Campaigners claim tenants ‘struggle to get deposits back’ off agents
Generation Rent, which has made the claim, says a quarter of renters find it difficult to reclaim the full deposit at the end of a tenancy.
A quarter of renters in the UK struggle to get their deposit back at the end of a tenancy, new research has revealed.
Generation Rent says non-compliance by landlords and letting agents, and unclear rules, as well as financial pressures, undermine the protections tenants should enjoy.
The campaign group says £5.4 billion of private renters’ cash is held in tenancy deposit protection (TDP) schemes.
Mixed success
And in an online survey of 1,375 supporters of the group, including nearly 1,000 private tenants, renters still have mixed success in claiming deposits back.
While more than half (56%) of tenants who had paid the full deposit for their previous tenancy, received it all back, almost a quarter of tenants (23%) experienced deposit deductions they did not think were reasonable.
Of these, only one in five renters used the deposit scheme’s dispute resolution service.
Unaware of rights
Common reasons for renters gave for not challenging deposit deductions included:
– not being aware of their rights (18%)
– a fear that it would take too long (13%)
– not thinking they had enough evidence (11%)
And 18% of respondents could not dispute their claims because the landlord had broken the law by not protecting their deposit.
I just kept digging my heels in and I got it back eventually. But it took about four months.”
Many renters also said they experienced unreasonable deductions for cleaning fees. One tenant said: “I think [the landlord] was trying to make me fed up so that I would eventually just say, you know, just keep it.
“But I just kept digging my heels in and I got it back eventually. But it took about four months.”
Generation Rent says many tenants are discouraged by the threat of delays, “mystifying rules” around what counts as wear and tear, and “landlord dirty tricks”.
More on tenant deposit schemes
If tenants leave the property as the found it, less fair wear & tear of course, then there is absolutely no reason why they should not get their full deposit back. I don’t know a professional letting agent that would disagree with that.
However, more and more tenants are taking much less care to leave properties in good order and just try to bully agents into accepting cleaning and damage as acceptable wear & tear. Why should landlords accept the cost to remedy mould around windows etc. when tenants just wont heat or ventilate properly and wont wipe the area down and try to say the property is ‘damp’. Awaabs Law is only going to make this situation worse as condensation is going to be the landlords problem!
A good inventory and trained staff is all that is required for a fair end of tenancy for both landlord and tenant.
I couldn’t agree with you more David, tenants thinking iron burns in the carpet are fair wear & tear, properties being left filthy having been given to the tenants cleaned to a professional standard. More & more tenants threatening to take it to dispute. The reality is that the deposit scheme is to waited in the tenants favour