HOUSING

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Deposits

What is a deposit?

A tenancy deposit is a payment made to the landlord or letting agent before moving into a property, and acts as a security deposit.

The deposit is then returned when the tenancy ends unless there is a reason to withhold a specific or the total amount.

A deposit should consist of no more than 5 weeks of rent.

For example: monthly rent x12 /52 x5 = maximum tenancy deposit.

Before moving in

Your landlord has a legal responsibility to protect your tenancy deposit in a government-approved scheme (‘Tenancy Deposit Protection’) within 30 days of receiving it.

Deposit Protection Service
MyDeposits
Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Check with your landlord or letting agent where your deposit will be held and ensure that you receive a confirmation email when your deposit has been protected. If you are unsure whether your deposit has been protected, contact a TDP using the information below.

MyDeposits - including deposits that were held by Capita

Telephone: 0333 321 9401

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

deposits@tenancydepositscheme.com

Telephone: 0300 037 1000

Deposit Protection Service

Telephone: 0330 303 0030

Unprotected Deposits

If your landlord has not used a TDP scheme within 30 days, you can contact your landlord or letting agent or you can apply to your local county court.

Always try and resolve disputes with your landlord first. This can save time and expenses. If you cannot come to an agreement, you can apply to the court for compensation.

Court Application

Apply using Form N208: Claim Form

The court fee is £365. You may claim this back from your landlord if your claim is successful. You cannot claim this fee back if your claim is unsuccessful.

You may apply here for a fee reduction or exemption if you claim benefits or have a low income.

If the court finds that your landlord has not protected your deposit, it may order your landlord to either:

Repay the total deposit
Pay it into a TDP scheme’s bank account within 14 days
Pay you up to 3 times the deposit within 14 days

The court may decide that you will not have to leave the property when the tenancy ends.

Holding Deposits

A holding deposit put down to secure a property before the agreement is signed does not have to be protected. If it becomes a part of your deposit once you become a tenant, it must be protected under one of the above schemes.

Leaving the Property

Your deposit will be returned to you in full if you meet the terms of your tenancy agreement, do not damage the property, and pay your rent and bills.

Ensure that you take photos of the property to show the condition you left it in and, if you can, get a check-out inventory and ask your landlord or letting agent to sign it. This will aid with any disputes that may arise after you have left the property.

Disputing the Deposit

Your landlord may contact you after leaving the property to inform you that they wish to keep part or all your deposit. They should return your deposit within 10 days of both parties agreeing to the final amount to be returned. They may only withhold your deposit if:

You owe rent
You have damaged the property
You have lost or broken items from the inventory

The landlord or letting agent should inform you why they wish to withhold your deposit. Always ask for this in writing. You can also request receipts or official quotes for the cost of any replacements or repairs.

Your landlord or letting agent cannot take money off your deposit for ‘reasonable wear and tear’.

Reasonable/Fair wear and tear: reasonable deterioration that occurs in a rental property over time, as a result of normal, everyday use during the period of a tenancy. It’s separate from damage caused by misuse, negligence, or intentional actions of a tenant. It depends on factors such as the length of the tenancy, the type of property, and the quality of materials used.

Examples of fair wear and tear:

faded paint or wallpaper
small scuffs on walls or floors
worn carpets or curtains.

This also includes repairs or replacements that occurred due to the fault of the landlord, or those that are disproportionate to the damage caused. For example:

replacing a worn carpet with a new one if it's worn out gradually over time
fixing any damage caused by a repair the landlord didn’t do when they should have, for example a leak you told them about that got worse and damaged the floor
decorating a whole room if there are a few scuff marks on a wall that have appeared while you've lived in the property

Your landlord or letting agent may not always be able to charge for the cost of a professional clean. As a tenant, you have a responsibility to leave the property in the same condition as you found it. It is a good idea to check with your landlord or letting agent when you sign the check-in inventory, that a professional clean has taken place, and ask for receipts. You must return the property at the end of the tenancy cleaned to the same standard as at the outset. This does not mean that you have to instruct a professional cleaner but be prepared to put aside some time for cleaning the property before you leave, and always take photographs for proof.

Resolving Disputes

It is always important to resolve disputes firstly and fore mostly with your landlord. However, if you cannot agree with your landlord, there are steps you can take to get your deposit back.

If you wish to dispute your deposit and it is unprotected, follow the steps in the ‘Unprotected Deposit’ and ‘Court Application’ sections.

