Tenancy Deposit Return Calculator

The short answer

• In England the deposit can be no more than 5 weeks’ rent (6 weeks if the rent is £50,000 a year or more).
• It must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days in England and Wales.
• Landlords can deduct for unpaid rent, cleaning and damage, but not for normal wear and tear.
• Claims for replacing worn items should be cut to reflect how old they were.
• Each scheme has a free dispute service, and the landlord has to prove each deduction.
• An unprotected deposit can mean compensation of up to 3 times the deposit.

How much a deposit can be

A week’s rent is the monthly rent × 12 ÷ 52. Watch the line at £50,000: a home at £4,100 a month (£49,200 a year) has a cap of £4,730.77, while one at £4,200 a month (£50,400 a year) can take up to £5,815.38. If you paid more than the cap in England, you can ask for the excess back, report the landlord to the council, or apply to the First-tier Tribunal.

Deposit protection

In England and Wales your landlord must put your deposit in one of three government-approved schemes, the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, within 30 days of getting it. They must also give you “prescribed information” about the scheme and how to get your deposit back.

This applies to assured periodic tenancies, which replaced assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026, and covers deposits paid by someone else on your behalf, such as a parent or a council deposit scheme.

What a landlord can deduct

Fair wear and tear

Fair wear and tear is the normal decline of a home through everyday use: light scuffs on walls, flattened carpet in walkways, faded curtains. A landlord cannot charge for it. Damage, such as a burn, a large stain, a broken door or holes in the wall, is different.

Even for real damage, a landlord should not end up with something better than they had. This is called betterment. If a carpet that would last about 8 years was 5 years old and is ruined, the landlord lost the 3 years of life it had left, not a brand new carpet.

How long things are expected to last

These are typical figures, not legal rules. Quality, use and the number of occupants all matter, and adjudicators judge each case on its evidence. Cleaning and unpaid rent are not reduced for age.

A worked example

A tenant in England paid a £1,269 deposit on a £1,100 a month flat, just under the £1,269.23 cap. At the end the landlord wants to keep all of it and more:

With fair deductions of £757.50, the tenant should get back about £511.50 rather than nothing. The calculator does this for up to four deductions.

Evidence that wins disputes

• The check-in inventory, signed and dated, with photos.
• Your own dated photos and videos when you moved in and out.
• Emails or texts reporting repairs during the tenancy.
• Receipts for cleaning or repairs you paid for.
• Anything showing the age of items, such as the year a carpet was fitted.

The burden of proof is on the landlord. Without a check-in inventory, it is hard for them to show the home was in better condition when you moved in.

Using the free dispute service

1. End of tenancyAsk for your deposit back in writing

   Give your new address and bank details.

2. Within 10 days of agreeingLandlord repays the agreed amount

   In England and Wales.

3. If you disagreeRaise a dispute with the scheme

   Both sides must agree to use it. The disputed amount stays protected.

4. A few weeksAdjudicator decides

   On written evidence. The decision is final.

Schemes usually set a time limit for raising a dispute, often 3 months after the tenancy ends, so do not wait.

If your deposit was not protected

If your landlord did not protect the deposit within 30 days, or did not give you the prescribed information, you can claim in the county court. In England and Wales the court must order the landlord to pay you between 1 and 3 times the deposit, as well as repaying it. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, a landlord in England also cannot use most grounds for possession until they put this right.

In Scotland a tribunal can award up to 3 times the deposit. In Northern Ireland the council can fine the landlord.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

• Scotland:deposits are limited to 2 months’ rent and must be protected within 30 working days with SafeDeposits Scotland, mydeposits Scotland or Letting Protection Service Scotland.
• Wales: deposits must be protected within 30 days in one of the same three schemes as England. The Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 lets Welsh Ministers cap security deposits by regulations.
• Northern Ireland:since April 2023 deposits are limited to 1 month’s rent and must be protected within 28 days in an approved scheme.

Holding deposits and other payments

In England a holding deposit to reserve a home is capped at 1 week’s rent and must normally be repaid within 7 days, or put towards the first rent or deposit. Since the Renters’ Rights Act, a landlord cannot ask for rent in advance before the tenancy is signed, and can then ask for no more than 1 month’s rent. Fees for viewings, references or check-out are banned.

A moving-out checklist

• Read your check-in inventory and put right anything you damaged.
• Clean to the standard you found the home in, including the oven and fridge.
• Take dated photos and a video of every room after cleaning.
• Return all keys and get a receipt.
• Take meter readings and photograph them.
• Give your landlord your new address and ask for the deposit in writing.

Deposit replacement schemes

Some landlords offer a “zero deposit” or deposit replacement product instead of a deposit. You pay a fee, often about one week’s rent, which you never get back. It is not insurance for you: at the end of the tenancy you are still liable for damage and unpaid rent, and the provider can chase you for it.

It can help if you cannot raise a deposit, but over a few tenancies the fees add up, and disputes are handled by the provider rather than a government-approved scheme. Check you are also offered a normal deposit: a replacement product should be your choice, not a condition of the tenancy.

Joint tenants and sharers

On a joint tenancy, the deposit is usually protected as one sum and returned when everyone leaves. All the tenants are jointly responsible for damage and unpaid rent, so one person’s damage can come out of everyone’s share.

• agree in writing who paid what, and how any deductions will be shared;
• do a joint check-out with photos of each bedroom and the shared areas;
• if one person leaves early, settle their share privately with whoever replaces them.

Pets, smoking and gardens

The Renters’ Rights Act gives tenants in England a right to ask to keep a pet, which the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse. A landlord can still claim for damage a pet causes beyond fair wear and tear, such as scratched doors, chewed carpets or flea treatment if the home was left infested.

Smoking indoors can justify a claim for redecorating or deep cleaning where it was banned by the tenancy, but the charge should still be reduced for the age of the decoration. Gardens should be left as tidy as at the start of the tenancy, allowing for the season.

For landlords

Protect the deposit within 30 days, give the prescribed information, and keep a detailed, photographed inventory signed at check-in. At the end, list each deduction with evidence and the age of any item you are replacing. Claims that ignore wear and tear or ask for new-for-old replacement are often reduced at adjudication, and an unprotected deposit can cost up to three times its value.

Keys, bills and small charges

Smaller deductions cause many disputes. A landlord can charge the reasonable cost of replacing lost keys or fobs, or changing a lock if a key is not returned, but not an inflated fee. Unpaid utility bills can only be deducted where the landlord pays them under the tenancy, and the amount should match the actual bill for your period.

Charges for missing items need to match the inventory, and should be reduced for age just like larger items: a 6-year-old kettle is not worth the price of a new one. Rubbish left behind can justify a reasonable removal charge, and gardens left overgrown a reasonable cost of tidying them.

If you think a charge is too high, ask for the invoice or quote behind it. Adjudicators expect landlords to show what was actually spent, or a fair quote for the work.

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