Deposit Deductions: What Landlords Can and Cannot Charge a Tenant For

By RentVault Team · Published 2026-07-28 · 6 min read

Deposits are where most landlord-tenant disputes happen. The question of what can be deducted — and what cannot — is the single most common source of disagreement at the end of a tenancy.

Deposits are where most landlord-tenant disputes happen. The question of what can be deducted — and what cannot — is the single most common source of disagreement at the end of a tenancy. This guide sets out the legal position clearly, with the practical approach that experienced property professionals use to document and defend legitimate deductions.

The legal framework

A deposit held for an assured tenancy in England must be protected in a government-approved deposit protection scheme. The three schemes are the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), mydeposits, and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). The deposit must be protected within 30 days of receipt, and the prescribed information about the scheme must be served on the tenant within the same period.

When the tenancy ends, you must return the deposit — or the undisputed portion of it — within ten days of agreeing the deductions with the tenant. If the tenant disputes a deduction, the amount in dispute is held by the scheme until the dispute is resolved through the scheme's adjudication service.

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 limits the deposit to five weeks' rent for annual rent below £50,000, or six weeks' rent for annual rent above that.

The fundamental distinction: fair wear and tear versus damage

The most important concept in deposit disputes is fair wear and tear.

Fair wear and tear is the ordinary deterioration of a property and its contents through normal use over time. It happens in every tenancy. It is the landlord's cost to bear, not the tenant's.

Damage is deterioration caused by the tenant beyond what normal use would produce — accidental damage, negligence, deliberate damage, or failure to report and prevent deterioration.

Deposit deductions can only be made for damage, not for fair wear and tear.

The line between the two is not always obvious. As a building surveyor, the approach I apply is this: what condition would a reasonable landlord expect this item to be in, given its age, quality at the start of the tenancy, and the length of the tenancy? If the condition at the end of the tenancy is consistent with that expectation, it is fair wear and tear. If the condition is significantly worse than would be expected for the age and use, it is damage.

Practical examples:

Carpets in a bedroom occupied for three years with normal use — faded, lightly worn, some traffic marks along walking routes. Fair wear and tear. Not a deductible item.

Carpets with a large stain caused by a drink being spilled and not reported. Damage. The cost of professional cleaning — or replacement if cleaning cannot fully restore — is a legitimate deduction.

Walls in a living room occupied for four years — scuffed in places, some minor marks, slightly yellowed near a south-facing window. Fair wear and tear. Redecoration is the landlord's cost.

Walls with numerous large holes from picture hooks, filled badly, with heavy staining from cooking or smoking in a non-smoking tenancy. Damage. The cost of making good is a legitimate deduction.

Bathroom grouting discoloured with normal mildew after a long tenancy — inevitable in a bathroom with standard ventilation. Fair wear and tear.

Bathroom tiles cracked from impact. Damage.

What you can legitimately deduct

Cleaning to the original standard. If the property was professionally cleaned at the start of the tenancy and is left in a significantly worse state — heavily soiled appliances, unclean bathrooms, debris left behind — the cost of professional cleaning to restore it to the original standard is a legitimate deduction. You should not deduct for bringing the property to a higher standard than it was at the start.

Damage to fixtures, fittings and furniture. Damage beyond fair wear and tear to items that were in good condition at the start of the tenancy. The deduction should reflect the cost of repair or, where repair is not possible, the cost of replacement — discounted for the age of the item. A five-year-old sofa that has been damaged cannot be replaced at new price; the deduction should reflect the remaining useful life.

Missing items. If items that were present at the start of the tenancy — as documented in the check-in inventory — are missing at the end, you can deduct the depreciated replacement value.

Rent arrears. Unpaid rent is a legitimate deduction from the deposit.

Unpaid utility bills. Where the tenant is responsible for utilities under the tenancy and has left bills unpaid, this may be deductible — though this is more complex and often harder to evidence quickly.

What you cannot deduct

Redecoration for normal wear and tear. Walls that need repainting after a long tenancy because of normal deterioration are not a cost the tenant bears. If the decoration was already worn when the tenant moved in, you certainly cannot deduct for it.

Carpet replacement for normal wear. A carpet that is simply worn from foot traffic is fair wear and tear.

General cleaning to a higher standard than the start. If the property was not professionally cleaned at the start of the tenancy, you cannot deduct for professional cleaning at the end.

Items that were already damaged or worn at the start. If something was documented as pre-existing in the check-in inventory, you cannot hold the tenant responsible for it.

Betterment. You cannot use deposit deductions to upgrade your property at the tenant's expense. The standard you restore to is the standard it was in at the start, appropriately discounted for fair wear and tear.

The inventory is everything

The single most important document in a deposit dispute is the check-in inventory. Without a detailed, photographic check-in inventory that was agreed with the tenant at the start of the tenancy, your ability to claim deductions is severely limited.

The inventory must record the condition of every room, every fixture, every fitting, and every piece of furniture at the start of the tenancy. Photographs must be date-stamped. The tenant should be invited to sign the inventory or dispute any entries at the start — if they signed it, it becomes the agreed baseline.

The check-out inventory must be conducted in the same level of detail, in the same format, and compared directly to the check-in inventory. Adjudicators compare the two documents side by side. If the check-in inventory describes a wall as "clean, lightly painted, no marks" and the check-out records "multiple large holes, heavy staining", the contrast is obvious and your deduction is supportable.

RentVault's document template library includes inventory templates for both check-in and check-out, in a format designed to support adjudication if needed.

How scheme adjudication works

If a tenant disputes a deduction, the deposit scheme's adjudication service makes the decision. Each of the three schemes operates its own adjudication process, but the approach is consistent: the adjudicator reviews the documentary evidence from both sides and decides what, if anything, can be deducted.

The burden of proof in adjudication is on the landlord. If you want a deduction, you need to demonstrate it — with the check-in inventory, the check-out inventory, photographs, invoices from contractors, and any other relevant documentation.

Adjudicators are not generous to landlords who rely on vague assertions. "The property was in a bad state" without supporting documentation produces no award. "The carpets were clean and undamaged at check-in (photograph 14), are stained beyond cleaning at check-out (photograph 87), professional cleaning was obtained at £320 (invoice attached)" produces an award.