10 Things That Get Your Tenancy Deposit Back In Full
You're moving out in a few weeks and you'd like all your money back. Most of what decides that happens before check-out day, not on it.
This is the practical run-through. For the law behind it, see your rental deposit rights. If a deduction has already landed and you disagree, go to what to do when they won't return it.
Start six weeks out, not the night before
The single biggest predictor of getting a deposit back in full is how early you start. Six weeks gives you time to fix small things properly, get the check-in inventory out, and do the cleaning without a panic.
The night before gives you time to make it look worse.
1. Read the check-in inventory again
Dig it out and read it properly, with the property in front of you. This document is what your check-out will be compared against, and most tenants haven't looked at it since the day they moved in.
Note anything recorded as damaged at check-in. Those are things you cannot be charged for, and having the reference ready saves the argument.
If you never got one, or never signed it, that's significant and worth knowing now rather than later, because a landlord without check-in evidence has a much harder time proving anything.
2. Re-read the tenancy agreement
Look for what it says about the condition you must return the property in, the garden, and any specific obligations like flushing the heating or cleaning the oven.
One thing to check: a clause requiring "professional cleaning" with receipts is not enforceable. Charging for it as a condition of the tenancy was banned by the Tenant Fees Act. You must return it clean, to the standard at check-in. Not cleaner, and not by someone with an invoice.
3. Fix the small things yourself
Picture hook holes filled and touched in. A loose cupboard door tightened. A cracked toilet seat replaced. A blown bulb.
Doing these yourself costs pounds. Having them done for you, charged through the deposit, costs a lot more, because you pay a tradesperson's minimum call-out for a ten minute job.
Be honest with yourself about which ones you can actually do well. A badly filled hole looks worse than an unfilled one.
4. Report anything that's the landlord's job now
If there's outstanding disrepair, report it in writing before you leave, even at this stage. It puts on record that it was a repair issue rather than damage you caused, and it prevents a broken window catch appearing on the check-out report as tenant damage.
Our guide on what landlords are responsible for covers where that line falls.
5. Deal with the garden
Gardens are one of the most common deductions and one of the most avoidable. Mow it, weed the beds, cut back anything that's grown into a path, and clear away anything you added.
If you're leaving in winter, photograph it anyway. A dormant garden looks neglected in February and you'll want to show what it was like when you arrived.
Who looks after the garden covers what's yours and what isn't.
6. Clean properly, and in the right order
Top to bottom, and leave the floors until last.
The places check-out reports focus on, in rough order of how often they cost people money:
- The oven. By a distance the most common single deduction. Start it early, use a proper oven cleaner, and do the racks and the door glass.
- Extractor filters and fan grilles, in the kitchen and bathroom.
- Limescale on taps, shower screens and around the toilet.
- Behind and under the fridge, washing machine and cooker.
- Window tracks and sills, and the inside of the glass.
- Skirting boards and door tops. The classic thing nobody thinks of.
- Inside cupboards and drawers, emptied and wiped.
You're aiming to match the standard at check-in, not to achieve a showroom.
7. Take everything with you
Including what's in the loft, the shed, the meter cupboard and the back of the wardrobe. Rubbish removal is a legitimate deduction and it's charged at a rate that will annoy you.
Put the landlord's own furniture and fittings back where the inventory says they were, including anything you stored to make room for your own.
8. Photograph everything on the day
This is the one that wins disputes.
On the day you hand back the keys, photograph every room, every appliance, the inside of the oven, the bathroom, the garden, and the meters. Wide shots for context and close-ups of anything that could be argued about.
Make sure the photographs are dated. Video walking through the property, narrating the date, is even better and takes four minutes.
Documenting the condition of your rental explains how to keep it in a form that stands up.
9. Attend the check-out
Go if you possibly can, or send someone you trust. Being there means you can point out what was already recorded at check-in, explain anything, and see what's being written down.
If you can't attend, ask for a copy of the report and for the opportunity to comment on it before anything is deducted.
Take final meter readings and photograph them, and leave a forwarding address.
10. Start the return in writing, straight away
Don't wait for them to get round to it. Email on the day you hand back the keys, confirming you've vacated, giving your forwarding address and bank details, and asking for the deposit to be returned.
Where there's no dispute, the deposit should be released within 10 working days of the amount being agreed. That clock is worth quoting if things go quiet.
The mindset that helps
A deposit dispute is decided on evidence, not on who is more annoyed. Everything above is really about arriving at the end of the tenancy with a better evidence file than the landlord has.
You don't need to leave the place immaculate. You need to be able to show what it looked like when you arrived, what it looked like when you left, and that the difference is fair wear and tear.
Most tenants who lose money lose it because they can't prove the "before", not because the property was in poor condition.
And afterwards
However it goes, review the landlord, the agent and the property. Deposit handling is the single most useful thing a prospective tenant can know about a landlord, and it's exactly what nobody can find out before they sign.
This guide covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own deposit schemes and rules. General information rather than legal advice. Sources: GOV.UK, tenancy deposit protection, TDS, deposits disputes and damages.