Letter before court action: Deposit return
You should send a 'letter before claim' to your landlord before starting a small claim in court.
This is a formal letter. It gives the landlord a final chance to refund your deposit or negotiate before you take court action.
Send it as a letter and ask the post office for proof of postage.
Use our letter template
You can can download our template letter before action:
Word template: Letter before court action (docx 16kb)
Remember to delete the instructions and any bits that do not apply to you.
You can also copy it into an email but make sure you send it by post too.
[Use the subject: Letter before claim]
I am the former tenant of [address of property].
My tenancy started on [date] and ended on [date].
I left the property in good condition and paid the full rent until the end of my tenancy.
My tenancy deposit
I paid you a deposit of £xxx on [date].
I wrote to you on [date] to ask for a full refund of my deposit to me within 10 days.
[I suggested that we use the dispute resolution (ADR) service offered by the deposit protection scheme. You did not reply or refused this.]
Please return the full amount of £xxx within 14 days of receiving this letter.
If I do not receive payment or a substantial response from you within 14 days I will start proceedings in the county court without further notice.
I will include a claim for interest on the amount of the unreturned deposit.
Last updated: 26 June 2023