Tenant deposit guide
Your deposit is protected by law and disputes are decided on evidence. Here is how the schemes work, what a landlord can and cannot deduct, and how to protect your money.
Reviewed September 2026
Over 1,000 end of tenancy cleans since 2016. Deposit-back guarantee, backed by our 72-hour re-clean guarantee.
Our deposit-back guarantee
We do. Every Manchester End of Tenancy Cleaning booking includes our deposit-back guarantee, backed by our 72-hour re-clean guarantee. We agree the checklist and extras before booking, clean to the checkout standard, and provide cleaning photos and an itemised receipt.
If your landlord or letting agent flags a cleaning issue in that work, report it within 72 hours of completion. Send your job details, the checkout feedback and photographs, and we arrange access to return and put it right free.
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The basics
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished assured shorthold tenancies, so since 1 May 2026 most private tenancies in England are periodic assured tenancies. Deposit protection is unchanged: your deposit must be protected in one of three government-approved schemes within 30 days, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) or MyDeposits. You should be given the prescribed information telling you which scheme holds it.
At the end of the tenancy the deposit is returned minus any deductions you agree. Where you cannot agree, every scheme runs a free adjudication service that decides the disputed amount on the evidence.
What can be deducted
A deduction has to be reasonable, evidenced and proportionate. A landlord can charge for cleaning only where the property is not returned to the cleanliness standard set out in the inventory, and for damage beyond fair wear and tear. They cannot charge you to put the property in a better state than you found it.
A blanket clause requiring professional cleaning at the end of the tenancy, on its own, was banned by the Tenant Fees Act 2019. Cleaning can still be charged where the property genuinely is not clean, but not as a default fee.
Protecting your deposit
Read your check-in inventory the day you move in and photograph every room, matching the angles. Do the same when you leave. Clean to the inventory standard, and if you book a professional, keep the invoice. That paperwork is exactly what an adjudicator wants to see.
The government's 2024 English Private Landlord Survey found that 59% returned the full deposit, 22% returned part and 15% returned none. Among landlords who took a deposit, roughly 4 in 10 reported keeping some or all of it. Of landlords who withheld money, 59% cited cleaning.
Book the clean before handover and put the work in our hands. A two-bedroom end of tenancy clean starts from £229, or from £284 with the single oven interior. We provide cleaning photos and an itemised receipt, with a free return for agreed cleaning issues reported within 72 hours of completion.
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The professional cleaning myth
The legal standard is simple: hand the property back as clean as the check-in inventory says it was, allowing for fair wear and tear. That is it. Nobody can force you to hire a professional, and an adjudicator compares condition, not receipts. If you have the time and the energy to clean a whole property to that standard yourself, our printable checklist walks you through every line, free.
Where a professional clean earns its money is everything around the condition: the hours it takes to do a full property properly, an inventory full of photos your own clean will be compared against, a shared house where half the tenants have already left, and the paperwork. A professional invoice and a timestamped photo record are ready-made dispute evidence. That is the honest trade: you are buying time and proof, not permission.
How adjudicators think
A deposit adjudicator puts the check-in report and the checkout report side by side and reads them room by room. Dated photos carry the most weight; undated photos and written assertions carry very little. The burden of proof sits with the landlord: it is your money, and they have to evidence why any of it should be kept.
Itemisation matters too. A single line saying "cleaning" with a round number does badly against a tenant who can show dated photos of a clean kitchen and an invoice listing exactly what was done. Ask for an itemised breakdown of any deduction, with evidence, before you agree to anything.
If it goes to dispute
On move-out day: photograph every room in daylight, photograph the meters, return every key and keep a note of when. If deductions are proposed, ask for the itemised breakdown and the evidence behind each line. You are allowed to disagree and make a counter-offer in writing; deductions are a claim on your money, not a bill.
If you cannot agree, use the scheme's free dispute service and raise it promptly, as the schemes set time limits. Provide your check-in inventory, the checkout report, your dated before-and-after photos and any cleaning invoice. The disputed amount sits safely with the scheme while it is decided, usually within about a month of the evidence going in. Adjudication is free for tenants, so a wrong deduction costs you nothing but the time to contest it.
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Sources and official bodies
FAQ
What Manchester tenants ask about getting their money back.
Yes. Our deposit-back guarantee is backed by our 72-hour re-clean guarantee. If your landlord or agent identifies a cleaning issue in the agreed work, report it within 72 hours of completion. Send the feedback and photos, and we arrange access to return and put it right free.
Once you have agreed any deductions, the deposit should be returned within 10 days. If there is a dispute, the disputed amount is held by the scheme until it is resolved.
Only if the property is not returned to the cleanliness standard in the inventory. A default professional-cleaning clause on its own was banned by the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
Reasonable use over time: lightly worn carpets, small scuffs, faded paint. It is not the same as damage or dirt, and you cannot be charged for it.
Your check-in inventory, the checkout report, dated before-and-after photos, and any cleaning invoice. Adjudicators decide on evidence, so the more you have the stronger your case.
One of the three government-approved schemes: TDS, DPS or MyDeposits. Your prescribed information tells you which.
No. The legal standard is returning the property to the cleanliness recorded at check-in, allowing fair wear and tear. An adjudicator compares condition, not receipts. A professional clean buys you time and ready-made evidence, not permission.
Usually about a month once the evidence is in, and the disputed amount is held safely by the scheme while it is decided. The dispute service is free for tenants.
Cleaning was the leading reason for DPS deposit claims in 2025, at 29.37% of claims. The government's 2024 landlord survey also found cleaning was cited by 59% of landlords who withheld deposit money. Our clean, photo record and 72-hour re-clean guarantee within scope help you prepare for that part of the checkout.
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EOT deposit-back guarantee, backed by our 72-hour re-clean guarantee. Report agreed cleaning issues within 72 hours of completion. Moving-in cleans include our 72-hour re-clean support.
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