Landlord charging for time and worn carpets: who helps?

Summary

If a private landlord in England, after a long tenancy, wants to keep the deposit for worn carpets and for the landlord’s own time writing letters, who helps is the tenancy deposit scheme that holds the money. The deposit is your money unless the landlord proves a loss. Fair wear and tear is not a deduction. Schemes look at how long you lived there and how many people lived there. A family home after several years is expected to show more wear than a six month let. Shelter and Citizens Advice will explain what a landlord can and cannot keep, and how to raise the scheme dispute. They will not argue the adjudication for you or pay the deposit out. If the deposit was never protected, the scheme door may not exist and a court claim is the path Shelter describes, including a possible compensation claim for the protection failure. That is a different page from a protected deposit you simply disagree with.

Key information

• Ask, in writing, which scheme protects the deposit and for the breakdown: each head of loss, with invoices or quotes. “My time” is not an invoice for a repair.
• Fair wear and tear, in Shelter’s words, means changes from normal living: scuffs, faded fabric, worn or frayed flooring. Landlords cannot keep deposit money for that.
• Even where there is damage beyond wear, the landlord cannot charge new for old if a clean or a repair would do, and they cannot charge the full price of a new carpet when the old one was already part way through its life. The amount has to reflect their loss, not a better home than they started with.
• Scheme adjudicators start from the position that the deposit is yours. The landlord has to prove the deduction with the inventory, photos and quotes. Your check in photos and the check out report matter. If you did not get a proper inventory, say so.
• England and Wales schemes you will usually see are the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) and mydeposits. Scotland and Northern Ireland use other schemes. Use the one named on your prescribed information, not a scheme you have only heard of.
• A dispute is free. Court is not the first step when the scheme can decide and the landlord will accept the result. If they will not use the scheme, Shelter’s route is a court claim for the deposit.
• Shelter: Shelter’s housing advice sets out what a landlord can deduct and how to dispute unfair deductions. They explain the evidence and the scheme phone numbers. They will not attend the property, value the carpet, or email your landlord as your solicitor. If you are at risk of homelessness or the dispute is tied to an illegal eviction, use Shelter’s emergency routes. A deposit row on its own is the scheme path.
• Citizens Advice: An adviser can help you write the email that refuses the time charge and the wear charge, and can explain the unprotected deposit penalty in outline. They will not transfer the money. The wiki pages Getting your tenancy deposit back and Getting your tenancy deposit back if you rent privately are the wider maps. This page is only the unfair end of tenancy bill.
• Deposit scheme: Decides how much of a protected deposit comes back, on the evidence They will not: Does not award more than the deposit, and does not pay the landlord’s dispute admin as a deduction. Reach: The scheme named on your prescribed information.
• Shelter: Explains fair wear and tear and the dispute steps They will not: Does not hold the deposit or replace the adjudicator. Reach: Dispute unfair deductions.
• Citizens Advice: Helps you challenge the bill and understand an unprotected deposit They will not: Does not release the money. Reach: Your local Citizens Advice or the housing pages.
• County court: Can order the deposit back, and in some cases a penalty if protection rules were broken They will not: Is slower and can cost a fee, so it comes after the scheme where the scheme can act. Reach: Shelter’s court section on the same guide.

Practical guidance

• Landlord or agent, once, in writing: you do not agree, you want the scheme details, and you want the undisputed balance paid now. Do not trade a long argument for a delay in releasing the part nobody disputes.
• Deposit scheme dispute as soon as negotiation stalls. Shelter lists DPS 0330 303 0030, TDS 0300 037 1000, mydeposits 0333 321 9401. Use the scheme website so you hit the right deadline. Deadlines are often short once the landlord asks the scheme to keep the money.
• Shelter or Citizens Advice before you agree a “goodwill” cut that still pays the landlord for their time.
• Court if the deposit was not protected, or the landlord refuses adjudication. There is a fee. Help with fees may be available if you are on a low income.

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