Your deposit is security against specific losses. It is not a fund the landlord draws on at the end of a tenancy to refresh the property.
That distinction is the whole of this topic. A deduction is lawful when it compensates a real, evidenced loss caused by you. Everything else — however it is worded in the agreement — is not.
The three tests
Every deduction has to pass all three. If it fails one, it fails.
Is there a genuine loss? Something must actually have been damaged, lost, left unclean or left unpaid. A landlord cannot deduct for inconvenience, for time spent, or for a thing they were going to replace anyway.
Is it your responsibility? Not fair wear and tear. Not a pre-existing defect. Not something the landlord was obliged to repair and did not.
Is the amount reasonable? Proportionate to the loss, accounting for the item's age and remaining life. This is where most over-claims are cut down.
What can legitimately be deducted
Damage beyond fair wear and tear. Burns, deep stains, holes, breakages, pet damage, unauthorised decorating. The dividing line is set out in what counts as fair wear and tear.
Cleaning to return the property to its check-in standard. Not to a better standard, and not a blanket professional-cleaning charge — see can my landlord charge me for cleaning.
Unpaid rent. Straightforward, and usually not worth arguing if the arithmetic is right.
Unpaid bills you were responsible for. Utilities, council tax where it was yours. Bounded exactly by your meter readings at each end.
Missing items that were on the inventory.
Rent for a period you stayed beyond the end of the tenancy, where that applies.
What cannot
Betterment. A landlord cannot end up better off than they started. A damaged seven-year-old carpet with two years of life left is not a new carpet at your expense — it is the value of the life you destroyed, which is a fraction of the replacement cost. The same applies to paint, appliances and furnishings.
Fair wear and tear. Thinning carpet on walkways, faded paint, tired handles, gradual grout discolouration. Deterioration from ordinary use and the passage of time is not chargeable, ever.
A mandatory professional cleaning fee. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 a term requiring you to pay for professional cleaning is a prohibited payment in England. The obligation is the standard, not the receipt.
Pre-existing defects. Anything the check-in inventory recorded, or that your own move-in photographs show, is not yours.
Repairs that were the landlord's duty. A landlord generally remains responsible for the structure and exterior, and for the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water. A failure they did not fix does not become your deduction.
Round numbers with nothing behind them. "Cleaning: £250. Damage: £300." No itemisation, no invoice, no comparison to check-in. Adjudicators see a great many of these and they routinely fail.
Administration or inspection fees. Charging you for the cost of checking the property out, or for the landlord's own time, is not a loss caused by you.
Evidence the landlord needs, and usually does not have
For a deduction to stand, a landlord should be able to produce:
- A check-in record showing the item in better condition
- A check-out record showing the damage
- An invoice or a credible quote for putting it right
- Something addressing the item's age and expected lifespan
Most contested deductions fail on the first or the third. A landlord who never made a check-in inventory has almost nothing to show the property was ever in better condition — provided you have your own record of what you were given.
That asymmetry is worth sitting with. The burden is on the landlord. Your job is not to prove innocence; it is to make sure their evidence cannot stand unchallenged where it is thin, and to be straight about the places where it is not.
Starting a new tenancy? Our move-in checklist helps you record each room before you unpack, and the move-out checklist helps you record the same rooms again before you hand back the keys.
How to read a deduction schedule
When the list arrives, go through it line by line and sort each item into one of four piles:
- Accept. You did it, the amount is fair. Say so.
- Accept the fact, dispute the amount. You did it, the figure is inflated. Ask for the invoice and raise age and betterment.
- Dispute the fact. It was there when you moved in, or it is wear and tear. Point to your photographs and the inventory wording.
- Dispute the ground. It is a prohibited charge, a landlord repair, or an admin fee. Say which.
Then respond in writing with that sorting. A reply that concedes two items and disputes three, each with a reason, is far more effective than a blanket refusal — and it narrows the argument to the points you still disagree about.
The 2026 position
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect on 1 May 2026, abolishing section 21 and assured shorthold tenancies. It did not change the law on deductions, the deposit cap or the protection rules.
It did change the leverage. Under the old regime a tenant who argued about deductions could, in practice, be served two months' notice. That route no longer exists. If you are reading guidance that assumes it does, it is out of date.
Put it in writing
If you disagree with a deduction, or the deposit has not come back, reply in writing, one charge at a time. Our free deposit letter can help: choose England and Wales, list each charge you dispute and why, and it writes a polite, dated letter asking for the money or for the check-in inventory and receipts, and saying you will use your scheme's free dispute service if you cannot agree. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Where RentSeal fits
Everything above comes down to whether you can show what the property looked like when you were given it. RentSeal keeps that record for one tenancy — dated photographs by room, notes, documents — and exports it as a single pack. You can see how it works first.
This guide explains the principles in general terms and is not legal advice. It does not decide responsibility in your tenancy. For your own situation, speak to Citizens Advice, Shelter or a housing solicitor.