How Deposits Work

By the day you move in at the latest, and under both old and new systems, the landlord’s full deposit will be required (though this may be taken by the agent).

If you are asked for key money, this is a separate, additional charge. Avoid it. It’s a throwback to the days when the deposits held were only token sums. You need a landlord who’s up to date with all these new rules, not one still running things in the 1950s.

Check how the deposit needs to be provided. Some landlords require cash (but only usually for relatively cheaper units). Some agents and landlords prefer cheques, banker’s drafts or building society cheques. Ask what is required for your property, plus when and how it needs to be paid. It must always be paid in time for funds to clear before you are allowed to sign leases. However a deposit is requested you must always insist on having a separate receipt for your deposit, and keep it safe.

Reasonable Deductions

Deductions can obviously be expected to be made if you make a cigarette burn in the carpet. Deductions cannot be made if a hole wears in the carpet, as this is ‘wear and tear’. Routine redecoration cannot be charged for. However if you damage the decorations in any way, you will be charged for part or full redecoration. If you decide to repaint the walls, the landlord/agency can, and probably will, charge you for the cost of returning the property to the owner’s preferred colour. Electric kettles, which wear out or break during normal use cannot be charged for. Ones that you have boiled dry and made the element melt can and will be. Ditto drains blocked by fat or toilets jammed with... well whatever.

If you leave the place dirty or with damage, cleaning, repair and replacements are not cheap when done by contractors – landlords aren’t your devoted parents. We don’t work for love.

However ...

Tenants with genuine abuse on their hands have, until the establishment of the new scheme, only had access to the Small Claims Court, thus tying the disputed funds up for months on end. Winning eventually is small consolation when a decent tenant needs the old deposit to fund their next rental. And of little interest I suspect to an industry grown fat on high charges for everything they could possibly excuse as chargeable.

Nevertheless, if you believe that, under the old system, you have been either overcharged or unfairly treated by any landlord or their agent, use the Small Claims Court system. It’s cheap, simple and highly effective. Look up Courts in your Yellow Pages, ring and ask for forms for a claim. Court staff can’t give you legal advice, but they are very helpful at getting you off on the right track. Alternatively, everything can be done online.

Read That Lease

And preferably before you sign it! If you don’t understand something, ask for an explanation. Because whatever you’ve agreed to will be in your lease and you’ll be held to it.

Every single time you decide to hang a picture with a hammer and nail, think carefully about your precious deposit. In some instances you can lose huge sums of money, especially in expensive properties where well-plastered walls don’t look their best with inches of shattered plaster.

Fitting a unit or shelves to the wall, or having a cable TV system installed, may seem like excellent ideas... until you come to remove them when you leave. You will be charged for all damages you cause installing permanent fixtures. In some cases these fitted items can actually become the property of your landlord. Always remember, landlords/agents exist to make a profit. The arrangement you have entered is purely commercial, and your deposit can and will be utilised to pay the genuine cost of any repairs necessary as a result of your conduct.