next. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme confirmed that £1,501 was undisputed and has now been returned to me, with only the £380 remaining in dispute.

My main learning is:

A landlord claim isn't evidence.

I'm not refusing to pay if the evidence demonstrates that the Landlord claim is a reasonable and justified deduction. I'm just not prepared to accept £380 simply because it has been asserted.

It has also made me realise that sometimes the best negotiation move isn't to persuade the other person, it's to move the disagreement into a fair process where an independent third party can assess the evidence. 

It has been very useful/critical for me to understand the rights and timings that I have as a result of my deposit being held in a third party scheme which I’d recommend to all tenants if they find themselves in a similar situation.

I’ve been fortunate enough not to need my deposit returned quickly. It has taken me 51 days from my deposit return request to get to this stage. The whole process for myself and the Landlord could have been much quicker if evidence for claims was produced much earlier in the process.

I'll see what happens with the money still in dispute and may post an update.

whaleroad

I'm really interested to know what sort of things they are claiming for.

The fact they've returned most of the deposit and only holding back a small amount doesn't mean they are fair or their claim justified. They can't, for instance, insist of the full replacement cost for lost or broken items; only the value now. Which for many things is £0.

My last landlady wanted £100 out of a £1,000 deposit for things that were wear and tear. A new filter on the 14-year-old dehumidifier for instance! I didn't think it was worth disputing but the lettings agent fought my corner.

flaneurs_lobster

It has also made me realise that sometimes the best negotiation move isn't to persuade the other person, it's to move the disagreement into a fair process where an independent third party can assess the evidence. 

So in effect, what you've learnt about negotiating is - don't. If there's a third party already in place to arbitrate the disagreement then let them sort it out.

Lunatunes1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82128467#Comment_82128467

It had the external appearance of not negotiating but the reality was I was negotiating all the time - by trying to prepare by understanding the process, reacting to communication from the Landlord/Letting agent in a way that was polite, yet firm knowing there was a chance this may be used as evidence later in the process. As my Landlord didn’t change their position at any stage or produce evidence to support their claim it became inevitable we’d end in deadlock which is where the tenancy dispute scheme process now puts the onus on the Landlord to properly evidence their claim and I’ve now got the undisputed money back. A big test for me personally was to be patient in a process where I had £1900 sat in limbo.

Lunatunes1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82128429#Comment_82128429

Thanks for your comment - a fact not every tenant knows and I didn’t until recently is that it is the Landlords responsibility to evidence any claim using check in report, check out report and quotes/estimates. I think you’re right that normal wear and tear is not claimable by the Landlord and in an ideal world this is evidenced in the check out report

sherlock228

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82129041#Comment_82129041

and that in a nutshell is a sad fact of life in 2026, some 19 years after deposit schemes became a legal requirement.
Tenants still have not educated themselves on what to do when renting.