You can deduct for damage beyond fair wear and tear, professional cleaning, and unpaid rent, with evidence. You cannot deduct for normal deterioration through everyday use.
What landlords can deduct from a deposit
- Damage beyond fair wear and tear, holes in walls, broken fixtures, burns, staining
- Professional cleaning, where the property was returned dirtier than at check-in (evidenced by both reports)
- Unpaid rent, arrears outstanding at the end of the tenancy
- Missing or broken inventory items, absent or irreparably damaged listed items
- Unauthorised alterations, decoration or structural changes made without permission
- Garden neglect, where the garden condition has materially deteriorated
What landlords cannot deduct
- Fair wear and tear, scuffs, minor marks, faded curtains, worn carpets in high-traffic areas from normal use
- Pre-existing damage, anything recorded as already damaged at check-in
- Betterment, you cannot charge the tenant for an upgrade (e.g. new carpet replacing an old one)
- Age-related deterioration, repainting walls that have aged over a long tenancy is maintenance, not a tenant cost
Fair wear and tear, the lifespan formula
Adjudicators apply a proportional formula to items with a finite lifespan. If a carpet was 5 years old at the start of a 3-year tenancy and was damaged, the landlord can only claim a proportion of the replacement cost, the carpet had already lost much of its value. The longer the tenancy and the older the item, the smaller the potential award. Evidence of the item's age and condition at check-in is essential.
The deposit protection scheme dispute process
- Attempt agreement first. Send the tenant a schedule of proposed deductions with evidence. Give them a reasonable opportunity to respond before raising a formal dispute.
- Raise a dispute with the scheme within the scheme's window, typically 90�120 days from tenancy end or from the disputed return date.
- Submit your evidence, check-in report, check-out report, photographs, invoices, rent account statement.
- The adjudicator decides on the balance of the evidence. The decision is binding. There is no appeal route simply for disagreeing with the outcome.
- Return the undisputed portion promptly, the adjudicator will not look favourably on landlords who delay returning the agreed balance.
The evidence that wins deposit disputes
| Evidence type | What it proves | Essential? |
|---|---|---|
| Signed check-in inventory with photos | Condition at start, baseline for comparison | Yes |
| Signed check-out report with photos | Condition at end, identifies what changed | Yes |
| Professional invoices/receipts | Actual cost of remedial work | Yes for each claim |
| Rent account statement | Arrears amount and period | Yes for rent claims |
| Mid-tenancy inspection report | Damage was caused during the tenancy | Strongly recommended |
| Communication trail | Tenant was notified of issues and failed to remedy them | Helpful |
Deposit return timescales
The undisputed portion of the deposit must be returned promptly after agreement, most schemes specify within 10 days. Failure to protect the deposit at the start of the tenancy means the landlord cannot make deductions and faces a penalty of 1�3� the deposit amount. Always protect within 30 days of receipt.
Our property inventory template provides a room-by-room framework for check-in and check-out reports, with photograph log pages. Properly completed, it is one of the strongest tools in any deposit dispute. Available in the shop.