Hello

My name is Vicky and I live in Cambridgeshire, England. I am about to give the keys back to a flat I have rented for the last 2 and a half years. I am wondering where I stand with the return of my deposit. I am worried because friends have told me the letting agents I have rented the flat through are bad at returning deposits. Do you know what they can charge me for and what they cannot. THe flat is in the same order it was when I first rented it except for general wear and tear. Please get back to me as soon as possible;e as I give in the keys on the 21st and would like to know my rights before then. I hope you can offer me some help.

Kind regards

Vicky

Over here in America you would have a good chance of getting your deposit back if you were a good tenant like you sound you were. If the renting agents have been jerks in the past, I would suggest that you immediately take photographs of the entire apartment top to bottom to show that you have lef the place neat, tidy, and with NO damage whatsoever to walls, floors, ceilings, doors, sinks, tubs, faucets, etc.. Keep these pictures safe as you may need them as evidence in a court case should they decide to play games with you and not return your deposit.

Generally they cannot charge you for things that were not damaged by you but a prior tenant. If you did clean the refrigerator and stove, take pictures of that as that is one of the things they can charge you for (at least over here we do). I used to own property and had good and bad tenants. Some tenants I would happily give back their entire deposits as they left the place the way they found it.

Oh, yes, the carpeting and flooring should be clean, vacuumed and freshly mopped as well. This is to avoid any charge for cleaning the floors being deducted from your deposit.

Another good rule of thumb to follow. After you have tidied up the place and taken your photos... when you are handing the keys back to the agent... try to do this at the actual apartment and do a post-tenant walk through with the agent showing them the condition of the apartment. This works wonders believe me. Just handing them the keys back at their office is a real no no for you to do trusting them that they will just "take your word" that you left the place in order especially since you've already heard how naughty they have been with other former tenants. Also, try and have a friend along with you when you do the post-walk through with the agent so you have a good witness just in case of a court proceeding is necessary.

The rules on returning deposits vary from locality to locality. What you need to do is make sure your clean the apt as much as possible, then schedule a walk through that makes note of any dmages and have them sign off on it.