Negotiating on deposits

This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland

If you paid a tenancy deposit before 6 April 2007, and you think your landlord is unfairly keeping your tenancy deposit, you should try to negotiate the return of your tenancy deposit with your landlord.

If you signed a new tenancy agreement since 6 April 2007

The law on tenancy deposits changes in April 2012. You have new legal rights if you paid your tenancy deposit before 6 April 2007, but have signed a new assured shorthold tenancy agreement with your landlord on or after 6 April 2007.

Find out more about a landlord's duty to protect your tenancy deposit with a government approved tenancy deposit scheme.

Get all your paperwork together

Get together any paperwork you have relating to your tenancy and to your deposit, including:

your tenancy agreement
evidence that you paid the deposit - a receipt or letter from your landlord or evidence from your bank
evidence that you paid your rent.

Get together any evidence of the condition of the property when you moved in. Useful items might include:

the inventory
photographs you took when you moved in
receipts for items you have replaced
receipts for repairs done to the property
letters from and to your landlord (eg about repairs or replacement items).

These may also be useful later if you need to go to court to get the deposit back.

Write to ask for the return of the tenancy deposit

If a deposit has not been returned, the first step is to write and ask your landlord to return your deposit. Your landlord should inform you if deductions have been made from the deposit, and return any money due to you.

You may need to write to ask why your deposit is being kept and what specific costs are being taken out of your deposit. Ask for an explanation and a breakdown of specific expenses.

You may find our sample letter requesting a breakdown of deductions from a deposit helpful. Letter

Give your landlord a deadline for replying (such as within two weeks) and keep a copy of the letter.

Your landlord may reply with a list of the deductions from your deposit. Look at these and see whether you agree with them:

If you agree the deductions are fair, you need take no further action.
If you don't agree with some or all of the costs you will need to write again.
If your landlord doesn't respond to your letter at all, you should write again once the deadline has passed.

Write to dispute deductions from your tenancy deposit

You will need to write to your landlord again if:

your landlord hasn't responded to your first letter
you disagree with any of the costs deducted from your deposit
you agree with some, but not all of the deductions.
You can download and adapt our sample letter disputing the deposit.

Your letter should set out clearly:

which costs - if any - you do not accept
the reasons why you do not accept them
the amount of money you think should be returned to you.

Give your landlord a deadline for a reply - such as within two weeks. In your letter warn that you will take your landlord to court if your deposit is not returned within the deadline date.

Court action if your tenancy deposit is not returned

If you don't get a reply or your landlord still won't give you the money, you can try to get it back by taking your landlord to court.

Court action to recover tenancy deposits is straightforward, and takes place in the county court, so you won't need a solicitor. You may not even have to go to a court hearing at all - your landlord may return your tenancy deposit when made aware you are considering court action.

If your deposit is held by a letting agent

If you rented through a letting agent and they hold your tenancy deposit, they do so on behalf of your landlord. If the letting agent unfairly refuses to return your deposit, or the company stops trading and disappears with your money, you should contact your landlord directly. Your landlord is responsible for returning your tenancy deposit even if you originally paid it to the agency.

You are entitled to know the name and address of your landlord. Your letting agent has a legal duty to provide this information within 21 days, if you request it in writing. Get advice if you need help with this.

If your letting agent behaves unreasonably and is registered with a regulatory organisation, you can contact that body to report the problem. The National Approved Lettings Scheme and the Association of Residential Letting Agents are the two main regulatory bodies for letting agencies.