Has anyobe actually ever got their deposit back on a rental?

[malificent7]

I am currently deep cleaning my rental property ...I have been there for 10 years so wear and tear is evident.

I have scrubbed scuff marks off the wall, got a deep cleaner to do barhroom/ kitchen / skirting boards etc. Grout/ tiles are looking good.
There is a tiny blob of slime on dds carpet..i have softened with vinegar and is coming off slowly. I am using rug doctor throughout. there was also some black mould growing behind furniture...have scrubbed it off.
I know I wont get my deposit back but as a matter of pride I want to leave it in a good state.
Has anyone actually had a deposit back and if so...how?

@Hamandcheeselife I didn’t go to court, I told them I knew it wasn’t protected and asked them if they wanted to settle out of court. They gave me 2x because they knew they would have to pay 3 if they went to court. They have no defence.

I only did it because they tried to keep my deposit after accusing me of painting the banisters white. I hadn’t and thankfully had taken pictures to prove it!

Yes but I had to raise a dispute with the deposit protection scheme, it took a while

Yes always - it's protected, there is absolutely no reason you shouldn't get it back unless you have breached tenancy (pets etc) or left it in a state.

Why do you think that won’t you get your deposit back - Is this the first house you’ve rented ?
I’ve rented several places and gotten it back every time with small cleaning deductions (LL’s got cleaners in for cheaper than I chips ever have)

I locked internal doors. The EA was on to me 5 minutes after i left looking for the keys. He wanted to show other people around! He had no deposit to give back to me though. I was told the couple were in waterford, wouldnt be back in Dublin for a week and that id get my €1200 back then.

I said ill keep the keys til then so. They tried to argue but i just said bye.

EA rang me an hour later to say he had the money.

Made me wonder what all the bullshit about being in Waterford was about 🙄

Every time with no deductions

Yes, even when my tool LL expected the house to be in the same state as when she first left it… 12 years prior, and 4 tenants before me. She was a nasty cow and the DPS refunded me in full, I was bombarded with emails for months

Yes, I've rented 4 properties in total and always had my full deposit back.

Yes, in student flats, second one we left in a far better state than we got it.

2 further rentals before I bought, 1st again left better than I got it and 2nd was a rented room in a shared house and again left it good and cleaned the carpet.

So have never lost any deposit.

I did.

I scrubbed my 1 bed flat for 2 days and then took lots of photos. Then I waited 32 days. The deposit is supposed to be repaid in 30 days. I rang them and asked for my deposit back as they were two days over the maximum.

They rang me back and said the flat had needed a light clean and they would deduct £100. I pointed out that a) they were 2 days past the point they could raise any issues and b) I had scrubbed the flat from floors to ceilings and taken photos, and would they like to tell me exactly what had needed cleaning.

The deposit was back in my the following morning.

When I moved in, I'd had to scrape the grease off the kitchen with a knife so they were pushing their luck.

'my account'...

Our second LL didn't protect our deposit (and refused to give any back) so we took him to court and got 3x the amount back!

3 times out of 4. The 3rd was an arse- letting themselves in and out constantly when we had gone out, opening our post- all under the guise of being ‘helpful’. I chucked the keys back and moved out and so they claimed it under non-payment of rent. The place was left spotless though. They were serious weirdos and I couldn’t be bothered with the stress of seeing them again for the sake of 1k.

The other 3 times I had pleasant and decent landlords and had left the houses immaculate. 100% every time.

Yes once. I had amazing letting agents. They did repairs promptly, they didn't worry about little things like scuffs on walls or wear and tear at all, and when I left they returned my deposit in full with no argument. I did clean it thoroughly, but it was me cleaning it not a professional.

I have since had a landlord not return any of my deposit, and another who charged me for a full clean even though I supplied a receipt of the full clean I had already had done.

About 80% of my tenants do. It usually works out more profitable to get it sorted myself and re let the place than spend hours going back and forth over the cost of half a day with a bottle of Cif and some rags.

Yes, every time. And I don’t see why you wouldn’t. They have to make allowances for the fact you’ve been there for a decade. Even if you weren’t leaving, they’re probably due to replace things like the carpet cos the only last so long.

Always got it back but always had to make it clear I know my rights!!!

Yes, but I did have to write to our ex-landlord threatening him with legal action if he didn't pay. It was strange because he was actually quite a good landlord while we lived there!

I got my full deposit back last year, I didn't even do a great cleaning job either. Plus I'd painted the place! The rent was cheap though so they could easily get new tenants, plus the mortgage was paid off.

Every time over 10 years so think 8 properties..why wouldn't you unless you left it in an awful state. Deposit in a protected scheme and you have to agree to any reductions.

Every time!

I did. I always had evidence. First thing I larned when I came here evidence everything.
Once agency tried to charge me for cleaning. I sent pics of how we got the flat and my invoice to the same sum and since I was "feeling generous I offered that these cancel each other out. I expect my full deposit returned on previously agreed date" 😂
They did

Yes I got it all back. But I had it professionally cleaned. Carey's were shit but it's part of wear and tear

Had to be at the standard at it was at moving in though, and I couldn't clean to that standard. I'm talking no sign of limescale, not a speck of dust, nothing.

Yes. Landlord who we'd rented off for 6 years had put it into a deposit account, and we got the full deposit plus interest earned. The flat was clean but had 6 years worth of wear and tear.
This was before deposit schemes were introduced. Good practice advice at the time was to put deposits into separate deposit accounts, but some letting agents, and possibly some landlords too, saw deposits as an additional income stream.