Agent won't return the deposit? Here's where you stand.
A letting agent holds your deposit on the landlord's behalf, and both are bound by the same rules: it must be protected in a scheme, deductions must be for actual damage or arrears, and the balance is yours at the end. A free letter before action is usually what turns silence into a transfer.
Not sure whether it was protected? Search the three schemes with your postcode and the date you paid it — takes a minute. Tell us what you find.
Alongside the money itself, courts may award simple interest on money you have been kept out of — commonly 8% a year under the County Courts Act 1984 — and the court fee is typically added to a successful claim. Interest is discretionary. The letter sets this out so the other side can see what ignoring it costs.
How people describe it when they reach us
The sorts of things people tell us. Illustrative, based on patterns in the cases that reach us.
Your legal rights when a letting agent holds your deposit
In England and Wales a tenancy deposit is the tenant's money held for a limited purpose. Two statutes do most of the work: the Housing Act 2004 (protection and the penalty for failing to protect) and the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (what an agent may and may not charge). Contract law covers the rest.
ActHousing Act 2004, ss.213–214A tenancy deposit must usually be protected in a scheme within 30 days; if not, the tenant can claim it back plus a penalty.
Section 213 generally requires a landlord (or the agent acting for them) to deal with a deposit taken for an assured shorthold tenancy in accordance with an authorised scheme, comply with the scheme's initial requirements within 30 days of receiving it, and give the tenant the prescribed information in the same period. Section 214 then typically lets the tenant apply to the county court, which may order the deposit repaid or paid into a scheme and must order the landlord to pay the tenant a sum of between one and three times the deposit.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActTenant Fees Act 2019, s.1 and Schedule 1Most fees a landlord or agent charges a tenant are banned; only the payments listed in Schedule 1 are permitted.
Section 1 generally prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant to make a prohibited payment in connection with a tenancy (section 2 applies the same rule to letting agents). Schedule 1 lists what is permitted — rent, a capped tenancy deposit, a capped holding deposit and a short list of specified charges — and anything outside that list is typically a prohibited payment that can be recovered. Schedule 2 sets out when a holding deposit must be repaid.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.62An unfair term in a consumer contract is generally not binding on the consumer.
Section 62 usually provides that a term is unfair if, contrary to good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights to the consumer's detriment. Non-refundable deposits, cancellation charges and one-sided small print may be examined against this test; courts typically look at how prominent the term was and whether the consumer had a real chance to see it.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗Case lawContract law — breach of contractFailing to do what was paid for may amount to breach of contract.
A job, a purchase or a loan is typically analysed as a contract. If one side does not perform a central promise — work not done, money not repaid, goods not handed over — a court may find a breach and will then consider what loss flowed from it. The measure is normally the money you are out of pocket, proved with evidence.
This is general information about the law in England and Wales, not advice about your case. Which provisions apply, and how, depends on the facts.
Four things you'll hear. None of them end it.
The rules bind the agent too. Whoever holds the deposit has to return what is not properly deducted, and the scheme's rules set the timetable. "Waiting for the landlord" is not a reason the scheme recognises.
Only for damage beyond fair wear and tear, and only with evidence. A property lived in for two years is not returned as new. Deductions need the check-in and check-out reports and real invoices.
Then the scheme can. Each of the three schemes has a public search. If it isn't there, the deposit was not protected, and that changes the claim considerably.
You can — and a letter before action runs alongside. Where the deposit was never protected, or the agent is holding money outside the scheme's rules, a court claim is the route, and the letter is its first step.
Five things worth gathering now
The letter first. Court only if they ignore it.
Your side, your words
What happened, what was agreed, what you are out of pocket. We ask what a court would ask, so the letter says what a court would need to hear.
Written for you, free
A formal letter before action with a 14-day deadline, setting out what is owed and why. You see it at no charge. Posting it by tracked mail and watching the deadline is £15.
Court claim, prepared
If the deadline passes: one tap turns the letter into a small claim, drafted, checked and filed. The £15 comes off our fee. 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 — what you get is the strongest honest version of your case, properly made.
Questions people in this exact spot ask
Can I claim against the letting agent, or does it have to be the landlord?
It depends on who holds the deposit and who the tenancy agreement names. Where the agent holds it, the agent is normally a proper recipient of the letter and, if it comes to it, a defendant; where the landlord holds it, the landlord is. Often the letter goes to both. Tell us what your agreement says and we'll say who.
The deposit was never protected. What can I claim?
Usually the deposit itself, plus a penalty the court can set at between one and three times its value, under sections 213 and 214 of the Housing Act 2004. The letter sets that out, which is often what produces the transfer.
They've deducted for wear and tear. Is that allowed?
Fair wear and tear cannot be deducted; only damage beyond it, cleaning to the standard at check-in, or arrears. The check-in and check-out inventories decide most of these arguments, and the agent has to justify each item.
How long do they have to return it?
The scheme rules generally require the agreed amount to be returned within 10 days of agreement on the sum. Where nothing has been agreed and they have gone quiet, the letter's 14-day deadline is the next fixed point.
How much does it cost if it goes to court?
If the letter is ignored, a court claim has a court fee set by the amount: £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500, £70 up to £1,000, £115 up to £3,000. If you win, the fee is normally added to what the other side is ordered to pay. Our fixed price is shown before you pay anything.
Is the letter really free?
Yes. Tell us what happened and the letter before action is written and shown to you at no charge. If you want us to post it by tracked mail and watch the 14-day deadline, that is £15, shown before you pay — and it comes off our fee if it later becomes a court claim.
Deposit still not back?
Tell us what happened and whether it was protected. The letter before action is written free and shown to you today; posting it and watching the deadline is £15.
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