You will generally be asked to pay a deposit when you move in to a new place and sign a contract. Getting your full deposit back can be the difficult part as landlords will often look for reasons to make deductions for arrears or damage to the property.
If you are having difficulties getting the landlord to return your deposit, or you do not agree with the deductions, there are a couple of options for you.
The majority of housing agreements are what are called Assured Shorthold Tenancies. Under these tenancies, your deposit has to be protected in a government scheme and this will be directly mentioned in your housing agreement. Each of these schemes have a dispute resolution service where you can submit a form detailing your dispute.
You will also need to submit relevant evidence – this could be communication between you and the landlord or photographs of the property. These schemes will look at the situation and return the deposit amount they feel is fair. This can take up to a month. It is always worth speaking to your landlord before you go down this route as they may try to resolve the situation before this formal process.
The housing charity Shelter has a useful advice page on getting your deposit back which covers this in more detail.
Shelter Deposit Advice(Opens in a new tab)
If you have any questions about deposits, please feel free to get in touch with us using the details below.
Saw Swee Hock Student Centre
su.advice@lse.ac.uk
020 7955 7158
You can book an appointment via email
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