Deposit Disputes

At the end of the Tenancy if the amount of money to be returned to the tenant is disputed by the Tenant then the Tenancy Agreement, Inventory, Property Inspections, Notifications of Breach Letter (including Rent Reminders) and the Prescribed Information all become part of the evidence that will be used by the courts or Dispute Service to determine what monies are due to the Landlord or Tenant.

If you had failed to protect the Deposit then no monies can be deducted whilst the money is not protected in a Deposit Scheme. Where it remains unprotected, the Tenant would be eligible to seek compensation from the Landlord of three times the Deposit plus the full return of the Deposit.

Where the Tenant disputes the required deductions it is for the Landlord to prove their loss and that the requested deductions are reasonable. Your AST (like ours) will define when deductions can be made and the prescribed information the Tenant must be supplied with must (as defined by Legislation) include "the circumstances when all or part of the deposit may be retained by the Landlord, by reference to the terms of the tenancy"

The Deposit Scheme will review your right to make deductions - The terms our members use when issuing our prescribed information are

The Landlord may make such deductions from the Deposit as are reasonable should the Landlord suffer any loss as a result of the Tenant’s breach of the terms of the Agreement. This includes: