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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think getting a rental deposit back shouldn’t be so hard and bewildered as to what to do

41 replies

SunC10ud · 05/01/2025 12:22

My son has autism and rented the most awful private property at uni last year. Black mould everywhere including his bedroom to the extent the landlord just chucked machines in there to try to help with the damp and bleached the walls when it got really bad. My son was sleeping in there. The place was filthy when they moved in, really filthy. The boiler wasn’t working the day they moved in. Then the heating went off, ditto hot water and they ended up without a washing machine at various times. He was freezing. So fast forward to moving out. There is a stain on the lounge floor and it was definitely there when they moved in as I commented on it whilst trying to get the place clean. There were stains everywhere. Landlord is refusing to give back £400x3 back because of it. He ignored everything else that they had to put up with and is citing this 1 stain. £1200 for 1 stain! I stupidly didn’t take pictures. We contacted the student letting company and the money is now in a holding company. We really need it and my son is like a headless chicken really not knowing what to do.

Anybody know what to do in this situation, surely getting your own money back shouldn’t be so hard.

OP posts:

Octopies · 05/01/2025 12:35

Did the letting agent and your son go through an inventory when he first moved in, he should have been given a copy? If so, the stain should have been noted on there, if it is then they will find it difficult to argue their case. Did they give details of the deposit scheme his deposit was put into?

Livedandlearned · 05/01/2025 12:37

Are there any emails or paper trails for the damp?

Nikkynakkynoo · 05/01/2025 12:40

Call Shelter for advice. Gather as much paper trail/evidence as you can...and be prepared for a long haul. We had a disputed deposit some years ago and Shelter were extremely helpful but DH spent months back and forth. We did get it all back in the he end though (less a £75 bill from a "cleaning company" which was conveniently run by the landlords wife 🤨🙄)

MatildaTheCat · 05/01/2025 12:42

Look at the deposit protection scheme website for guidance on this. He needs to prove the stain wasn’t there as much as your sone needs to prove it was. The schemes tend to side with the tenants in my experience.

The general state of the property is indicative of a poorly maintained house and it’s highly unlikely that the carpet was new. Carpets in rentals are deemed to be needing to be replaced, I think, every 7 years. So even if they did cause the stain, if it’s an old carpet they will be charged very little. If it’s cheap carpet then it’s even less.

Unfortunately it will take a while for arbitration and the LL is hoping the poor students will agree or give up but don’t. Look at the scheme and follow their advice. I bet they get it back.

Hoppinggreen · 05/01/2025 12:44

Was there an Inventory on move in?
Do you have photo/email/text evidence of telling the LL about the issue?
All deposits are held by a "holding company" and you can use their dispute process to argue why you should get the deposit back. These companies are completelu neutral and DO often come down on the side of The Tenant. You should have been given details of the DPS and the company involved when your DS signed the contract and you can use their portal to request the deposit return and also to refute any of the LL's claims

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 05/01/2025 12:45

We had this with a LL. we left it to the DPS to look at all the evidence. There were a few things the LL tried to claim and they gave us all our deposit bar some cooker knobs melted when the grill pan caught fire.

AngryLikeHades · 05/01/2025 12:48

Are deposits now meant to be put in a protection scheme?
I remember being at uni and losing many deposits because the landlord was unfair and the houses an absolute shit show. It was so irritating!

AngryLikeHades · 05/01/2025 12:49

Will university welfare services or similar get involved?

TwinklyTornadoBear · 05/01/2025 12:51

Good advice above - definitely ask which tenancy deposit service it’s lodged with as, if they haven’t, then they’re potentially liable to give you back up to 3x the deposit!

Randomusername37258 · 05/01/2025 12:54

The deposit protection scheme make it really easy to settle fairly and, if it's not lodged with one, you can claim back more. I had a landlord like that at uni and used it really easily and effectively.

Doggymummar · 05/01/2025 12:56

It's quite straightforward. He contacts the DPS fills in the form and the money comes back

oustedbymymate · 05/01/2025 12:56

The deposit should be secured In a deposit protection scheme.

Look at lodging a claim at an all claim court.

Buxustrees · 05/01/2025 13:03

This is such a frustrating situation that renters have to face. When your son entered into the tenancy agreement and paid the deposit, the landlord should have placed the deposit into one of the three government approved deposit schemes. The landlord / LA then should have given your son the details within 30 days of the tenancy commencing.

Your son doesn’t need to ask the landlord or the letting agent for the deposit back. He just needs to log directly into the deposit protection scheme website and click “I want my full deposit back”. The scheme then deals with the matter.

