Tenancy & deposits
What is a deposit dispute?
A deposit dispute is a disagreement about deductions at the end of a tenancy, resolved by the scheme's adjudicator on the documents both parties submit.
Adjudication is on paper. Nobody visits the property, so the case is entirely what was recorded at check-in and check-out, and a landlord who did not document the start of the tenancy has no case to submit.
The burden is on the party claiming the deduction. In the absence of evidence the deposit goes back to the tenant, which is why the inventory matters more than any argument about fairness.
Fair wear and tear limits every claim. Deductions that ignore the length of the tenancy and the expected life of the item are routinely reduced, and including them weakens the credible parts of a claim.
What goes wrong in practice
- Claims submitted with undated photographs and no check-in the tenant agreed.
- Betterment claimed — a new carpet for a worn one — rather than a fair proportion.
- Cleaning claimed without a check-in standard to compare against.