If your deposit is protected, your TDP scheme will have a dispute resolution service you can use without charge. There may be a time limit to raise a dispute so contact the TDP as soon as possible.

Always check the process with your TDP scheme, but the resolution service is relatively straightforward. The caveat is your landlord must agree to use the service. If your landlord does not agree to dispute resolution, you may have to consider applying to court.

Dispute Resolution

Dispute resolution is a quicker, cheaper method of agreeing on your deposit return, and the TDP schemes will guide you through the process. See the below image for an estimated timeline taken from the Deposit Protection Service.

Submitting Evidence

Both parties must submit evidence supporting their claim, which is then passed on to an independent adjudicator.

Parties have 14 days to submit their evidence, so it is important to ensure that you have collected the support you need for your claim.

Evidence can consist of:

Emails
Text messages
Written notes from telephone conversations
Quotes from third parties
Photographs
Documents such as tenancy agreement or inventories
Witness statements

This list is non-exhaustive and will be dependent on your claim. You can see a list of suggested ‘good evidence’ from the Deposit Protection Service here.

At SLAM, we can assist with your dispute resolution. You can access our templates, or contact us for further assistance.

Landlord Responsibilities

A tenancy agreement forms a contract between you and your landlord or letting agency. However, there are basic rights and responsibilities laid down in law, regardless of whether they are contained in a tenancy agreement. We have set out the following duties using standard terms set out in a tenancy agreement and have included where these duties can be found in law.

Remember, a tenancy agreement cannot take away any right that is laid down in law, even if you have signed it. For more information on tenancy agreements, please seek further information here.

Not to interfere with the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment of the property

Established by case law, tenants have a long-established right to peaceful enjoyment of the property, regardless of whether this is an express term in the tenancy agreement.

This means that the tenant has the right to live in the property without interference from the landlord or letting agent. The landlord or letting agent cannot make unannounced visits or visit frequently without sufficient reason. They must also only visit at a reasonable time of day.

Reasonable notice is a minimum of 24 hours, although may need be shorter if you are in need of more urgent or emergency repairs.

Sufficient reason could consist of repairs, property check-ins, or viewing appointments.

Remember, you can say no if the notice is unreasonable and/or there is a lack of reasonable explanation for the visit.

Repair and maintenance of the property and items listed on the inventory

This is the big one, and it is important to know who is responsible for maintaining which part of the property, especially when it comes to repairs. The landlord's obligations are laid out in S11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, as shown below. This means that these obligations cannot be limited or restricted by any clause in a tenancy agreement. Regardless of whether you signed it, the landlord is always responsible.

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985: the landlord shall:

(a) keep in repair the structure and exterior of the Property (including drains, external pipes, gutters and external windows);

(b) keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the Property for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity); and

The landlord is not required:

(a) to repair anything which the Tenant is liable to repair by virtue of the Tenant’s duty to take reasonable care of the Property (see clause C4.1);

(b) to rebuild or reinstate the Property in the case of destruction or damage by fire, storm or flood; or

Repairs must be carried out within a reasonable time frame of the landlord being aware of the need for repair. It is important to keep a record of all communications with your landlord, as you may find that you need it further down the line as evidence.

When deciding on the standard of repair, it is a common misconception that a tenant must reimburse the landlord full price for a shiny new sofa after the 10-year-old sofa with burn marks on received an irreversible red wine stain. However, this is not the case. The standard of repair, age, condition, and fair wear and tear of items must be considered before the landlord hands you the invoice. Always make sure to record any poor conditions in the check-in inventory, as this can save you money further down the line.

Maintaining furniture, fixtures, fittings, and appliances: the landlord is responsible for the maintenance and repair of any furniture, fixtures, fittings, and appliances which are listed in the inventory, except where the damage was caused as a result of the tenant’s failure to comply with the tenant’s obligations.

Obligation to maintain common areas: If the property forms part of a building and the landlord retains control of other parts of the building, the landlord is under a legal obligation to take reasonable care to prevent injury to the tenant or damage to the property. This includes any appliances supplied by the landlord and listed on the inventory in common spaces.

Insurance and rent suspension

Your landlord is responsible for ensuring that their property is insured against fire, flooding, and other risks. Your landlord must provide you with a copy of their insurance policy if you request it.

As a tenant, you are responsible for the insurance cover of your own belongings, but this does not include furnishings that belong to the Landlord, such as those listed on the inventory.