I have done this every time a tenancy has ended and I have got back all 100% of my deposit every time. I have never asked a landlord or LA for my deposit back - as soon as the tenancy has ended on the same day, I just log straight on to the deposit protection scheme website, clink that the tenancy has ended and I want my full deposit back. The landlord then has to prove to the scheme why they should keep the tenants deposit (the schemes dip on the tenants side). I have had to wait up to 30 days before, but always got the full amount back. Have a check what scheme your sons deposit was kept with x

Hoppinggreen · 05/01/2025 13:04

AngryLikeHades · 05/01/2025 12:48

Are deposits now meant to be put in a protection scheme?
I remember being at uni and losing many deposits because the landlord was unfair and the houses an absolute shit show. It was so irritating!

yes, you no longer have to try and get the deposit back from a Landlord becasue its not them that has it.
Much better

Winter2020 · 05/01/2025 13:13

If your son requests his deposit back from the deposit scheme and the landlord wants to keep money for the stain then the landlord would need to prove

that the stain wasn't already there when the tenants moved in (a signed/dated inventory) and
that the carpet (without the stain) would have a value.

A carpet in a shared house that is not new would depreciate quickly and have very little value. The landlord would not be entitled to the cost of a new carpet to replace an old one.

I believe a carpet in a rental is considered to depreciate to nothing in 5-10 years and that could be even quicker in a shared student property.

I expect your son will get his deposit back in full or near enough.

Katemax82 · 05/01/2025 13:16

Request it through the secure deposit scheme. If they refuse they have to provide evidence why and you can argue your case (normally this would work but I lost my entire deposit last year when the cunt landlord provided a receipt for £1400 gardening done after we moved out)

Sunshineandrainbow · 05/01/2025 13:18

How bloody frustrating

Have you any evidence of contacting them regarding the damp?

TheCrenchinglyMcQuaffenBrothers · 05/01/2025 13:21

As per everyone else has said. Ask for the deposit scheme, go direct. If he hasn’t used one, he’s in trouble.

It’s also worth noting, landlords like this often don’t do other things correctly either. Worth checking with the local authority if the house in question has been licensed correctly with them as HMO with all that entails. If it isn’t/wasn’t whilst he was living there, he can claim back the full years rent under a RRO.

Cosyblankets · 05/01/2025 13:29

I am a landlord and i had time stamped photos when my tenant moved in. Can't remember now but it might have been a condition of the deposit scheme

StrawberrySquash · 05/01/2025 13:37

Agree. They one time I had a proper inventory clerk check me out I was pleasantly surprised at how much wear and tear they expected. She would say things like that mark's fine, it's due a repaint anyway and similar with the carpet. A place will get more worn over the course of a year and that is reasonable. (Of course proper cleaning should also be done, and a lot of people don't!)

But stick to your guns. Ask the landlord to confirm when the carpet was put in and I suspect any independent adjudicator will judge the condition as normal for its age. And always take photos on moving in and confirm issues to the landlord via email.

Hufflemuff · 05/01/2025 13:41

Sorry just to add because I'm not sure anyone has yet, but the landlord should also be asked to prove he's even replaced the carpet that he's proclaiming to need the money for!

Original poster

SunC10ud · 05/01/2025 13:46

Thankyou all so much, this is all really helpful.

The student letting company (who have been shite and I suspect know how bad the property is and complicit in them just masking the mould prior to letting as it grows back really quick) only sent an email saying this

”I would suggest that you take the deposit deductions to dispute where an independent dispute team will decide the outcome of the deductions and who should be responsible for paying for what.“

There were sooooo many stains we didn’t think to list them in the inventory it would have been impossible to pinpoint one. That said my son wasn’t the lead tenant and didn’t have the inventory. We were stupid and yes as parents should have insisted doing it with them but they are adults and its been years since we’ve rented. Also it was so grotty, most of that day was taken up with getting keys,cleaning and getting the boiler fixed so they had hot water and heating before we left. My son has taken over being lead tenant to get the money back as we need our share but being ND he is struggling with it.

The money appears to be in an account we have tracked down. He had an email saying it was there. All we have when he logs in is deposit ID, property manager, lead tenant etc. No info or anything. There is a status bit with” protected” in green and a drop down bar above saying select. Would that be the bit we request it back or go into dispute on? I just managed to get a screen shot of it today and will explore it more with ds tonight. Have emailed the letting company to ask what to do re dispute.

OP posts:

LIZS · 05/01/2025 13:48

So was it in a registered deposit scheme? If so, it is up to ll to prove deductions or return it within a fixed period. If not you can make a legal claim for 3x deposit.

ToKittyornottoKitty · 05/01/2025 13:51

Which scheme is it with? You can contact them to ask for help getting to the bit where he requests his deposit back. Does he talk to the other tenants?

Buxustrees · 05/01/2025 13:54

The three government approved tenant deposit schemes are -

Deposit Protection Service (DPS)
MyDeposits
Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)

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