How to Get Your Full Deposit Back When You Move Out

Most tenants get most of their deposit back — but a large minority lose money they didn't need to, usually over cleaning, marks and missed details. The system is fairer than people think, as long as you understand how it works and keep a little evidence. Here's how to give yourself the best possible chance.

Know which scheme holds your money

If you rent on an assured shorthold tenancy in England or Wales, your landlord must protect your deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days: the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), MyDeposits, or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). You should have received the scheme details ('prescribed information') at the start. If you didn't, your landlord can be penalised — and that's a strong card if it ever comes to a dispute.

Understand fair wear and tear

This is the concept most disputes turn on. 'Fair wear and tear' is the gradual deterioration you'd expect from normal living over the length of your tenancy. A landlord can't charge you to make something better than it was at check-in, only to put right damage or dirt you caused.

• Wear and tear (not chargeable): lightly worn carpet in a hallway after three years, faded paint, a few small scuffs
• Damage (chargeable): a wine stain on the carpet, a cracked basin, holes from unapproved shelves
• Cleaning (chargeable): a property left dirtier than it was recorded at check-in

The check-in and check-out inventory

The inventory is the heart of everything. The check-in report describes the property's condition and cleanliness on day one; the check-out report compares against it. You're judged against that starting point — not against a brand-new flat. Dig out your check-in inventory before you move out and use it as your target.

Five steps that protect your deposit

1. 1Re-read your tenancy agreement for any specific cleaning or carpet clauses
2. 2Clean the property back to its check-in standard (or have it cleaned professionally)
3. 3Take dated, well-lit photos of every room on the day you leave
4. 4Keep your cleaning invoice — an itemised, dated receipt is powerful evidence
5. 5Return all keys and confirm the check-out date in writing

Cleaning is the deduction you have the most control over, which is why a professional clean pays for itself so often. Our room-by-room checklist covers exactly what clerks look for.

If your landlord makes a deduction you disagree with

You don't have to accept it. Every approved scheme offers a free, independent dispute resolution service. You submit your evidence — photos, your check-in inventory, your cleaning invoice — and an adjudicator decides. The disputed amount is frozen until then, so the landlord can't simply take it.

Adjudicators side with tenants far more often than landlords expect, precisely because landlords frequently can't prove the property was cleaner at check-in than at check-out. Good evidence wins these cases — which is why the photos and the receipt matter so much.

The burden of proof is on the landlord. If they can't show the property was returned in a worse state than it was let, the deposit stays with the tenant.