Can they do that? Brighton & Hove
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Checklists for moving in and moving out

To decide a deposit dispute, the deposit schemes’ adjudicators compare the check-in and check-out reports to see what the place was like when you moved in and when you left.1 These lists help you record both.

Moving in

Do this in the first few days, before your stuff fills the rooms.

  • Read the check-in report (inventory) properly. Don’t sign it until you’ve walked round with it.
  • Write down anything that’s wrong or missing, even if it seems minor, and send your comments back by email so there’s a dated record. If the report says “professionally cleaned” and it wasn’t, say so. If the landlord or agent wrote the report themselves, an adjudicator will want evidence that you had the chance to agree it or comment on it.2
  • Photograph and video every room: walls, floors, carpets, inside the oven, fridge, cupboards, bathroom grout and sealant, windows, mattresses, any marks or damage. Make sure the photos have the date. Adjudicators accept date-stamped photos and video as evidence.3
  • Check your deposit is protected. Your landlord must protect it in a scheme within 30 days of getting it,4 and give you the scheme’s details within the same 30 days.5 See is my deposit protected?
  • Check you’ve had the right information. For a tenancy that started on or after 1 May 2026, your landlord must give you written information about its key terms before you sign or agree it.6 If you were already renting with a written agreement, you should have been given the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.7 The old How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026, and in most cases landlords no longer have to give it to you.8
  • Ask for the safety papers. You should get a copy of the gas safety record before you move in9 and a copy of the latest electrical safety report before you move in.10 You have the right to see the Energy Performance Certificate.11
  • Test the alarms. There must be a smoke alarm on every floor that has a room you live in, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room you live in that has a fixed appliance burning fuel, other than a gas cooker. Your landlord must check they work on the day your tenancy starts.12
  • Keep copies of the tenancy agreement or written information, the check-in report, the deposit details and the safety papers.
  • Take meter readings (gas, electricity, water) with photos.

While you live there

  • Report repairs in writing (email), and keep the replies. This protects you if damp, a leak or a broken appliance gets blamed on you later.
  • Keep a record of anything you’re told by phone, and follow it up with an email.

Moving out

Cleaning is the most common reason landlords claim from deposits, so give these extra attention.13

Kitchen

  • Inside the oven, oven racks and trays, grill pan
  • Hob and the extractor hood and filter
  • Fridge and freezer: defrost, clean, leave the door slightly open
  • Inside all cupboards and drawers
  • Behind and under the cooker, fridge and washing machine, if they can be moved safely
  • Washing machine drawer and door seal

Bathroom

  • Limescale on taps, shower head, screen and tiles
  • Mould on sealant and grout. Report it in writing if it’s caused by damp rather than daily use.
  • Toilet, including the base and behind it
  • Plughole and drains
  • Extractor fan cover

Every room

  • Skirting boards, door frames, doors and light switches
  • Inside windows, frames and sills
  • Light fittings and lampshades
  • Marks on walls: wipe them, but don’t paint unless you’re sure it matches
  • Inside wardrobes and drawers
  • Vacuum right to the edges and under furniture
  • Mattresses (check for marks)

Before you hand back the keys

  • Remove everything that wasn’t there at check-in, including rubbish. Don’t leave bags on the pavement.
  • Replace dead light bulbs.
  • Take dated photos and video of every room, matching the check-in report’s angles if you can.
  • Take final meter readings with photos.
  • Return every key and get a receipt, or email to confirm the time and date you returned them.
  • Give the agent your forwarding address in writing.

You can clean it yourself: you only have to leave it as clean as it was when you moved in.14 Agents can’t make you pay for a professional clean.15

References

  1. Deposits, disputes and damages (PDF). Joint guide by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Deposit Protection Service and mydeposits, 2017. p. 11. Inventories can be the deciding factor in a dispute (and can even prevent them occurring) The adjudicator will use the inventories to compare the property condition at the beginning and end of the tenancy ↩

  2. Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 11. Those compiled by agents or landlords (rather than an independent third party) will require supporting evidence that the tenant has seen the inventory and had an opportunity to agree the contents or comment on it. ↩

  3. Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 14, under “Cleaning”. Date stamped photographs or video recordings ↩

  4. Housing Act 2004, s. 213(3). the initial requirements of an authorised scheme must be complied with by the landlord in relation to the deposit within the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which it is received. ↩

  5. Tenancy deposit protection: Information landlords must give tenants. GOV.UK. Once your landlord has received your deposit, they have 30 days to tell you: … the name and contact details of the tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme and its dispute resolution service ↩

  6. Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords: Written information you need to give to your tenant. GOV.UK. If the tenancy was created after 1 May 2026, you need to give tenants certain written information about the key terms of the tenancy. You must give your tenant the written information before you either: sign a tenancy agreement agree a tenancy ↩

  7. Renters’ Rights Act overview for tenants. GOV.UK. If you are currently a tenant and already have a written tenancy agreement, you will not need a new one. Instead, your landlord or their letting agent must give you a government-produced Information Sheet telling you about the changes to your tenancy before 31 May 2026. ↩

  8. How to rent. GOV.UK, withdrawn 1 May 2026. This publication was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 Private landlords. Housing Hub, GOV.UK. Do I still need to provide tenants with the How to Rent guide? No. In most cases, you don’t now need to provide your tenants with the How to Rent guide. ↩

  9. Private renting: Your landlord’s safety responsibilities. GOV.UK, under “Gas safety”. give you a copy of the gas safety check record before you move in, or within 28 days of the check ↩

  10. Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, reg. 3(3)(e). supply a copy of the most recent report to— (i)any new tenant … to which the report relates before that tenant occupies those premises ↩

  11. Private renting: Your rights and responsibilities. GOV.UK. As a tenant, you have the right to: … see an Energy Performance Certificate for the property ↩

  12. Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, reg. 4(1). a smoke alarm is equipped on each storey of the premises on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation a carbon monoxide alarm is equipped in any room of the premises which is used wholly or partly as living accommodation and contains a … fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker checks are made by or on behalf of the landlord to ensure that each prescribed alarm is in proper working order on the day the tenancy begins ↩

  13. Cleaning main cause of tenancy deposit deductions for a fifth year running. Deposit Protection Service, 11 June 2026. Research by The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) has revealed that cleaning was again the top reason for deposit claims in 2025 (29.37% of claims). ↩

  14. Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 14. the tenant is only obliged to return the property cleaned to the same standard as at the start of the tenancy. ↩

  15. Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 1(3) (landlords) and s. 2(3) (letting agents). A landlord must not require a relevant person to enter into a contract with a third party in connection with a tenancy of housing in England if that contract is— (a) a contract for the provision of a service; A letting agent must not require a relevant person to enter into a contract with the agent or a third party in connection with a tenancy of housing in England if the contract is— (a) a contract for the provision of a service. ↩