If your property is managed by a lettings agent then you will need to contact them at the end of your tenancy to obtain your deposit back. If you are managed by a private landlord then the same applies, you will need to contact your landlord direct. It is always a good idea to write or email when you ask for your deposit back, if you do you will then have a record of when you asked for it back.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE PROPERTY

You will have a better chance of getting all or most of your deposit back if you leave the property in the same condition as when you moved in. Your landlord or letting agent should draw up a full inventory of the property and the condition that its in at the start of the tenancy. When you are ready to leave get a check out inventory that you can check against the original inventory that you and your landlord will have signed. This will enable you to make sure that you are leaving the property in the same condition as it was at the start of the tenancy.

MONEY YOUR LANDLORD MIGHT TAKE FROM YOUR DEPOSIT.

You might not get the full amount of your deposit back if for example :

you owe rent.

You’ve damaged the property – this could be something like a spill on the carpet or a mark on the wall.

You have lost or broken some items from the inventory.

MONEY YOUR LANDLORD SHOULDN’T TAKE FROM YOUR DEPOSIT

Replace a carpet with a new one if its worn out gradually over time.

Fix any damages caused by a repair they didn’t do when they should have for example a leak you told them about that got worse and damaged over time.

Decorate a whole room if there are a few scuff marks on a wall that have appeared while you’ve lived in the property.

Your landlord can’t take money from your deposit for “reasonable wear & tear”  – this means things that would gradually get worse or need replacing over time, for example paintwork, or a piece of furniture.