Are deposit schemes fair to landlords?

Unfortunately my sole experience of having to go through adjudication for retaining the deposit due to having to with regret action the removal of tenants using section 21 due to their damaging the property was very unsatisfactory.
I’ve always been very fair in assessing fair wear and tear and charging only the most minimal retentions as I can action repairs and cleaning myself and always try and begin, manage and end tenancies on very good terms in alignment with my estate agents who are also very professional.
I use an estate agent who uses an independent inventory company so plenty of evidence from beginning to end of tenancy inc. regular check-ups including what the estate agents described as the most comprehensive feedback they’d ever seen from a landlord for the adjudication submission.
They also were highly professional in advising the correct amounts to apply for. Despite this I was only able to retain just over half the deposit despite the large amount of damage outside wear and tear costing much more.
I just treat this as part of the burden of being a landlord much the same as ill structured taxation and legislation that most UK businesses have to put up with from successive Governments.
I was already aware that the scheme favours tenants from research – so didn’t exactly have high expectations and just focused on the repairs than assuming a good outcome and expecting much money back. I was also very flexible with their leaving date as despite their messiness, they were pleasant people – just very lazy… I expect they’ve learnt from the experience and will be better tenants in future.

I’ve had the same issue with MyDeposits, they usually side with the tenant. The worst example was tenants moving in on a 12-month contract and leaving almost immediately because they split up. I said I’d let them break the agreement but wanted costs for the relet (much less than the deposit). They later complained to the scheme that they shouldn’t pay anything. I was awarded only £150, despite the contract and showing invoices for the relet. I then realised I should have waited for arrears and kept the entire deposit, which would also have saved me a lot of time.

When I have disputes now, I go to court. It takes longer and you need to pay the fees, but the result is far better and tenants will often settle before.

I have usually found that compromise is quicker and easier than trying to go through any deposit scheme. Good tenants recently left but the aluminium framed shower screen was badly corroded because it had not been cleaned on a regular basis. I priced a new screen, the correct size at Victoria Plumbing for £200, plus carriage charges plus of course a plumber or handyman to fit it. I asked the tenants just for the £200 and they agreed.

Not good odds for landlords;

https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TDS-Resolution-Services-Annual-Review-2021-22-1.pdf

Balance of probability or beyond reasonable doubt?

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 30/09/2025 – 10:59
My only deposit scheme experience was with TDS. It wasn’t good. Despite a professional ingoing and outgoing inventory the tenant lied through his teeth and TDS sided with the tenant almost 100%. We were out of pocket by several hundred pounds.

Yes…”My experience of using the Adjudicator is that they always side with the tenants, no matter what compelling evidence a landlord submits and will always give the tenant the benefit of the doubt”
Had an open and shut case for damage, but adjudicator doesn’t know the meaning of justice or fairness.
They probably think you can just claim on the insurance.(Assuming you have some).
I have got deposits back for rent arrears.
Thanks for your article.

Yep, it’s a rigged system.

So use the Deposit scheme (because you have to if you take a Deposit) but then just refuse to use the Adjudicator system because they’re biased and let the Tenant take you to Court if they want to disagree over the amount of Deposit returned and let the Court be the adjudicator and keep your fingers crossed.

Reply to the comment left by Sangita Gupta at 30/09/2025 – 13:18
It’s the landlord who has to take the tenant to court.

No

A few years ago now, I went to I went to ajudication for a number of items. One of them was the tenant had removed all the light bulbs and batteries (smoke alarms and house alarms) the tenant lied and said there were none at the start of the tenancy, despite not raising a dispute with the inventory, the ajudicator ruled that the inventory photos didn’t prove there were batteries at the start of the tenancy (despite you carnt fit smoke alarms with out battries, and the tenat had just left them on the kitchen side) they also ruled that the light bulbs are replaceable items and would need to be replace under fair ware and tear as the tenancy had been 18 months. The other thing was that a candle had been stored in the loft, and when leaving, it was hot, dropped melted wax from the loft hatch all over the walls and floor. The inventory software I use splits it into 2 Floor and Walls, and the cost to fix is separate (floor cleaning and wall repair) the ajudicator ruled that i couldn’t claim twice for the same damage (I wasn’t, I had just split the cost into two parts) so I only got half the cost to fix it.