Wills & Smerdon /
  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms & Conditions
Wills & Smerdon
  • Home
  • Renting with Wills & Smerdon
    • Landlord Services and Fees
    • Landlord Valuation
    • Tenant Services and Fees
    • Applying for a rental property
    • Rental Properties Urgently Required
    • Lettings Legislation
      • Electrical Services
      • Fitness for Human Habitation (HHSRS)
      • Furniture and Furnishing Regulations
      • Gas Services
      • Houses In Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licensing
      • Landlords Insurance
      • Legionella Check
      • Overseas Landlord
      • Right to Rent
      • Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Regulations
      • Tenancy Deposit Protection
  • Sellers and Buyers
  • Read our Blog
    • Changes to EPCs: what you need to know
    • Rent protection for landlords
    • Landlord’s Compliance Checklist
    • Wills and Smerdon go digital for landlords and tenants
Visit Main Site

What is the biggest cause of landlord claims against deposits? 5 Jan 2021

According to the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), over half of the claims against deposits made in 2020 by landlords, were for cleaning or making repairs to the property or its contents.

Damage costs made up 27 percent of all claims, while cleaning was included in 25 percent and outstanding bills in only two percent of cases.

2020 figures from the DPS’s dispute resolution service show that in 75% of cases, landlords who entered into disputes received at least some of their claim, and tenants were awarded at least part of the amount claimed in 80 percent of cases.

The reason it’s the law for landlords to hold deposits separately (in this case, the DPS) is to protect both tenant AND landlord. It means that should there be any disputes over deposits being retained, an independent third party can look at evidence presented from both sides and make a judgement.

The DPS also asserts that despite approximately £4m of deposit money being awarded to landlords in 2020, only three percent of all tenancies had ultimately ended with a dispute over the deposit being returned.

The real key to this, is communication. Tenants need to be in regular contact with their landlord or letting agent throughout their tenancy, which helps develop an understanding of their obligations and highlights any issues before the end of their tenancy, including knowledge of cleaning standards and what constitutes reasonable wear and tear for the length of time they’ve occupied a property.

If you have a property you’re looking to let, and you’d like to learn more about what we do, our tenant find process, and how we do our best to make sure you don’t end up in the above-mentioned 3 percent, find out more about our landlord services here.

 

Categories

  • Estate Agent News
  • Home News
  • Landlords
  • Lettings
  • Sales
    • Buyers
    • Vendors

Archive

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020

Tags

ARLA Propertymark buy to let cats children Christmas community competition coronavirus COVID-19 Deposit resolution dogs East Horsley Eco Friendly EPC register government Home DIY Home improvements home move keeping house tidy Landlord landlords legislation lettings Moving home moving house pet rentals Pets property maintenance property management Rental market rental prices Rental property Renting rent payments Ripley Sales Selling storage ideas tenant tenant referencing tenants toys vendor viewing wills and smerdon

Sign up to our newsletter

Be the first one to know about all things Wills & Smerdon. Right in your inbox.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

* indicates required
©2022 Wills & Smerdon.
Wills & Smerdon
  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms & Conditions