If the property is damaged, the landlord must undertake all reasonable efforts to arrange for any damage caused by an insured risk to be remedied as soon as possible. Where the property is so damaged that it becomes uninhabitable, the tenant is not liable for rent until the property is fit for occupation. For example, if the property is damaged by flooding and the tenant has to move out while the damage is repaired, then the tenant does not have to pay rent during this period.

This applies unless the damage is caused by the tenant’s negligence or failure to comply with the tenant’s obligations.

Meeting safety standards

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) provides a basis for health and safety requirements of housing. This includes private rented properties and owner occupied housing (live-in landlords).

Gas safety: Your landlord must make sure gas equipment they supply is safely installed and maintained by a Gas Safe registered engineer and have a registered engineer do an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue, as well as give you a copy of the gas safety check record before you move in, or within 28 days of the check (Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998).

Always check that there is a current Landlord Gas Safety Record for your student property. This means all gas appliances have been checked within the last year by a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. Unchecked and badly maintained gas appliances pose a potentially lethal risk to your safety and health due to the risk of fires, explosions, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Electrical safety: Your landlord must make sure the electrical system is safe, for example sockets and light fittings, and that all appliances they supply are safe, for example cookers and kettles. Electrical Safety First provides ‘visual checks tips’ to help you keep an eye out for signs that your electrics may be in need of repair.

You can ask your landlord for an Electrical Installation Condition Report (previously referred to as a Periodic Inspection Report or PIR). Electrical Safety First recommends that a periodic inspection and test of the electrical installation should be carried out by a registered electrician at least every five years or on change of tenancy. You can also ask for certification confirming that any recent electrical work meets the UK national standards.

It is important that you do not carry out any electrical work yourself. This is the landlord’s responsibility, and they should employ a registered electrician.

Fire safety: Your landlord must follow safety regulations by providing a smoke alarm on each story and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a solid fuel-burning appliance (for example a coal fire or wood burning stove). The landlord must check you have access to escape routes at all times, make sure the furniture and furnishings they supply are fire safe and provide fire alarms and extinguishers if the property is a large house in multiple occupation (HMO).

Right to rent checks

The Immigration Act 2014 limits access to the private rental sector only to those who have the right to live in the UK legally.

This does not apply to student accommodation but does apply to students renting in the private sector.

You may be asked for your passport or original immigration documents. Most of the time, you will need to visit the letting agent in order for them to take a physical copy.

Information to the tenant

Tenancy Agreement: You should always ensure that you have received a signed copy of your tenancy agreement before your move-in date. If your letting agents provide separate signed copies of the agreement by you and your landlord, always read both copies to ensure they match.

Energy Performance Certificate: The Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) Regulations set a minimum energy efficiency level for domestic private rented properties (unless there is a registered exemption).

Your landlord or letting agent must provide you with a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), and EPCs must be rated E or above.

Deposit Protection Information: The Housing Act 2004 ensures that all tenancy deposits are protected in a government-authorized scheme within 30 days of receipt.

For further information, visit our page on ‘deposits’ here.

Landlord Contact Details: Full name and contact information of the Landlord. This must be given, even if they have a letting agent acting on their behalf. Best practice also suggests they should provide details of how and where to report an emergency.

How to Rent Guide: This is issued by the Government and provides detailed information on the process of renting in the Private Rental Sector. You can find a copy here.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR): This report assesses the condition of the electrical systems in a rental property and evaluates how efficiently they work. It ensures the electrics are safe enough for prospective tenants to use and identifies any hazards that need fixing. All rental properties must have a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report, which should be organised before the tenancy begins. If you are not given a copy, you have the right to request it.

Gas Safety Record: If the property has a gas supply and uses gas appliances then there is a requirement to provide the tenant with a copy of a gas safety certificate at the start of the tenancy and ensure that the certificate is renewed every twelve months.

Discrimination

While all landlords have a legal duty to conduct right-to-rent checks, they must ensure that they do not unlawfully discriminate contrary to the Equality Act 2010. Section 35 of the EA 2010 states that person (A) who manages premises must not discriminate against a person (B) who occupies the premises by subjecting B to any other detriment.

Landlords must not refuse to offer accommodation to someone based on their protected characteristic
Landlords must not treat applicants differently based on their protected characteristic
Landlords must not harass applicants or tenants based on their protected characteristic
Landlords must treat all applicants equally during the application process
Landlords should avoid asking intrusive questions about personal characteristics that are not relevant to the tenancy
Landlords should not victimise the resident by evicting B (or taking steps for the purpose of securing B's eviction)
Or subject the applicant/resident to any other detriment.

For further information, see the ‘Code of Practice for landlords’.