A tenant contacted the Tenancy Deposit Scheme at the end of their tenancy as the landlord had not returned their deposit. The tenant’s deposit amounted to £1,750.00, and the landlord had communicated to the tenant that he intended to make deductions, However, the tenant did not feel that some of the proposed charges were reasonable.

The tenant raised a deposit proposal using TDS’s self-resolution platform, and the landlord responded within the deadline, making three separate claims on the deposit:

+ £173.00 for rent arrears (3 additional days of rent)

+ £150.00 for damage

+ £100.00 for redecoration.

Early Resolution

Each case is reviewed by our resolution team at multiple stages of the dispute to see if we can assist parties in reaching a mutual agreement without the need for formal adjudication. This is referred to as ‘Early Resolution’.#

The tenant agreed via the portal to the rent arrears during self-resolution, but no agreement had been made over the damage or redecoration claim, leaving £250.00 in dispute.

The case was reviewed at self-resolution by the resolution executive assigned to the case, and contact was made with the tenant to see if the parties could reach a mutual agreement.

The Agreement

The resolution executive contacted the tenant to advise that a dispute could take between 8-12 weeks. They discussed whether the tenant would be willing to make an offer to settle. The tenant explained that a family member helping them remove furniture on the day they vacated had caused some damage to an internal door and the walls, but felt that the amount the landlord was claiming was disproportionate.

The tenant was asked if they would be willing to make an offer to resolve the amount left in dispute. The tenant said that would be willing to make an offer of £100 to resolve the matter. The resolution executive advised they would contact the landlord and present them with this offer.

A counter-offer

The resolution executive then contacted the landlord to present this offer and advised that a full dispute resolution process, including evidence gathering, could take between 8-12 weeks. Additionally, the resolution executive asked the landlord if they had key documents such as the Tenancy Agreement, check-in report, check-out report, and any invoices to support their claim.

The landlord explained that he had repaired the internal door of the living room and had also needed to redecorate the internal door and walls where the furniture had left marks that he could not remove.

The landlord felt the tenant’s offer was too low and made a counteroffer of a 50/50 split. He explained that this would cover the cost of the materials he had to buy. The landlord confirmed that he had kept his receipts and had a full check-in and check-out inventory if the case proceeded to evidence gathering.

The Settlement

The resolution executive contacted the tenant with the landlord’s counteroffer. The tenant considered the time required for the evidence submission and adjudication process and decided to accept the landlord’s offer of a 50/50 split (£125.00 to each party).

Confirmation of the agreement was provided in writing to both parties, and the case was closed. Since the case was resolved before the evidence-gathering stage, neither party needed to submit supporting documents.

As this deposit was protected in our Insured Scheme, the independent landlord was requested to return the agreed amount to the tenant within 5 working days. If the tenant did not receive the agreed deposit within this timeframe, they could log in to the portal to inform TDS after 8 working days and the Resolution Executive would follow up with the landlord.

If you are interested in further guidance relating to deposit disputes, visit the Help Centre at TDS to browse further guides.

Sandy Bastin, is head of adjudication services at Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), the only not-for-profit tenancy deposit protection scheme.