Property Mentor Investment Questions

  • Home
  • Landlord
  • Legal
  • Rent
  • Tenants

The following question was recently submitted to our property experts by an individual looking for advice on how to deal with their property let. If you have got a question regarding your tenancy/property, contact us now via the link to the right.

Submit your own questions

Q: Dealing With Tenant Deposits

My tennant has been irrisponsible with the property and is now leaving, I want to confiscate their desposit to put towards the repairs, how do I do this?

From Joanne Collins | Devon | 21/06/2010 | Landlord

A: If you are planning on using an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement for your property let, you can safely take a deposit from your tenant as security.

However, it is important to remember that when you take this deposit:

  • It should be held in accordance with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme rules
  • That you obtain from the scheme a Deposit Protection Certificate (within 14 days of taking the deposit)
  • That you and your tenant sign the certificate to verify all information is correct
  • That you return this deposit to your tenant within 10 days of them having paid the final accounts for their gas, electricity, water, telephone and council tax, and once you have checked the property.

In addition when taking a deposit, it is important that within your tenancy agreement you list the name, address, telephone number and email address of your tenant; which tenancy deposit scheme you are using (including address, email and contact number); when the deposit was taken (including the total amount) and your own full address. You must keep this address up to date to ensure that when the tenancy ends you can safely return their deposit.

Deposits themselves should only amount to a couple of hundred of pounds (usually 1 months extra rent).

More about the author

Image of Matthew Lauchlan Matthew Lauchlan, Property Mentor Director

I have been investing since 1984, and from the good of the 1980's to the lows of the 1990's, I thought I had seen it all, but the course proved otherwise. I first heard about it from a group of friends. They had been on the course the year before... Read more

To see a full list of our writers and find out more about them please visit the authors page.

Related Questions

Want to Learn More?

Whether you are new to property investment or are looking to expand your existing property portfolio, at Property Mentor we can help.

Our property experts have spent the last 20+ years formulating a proven investment system that has successfully helped over 2,000 delegates to create property portfolios of all shapes and sizes.

So no matter your prior property knowledge, why not let us at Property Mentor help you to become the property investor you know you can be and attend one of our FREE 2 hour taster sessions today? Simply enter your postcode into our unique postcode checker below and discover where your next closest property course is taking place.

Reference Code:
join our newsletter and
get latest update about
Property Deals...

Find your local course

To find one of our FREE property investment courses near you simply enter your postcode below.