Generation Rent wants landlord fines for exaggerating deposit claims

Generation rent making it even more risky to accept marginal tenants. Generation rent are the landlords friend, making it mandatory to professionally reference all tenants which inevitably leads to the rejection of all the potentially troublesome individuals

Gen Rent alienate landlords at every opportunity. Indirectly and unknowingly because they fail to join the logic dots..Gen Rent are reducing rental property availability. Pretty short sighted, why not talk to & work with landlords to improve things for all?

What about the Tenants who blatantly lie or deliberately diminish the dilapidation’s? Should they be fined for the additional work involved in filing a time consuming detailed report compiling all the data held on file and obtaining written (paid for) quotations from the Trades? What is good for one party is good for the other.

Another sale completed today. So that’s three gone now and remaining four to go when the tenants leave.

There is plenty of protection of deposits already. Generation Rent need to find something else to do that will actually help tenants.

However, here is a warning for landlords of student lets:
When my daughter and her friends moved out of their student flat this July, I went to pack up her things and watched as they did an excessively meticulous clean. We then took multiple photos including mattress protectors on the mattresses. I helped take the rubbish bags to the university wheelie bins.
Unfortunately, as her landlord was using letting agents the letting agents didn’t bother inspecting directly but sent rubbish collecting and cleaning companies to all the flats they manage, and the companies reported back with photos of mattresses without protectors and with a general statement that three bags of rubbish were collected from the three flats in the building.
When my daughter and friends produced their photos, the agents said they didn’t have date stamps on the photos themselves so they preferred to believe the companies’ reports. Now being referred to deposit adjudication with photo meta data to support the truth!

The previous year’s rental was managed by the landlord who came round in person to collect the keys and returned the deposit in full within a week.

Reply to the comment left by John Leslie at 25/09/2026 – 11:26
I don’t know how many landlords are on this forum bur why can’t we have a petition to fine tenants

Gen Rent emphasis is “Landlords” only what about rogue Letting Agents who withdraw deposits during tenancy without Landlords or tenants knowledge, pay deposits into personal accounts whilst stating it went to Deposit Scheme making Landlords liable irrelevant of Agent action. Tenants damaging property in excess of deposit who pays?What controls in place for anyone else other than property suppliers?. Gen Rent etc killed rental market and after 15 months legal process tenants evicted via HCEO and damage exceeds £6k. Never rent out again.

The deposit is limited to just 5 weeks’ rent. Over time, its value falls and after 5 years it may represent just 4 weeks’ rent.

A deposit wouldn’t bring me any comfort that I cannot get by selecting good tenants.

I returned the deposits to my tenants rather than play the government’s game.

5 weeks deposit forfeiture wouldn’t even cover replacement carpets in many homes. Are this lot really running out of things to have a go at us for? Let’s hope so.