What is the biggest cause of landlord claims against deposits?

Tue 05 Jan 2021

According to the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), over half of the claims against deposits made in 2020 by landlords, were for cleaning or making repairs to the property or its contents.

Damage costs made up 27 percent of all claims, while cleaning was included in 25 percent and outstanding bills in only two percent of cases.

2020 figures from the DPS’s dispute resolution service show that in 75% of cases, landlords who entered into disputes received at least some of their claim, and tenants were awarded at least part of the amount claimed in 80 percent of cases.

The reason it’s the law for landlords to hold deposits separately (in this case, the DPS) is to protect both tenant AND landlord. It means that should there be any disputes over deposits being retained, an independent third party can look at evidence presented from both sides and make a judgement.

The DPS also asserts that despite approximately £4m of deposit money being awarded to landlords in 2020, only three percent of all tenancies had ultimately ended with a dispute over the deposit being returned.

The real key to this, is communication. Tenants need to be in regular contact with their landlord or letting agent throughout their tenancy, which helps develop an understanding of their obligations and highlights any issues before the end of their tenancy, including knowledge of cleaning standards and what constitutes reasonable wear and tear for the length of time they’ve occupied a property.

If you have a property you’re looking to let, and you’d like to learn more about what we do, our tenant find process, and how we do our best to make sure you don’t end up in the above-mentioned 3 percent, find out more about our landlord services here.