Check-in inventories and deposit disputes in England

A deposit dispute in England is decided on paper. The adjudicator at the deposit scheme never visits the flat and never meets you; they compare what the check-in inventory says with what the check-out report says, and look at whoever has the better evidence for the gap. Since the money belongs to the tenant until the landlord proves a claim, the side with the weaker paperwork is almost always the landlord.

This guide covers England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own tenancy laws and deposit rules, so check those separately if the property is there.

Deposit protection: 30 days, one of three schemes

The landlord or letting agent must put the deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it, and give the tenant the prescribed information within the same 30 days. The approved schemes are the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), mydeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS).

The prescribed information includes the property address, the deposit amount, how it is protected, the scheme’s name and contact details including its dispute service.

Worked example: the tenant pays the deposit on 1 March. The 30 days begin with the day the deposit is received, so protection and the prescribed information must both be done by 30 March. Get a certificate from the scheme and keep proof of when and how the information went to the tenant, because “I emailed it at some point” does not help later.

If the deposit is not protected, or the prescribed information is not given, the tenant can apply to the county court, which must order the landlord to pay between 1 and 3 times the deposit (Housing Act 2004, section 214). On a £1,500 deposit that is £1,500 to £4,500. The court can also order the deposit itself to be repaid or put into a scheme.

How much deposit is allowed

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, a tenancy deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, and six weeks’ rent where it is £50,000 or more. One week’s rent is the annual rent divided by 52.

For a flat at £1,300 a month: £15,600 a year, £300 a week, so the deposit can be at most £1,500. Anything above the cap is a prohibited payment, and the government guidance for tenants explains how to get it back.

Getting the deposit back: 10 days after you agree

The landlord must return the deposit within 10 days of both sides agreeing how much the tenant gets back. That is the deadline in the GOV.UK guidance. There is no deadline for reaching agreement, but GOV.UK warns that there may be a time limit for raising a dispute, so disputes that drag on should go to the scheme rather than sit in an inbox.

Worked example: keys go back on 30 September. The landlord sends a proposed deduction of £180 for carpet cleaning on 7 October. The tenant agrees by email on 12 October. The balance must be paid by 22 October. If the tenant had disagreed instead, the dispute could have gone to the scheme’s free dispute service, which both sides have to agree to use and which decides on written evidence.

Why the inventory decides the dispute

The landlord has to prove the deductions. The tenant does not have to prove anything, because the deposit stays the tenant’s money until the landlord shows a valid claim (DPS). DPS says a landlord should at the very least provide the tenancy agreement and the check-in and check-out reports, and mydeposits calls a comprehensive check-in inventory, compared with a thorough check-out report, the strongest evidence.

A claim for “stained carpet, £250” fails if the check-in inventory says only “carpet: good”. It succeeds if the check-in says “beige carpet, fitted 2024, no marks, photos 14–17” and the check-out shows a red wine stain in the same spot, with a quote attached.

What makes an inventory persuasive

The reports that hold up in a dispute have the same things in common:

• Dated photos tied to the text. Every room, every wall, every appliance, with the photo number written next to the line it proves. A folder of 300 unlabelled pictures is hard for an adjudicator to use.
• Condition wording that says something. “Good” and “fair” mean different things to different people. Write what you see: “two light scuffs, 5 cm, left of door frame”, “hob clean, no burnt residue”, “curtains faded at leading edge”.
• Cleanliness recorded separately from condition. A worn but clean oven and a new but greasy oven are different claims.
• Meter readings, keys and fobs counted. Number of keys, which doors, and the readings with a photo of each meter.
• Both signatures, with the date. The landlord or agent and each tenant.
• The same structure at check-out. Room order and item list identical, so the comparison is obvious.

A check-in and check-out report written on the spot, with photos, leaves far less to argue about later. That is what our check-in and check-out report is built for: you walk round the flat and talk, AI writes each room with its photos, the other side can sign on your phone or later by email, and you get one sealed PDF.

If the tenant never signed it

An unsigned inventory is not worthless, but it is weaker. Reports signed by everyone carry more weight because they show agreement, not one person’s opinion (DPS). If the tenant did not sign, the schemes look for evidence that the tenant was sent the inventory and given a fair chance to comment. DPS points to an email or proof of postage, and mydeposits to evidence that the tenant had seven to ten days to add comments.

So if a tenant will not sign at move-in: email the report the same day, say how long they have to add comments, and keep the sent email. If they reply with corrections, attach them to the report rather than arguing. At check-out, a text or email from the tenant agreeing with the report counts too.

Renters’ Rights Act 2025: what changed and what didn’t

The first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 started on 1 May 2026 and applies to new and existing private tenancies in England, as the government’s roadmap set out. The main changes for private tenancies, as set out in the tenant overview and the GOV.UK guide for landlords, are these:

• Section 21 “no fault” evictions are abolished. Landlords must use a section 8 ground.
• Fixed-term assured tenancies are replaced by periodic ones. Tenants can leave with two months’ notice.
• Landlords and agents may not require or accept rent before the tenancy is entered into, and after signing can ask for at most one month’s rent (or 28 days’ for shorter rental periods) before it starts.
• A tenant can ask to keep a pet. The landlord must not unreasonably refuse and must answer in writing within 28 days, or a little longer if they ask for more information.
• Landlords with existing written tenancies had to give each tenant the government’s Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.

What did not change: the deposit must still be protected within 30 days, the prescribed information still has to be served, and the five-week and six-week caps still apply, as GOV.UK’s guides on deposit protection and rent in advance and deposits confirm. The evidence rules at the end of a tenancy are the same too. With periodic tenancies, more tenancies will end at short notice, so an inventory done at the start matters even more: you may not get a mid-tenancy inspection before the tenant gives two months’ notice.

Check-out: do it the same way

Book the check-out for the day the keys come back, with the tenant present if possible. Walk the same route as the check-in, photograph the same angles, and note differences against each line. Mark anything that is ordinary ageing as such, because adjudicators will not award for fair wear and tear. Our guide to fair wear and tear vs damage has a table of common examples and how deductions are apportioned.

Then send the proposed deductions in writing with the evidence: the matching check-in line and photo, the check-out line and photo, and a quote or invoice. A tenant who can see the comparison often agrees, and then the 10-day clock starts.

If the tenancy ended with a deposit dispute on a property in England, the scheme’s free dispute service is an alternative to going to court. If the sums are large or the deposit was never protected, that is the point where independent advice is worth paying for.