You paid it back when you moved in.
Now it's "cleaning", "wear and tear", or simply no reply at all. A deposit is your money held on trust — not theirs to keep because they'd rather not discuss it.
How people describe it when they reach us
The sorts of things people tell us when a deposit hasn't come back. Over 130 deposit disputes have come to us.
Deposit law, and where it bites hardest
Tenancy deposits are governed by their own statutory scheme, with real consequences for landlords who ignore it. Which route is yours depends on the kind of let you had.
ActHousing Act 2004, s.213Deposits on most tenancies must be protected within 30 days.
Landlords taking a deposit under an assured shorthold tenancy must place it in an authorised scheme and give the tenant prescribed information about it, generally within 30 days. Lodger and resident-landlord arrangements sit outside this regime entirely.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActHousing Act 2004, s.214Unprotected deposit: the court must order one to three times its value.
Where a deposit that should have been protected wasn't, or the prescribed information was never given, the court must order a penalty of between one and three times the amount — the discretion is over the multiplier, not over whether to award anything at all — normally alongside an order to repay or protect the deposit. This sits separately from any argument about deductions.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActTenant Fees Act 2019, Schedules 1 and 2Holding deposits: capped at a week's rent, and repayable except in narrow cases.
Schedule 1 caps a holding deposit at one week's rent; Schedule 2 governs how it must be treated and when it has to be repaid, generally within set time limits unless a specific exception applies — such as false information, a right-to-rent failure or the applicant withdrawing. Holding deposits sit outside the tenancy deposit schemes, and depending on the facts may be pursued through the Act's own enforcement routes or through the courts.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗Case lawMoney had and received — the deposit itselfBeyond the statutory scheme, a retained deposit is usually recoverable as your money.
A deposit is paid on the basis it will be returned subject to proper deductions. Where it is simply kept, restitution principles generally allow recovery of the sum as money had and received to your use — a route that can matter most where the statutory scheme doesn't apply at all, such as a lodger or resident-landlord arrangement.
Case lawDeductions must be proved, not assertedThe landlord carries the burden of justifying what they keep.
A deposit is your money held against specific losses. Where deductions are disputed it is normally for the landlord to evidence them — itemised costs, receipts and a condition comparison. Fair wear and tear generally can't be charged for at all, which is why dated check-in and check-out photographs tend to decide these cases.
Case lawLodgers and resident landlordsNo scheme applies — it's a straightforward debt claim.
Where you shared the landlord's own home, deposit protection generally doesn't apply and the scheme's free adjudication normally isn't available to you. Recovery is usually a civil claim on the agreement instead: what was paid, what was agreed, and what was actually deducted.
General information about the law of England and Wales, not advice on your case. Where a deposit is scheme-protected, the schemes normally offer a free dispute-resolution service.
Which route is actually yours
Use the scheme's free dispute service first. Deposits on most ASTs must be protected in a government-backed scheme, and each runs free adjudication. Start there — we'd rather tell you that than take your money.
No scheme applies. Resident-landlord and lodger arrangements sit outside deposit protection, so recovering the money is a straight civil claim — this is squarely our territory.
That's a different, bigger claim. Where a deposit that should have been protected wasn't, courts can order the deposit returned plus a penalty of between one and three times its value.
Also a civil claim. Holding deposits aren't covered by the schemes, and the rules on what can be kept are narrow.
Mostly a month's rent — worth chasing
Amount held back
What we see alongside it
From JustClaim's own anonymised case records (130+ deposit cases), refreshed monthly. Percentages are of cases where the amount was stated.
Four things to have ready
How a claim works
Check the right path
Scheme adjudication, unprotected-deposit claim, or a plain money claim. We say which fits your tenancy before you spend anything.
A formal demand
What's owed, why, and a deadline. Deposits are often returned at this stage — landlords know an unprotected deposit is a bad thing to argue about.
Court claim, prepared
A small claim drafted, checked and filed. We prepare the paperwork; the decision is the court's.
What JustClaim is: we prepare and file the paperwork for your claim, for a fixed price shown before you pay. We're not a law firm, this isn't legal advice, and no outcome is ever guaranteed. If a free deposit scheme is the better route for you, we'll say so.
Questions people in this exact spot ask
My landlord won't return my deposit. What can I do?
First check whether it was protected in a government-backed scheme — on most assured shorthold tenancies it has to be, and the scheme's free adjudication service is the right first step. If no scheme applies (a lodger arrangement, a resident landlord, a holding deposit) or the deposit was never protected at all, recovering it is a civil claim.
How do I know if my deposit was protected?
Your landlord or agent should have told you which scheme holds it, and given you the prescribed information, within 30 days of taking it. All three UK schemes let you search for a deposit online. No notice and no record is itself significant.
What if the deposit was never protected?
Where a deposit that should have been protected wasn't, a court can order it returned along with a penalty of between one and three times the deposit — separate from any deductions argument. It's one of the strongest positions a former tenant can be in.
The landlord says it went on cleaning and wear and tear. Is that allowed?
Cleaning can be deducted where the property was left worse than it was found, but ordinary wear and tear can't be charged for at all. Ask for the deductions itemised with receipts — vague claims tend not to survive contact with dated photos.
I was a lodger. Do the deposit schemes cover me?
No. Lodger and resident-landlord arrangements sit outside deposit protection, which means the scheme route isn't available — but a straightforward money claim is, and these are among the more clear-cut cases we see.
How long do I have to claim my deposit back?
Ordinary contract claims generally have a six-year limit in England and Wales, and unprotected-deposit penalty claims have their own rules. Practically, the sooner the better — landlords move and evidence gets thinner.
It was never their money.
Two minutes to tell us what happened. We'll tell you which route fits — free scheme or court claim — before you pay us anything.
Go after your money →