Can they do that? Brighton & Hove
All questions

Letters you can copy

Send these by email, so you have a dated record. Replace everything in [square brackets], and delete anything that doesn’t apply to you.

Asking where your deposit is protected

Use this if you never received your deposit details, or can’t find your deposit on the scheme websites.

Subject: Deposit protection: [property address]

Dear [name],

I paid a deposit of £[amount] on [date you paid it] for my tenancy at [property address]. I’d be grateful for the following details of how it is protected:

  1. the scheme holding it (Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits or Tenancy Deposit Scheme), and whether it is held under the custodial or the insured service
  2. the name it is registered under, and its reference number
  3. when it was registered with the scheme
  4. a copy of the prescribed information, and the date it was given to me [and to [name], who paid the deposit on my behalf]

Please reply by [date, e.g. 14 days from now].

Kind regards,
[your name]

The law behind this letter: your landlord must protect your deposit in a scheme within 30 days of receiving it, not of the tenancy starting.1 Within the same 30 days, they must give you the prescribed information, which includes the name and contact details of the scheme.2 There are three schemes in England.3 If they missed either deadline, a court must order them to pay you between one and three times the deposit if you apply,4 and they usually can’t get a possession order until it’s put right.5 Those points are best kept for a later letter. See is my deposit protected? and if your deposit isn’t protected.

Disputing deductions

Use this when the agent or landlord proposes deductions you don’t agree with. Go through every deduction, saying which you accept and which you don’t, and why.

Subject: Proposed deposit deductions: [property address]

Dear [name],

I’ve read the proposed deductions from my £[amount] deposit for [property address], held with [scheme] under reference [number]. The tenancy ended on [date]. My response to each one:

  1. [item], £[amount]: accepted.
  2. [item], £[amount]: not accepted, because [reason, e.g. the check-in report already records this mark]. [Attached: photo taken on moving out, page [number] of the check-in report.]
  3. [and so on for each deduction]

For each deduction I haven’t accepted, please send the evidence behind it: the check-in and check-out reports with their photos, an itemised invoice or quote, how the figure was calculated, and the age of anything being replaced.

Charges have to allow for fair wear and tear and for the age of items, and can’t leave the property better than it was when the tenancy began. Cleaning can only be charged to bring the property back to the standard recorded at check-in. [Under sections 1 and 2 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019, a landlord or letting agent cannot require a tenant to pay for a professional clean.]

Please pay me £[amount], the part of the deposit neither of us disputes, straight away. Receiving it doesn’t mean I accept the other deductions. If we haven’t settled the rest by [date, e.g. 10 days from now], I’ll refer it to [scheme]’s free dispute service.

Kind regards,
[your name]

The law behind this letter: you only have to return the home as clean as it was when you moved in.6 Landlords can only claim for wear and tear that goes beyond fair wear and tear,7 and they shouldn’t end up better off than at the start,8 for example by charging the full cost of a new carpet when the old one was already several years old.9 It’s up to the landlord to prove their claim.10 A landlord or agent can’t make you use a cleaning company, though they can still charge for cleaning if you left the home dirtier than at check-in.11 Once you agree how much you’ll get back, the landlord must return it within 10 days.12 The scheme’s dispute service is free, but you and the landlord both have to agree to use it,13 you usually have to apply within 3 months of moving out,14 and you can’t challenge its decision.15 See deposit deductions and professional cleaning. Shelter also publishes a downloadable letter if you’d rather fill in a Word document.

Reporting a repair

Use this for a repair, or for damp and mould. Attach photos.

Subject: Repair needed at [property address]

Dear [name],

I wanted to let you know about [describe the problem, e.g. black mould on the bedroom ceiling and walls] at [property address]. It started around [date] and [describe how it is getting worse or affecting you]. I’ve attached some photos.

Please could you let me know when someone can come to look at it, and when the work is likely to be done? Thank you.

Kind regards,
[your name]

The law behind this letter: your landlord has to keep the structure and exterior in repair, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water.16 Your landlord can come in to look at the problem at a reasonable time of day, after giving you 24 hours’ notice in writing.17 See repairs.

Following up on a repair

Use this if your landlord hasn’t replied, or hasn’t done the work, after a reasonable time. Attach updated photos.

Subject: Repair still needed at [property address]

Dear [name],

I reported [the problem] at [property address] on [date of your first email]. [I have not had a reply.] [The work has not been done.] [Describe anything that has got worse since.] Updated photos are attached.

This is the landlord’s responsibility. [Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the landlord must keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water.] [Under section 9A of the same Act, the landlord must keep the property fit for human habitation, and section 10 lists freedom from damp as one of the matters that decides this.]

Please confirm by [date, e.g. 7 days from now] when someone will inspect it and when the work will be done. If I do not hear back by then, I will ask Brighton & Hove City Council’s Private Sector Housing team for help.

Kind regards,
[your name]

The law behind this letter: section 11 makes your landlord keep the structure and exterior in repair, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water.16 Section 9A says the home must be fit to live in when you move in and stay that way,18 and freedom from damp is one of the things that decides that.19 If your landlord doesn’t fix it, the council’s Private Sector Housing team can help.20 The council must act if it thinks the problem could harm you.21 See what the council can do.

References

  1. 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. ↩

  2. Housing Act 2004, s. 213(6). The information required by subsection (5) must be given to the tenant and any relevant person— a in the prescribed form or in a form substantially to the same effect, and b within the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which the deposit is received by the landlord. 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 ↩

  3. Tenancy deposit protection. GOV.UK. In England and Wales your deposit can be registered with: Deposit Protection Service MyDeposits - including deposits that were held by Capita Tenancy Deposit Scheme ↩

  4. Housing Act 2004, s. 214(4). The court must … order the landlord to pay to the applicant a sum of money not less than the amount of the deposit and not more than three times the amount of the deposit within the period of 14 days beginning with the date of the making of the order. ↩

  5. Housing Act 2004, s. 215(1), as substituted from 1 May 2026. Where a tenancy deposit has been paid in connection with an assured tenancy, the court may make an order for possession of the dwelling-house let on the assured tenancy only if the tenancy deposit is being held in accordance with an authorised scheme. The exceptions, such as possession for antisocial behaviour, are on is my deposit protected? ↩

  6. Deposits, disputes and damages (PDF). Joint guide by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Deposit Protection Service and mydeposits, 2017. p. 14. the tenant is only obliged to return the property cleaned to the same standard as at the start of the tenancy. ↩

  7. Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 15. Landlords can only claim for excessive wear and tear ↩

  8. Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 17. the landlord should not end up, either financially or materially, in a better position than they were at start of the tenancy ↩

  9. What makes a reasonable deposit claim. Deposit Protection Service. The full cost of a replacement carpet when the tenant lived at the property for several years, and/or the carpet was already a few years old at the tenancy start ↩

  10. The dispute resolution process. Deposit Protection Service. The deposit belongs to the tenant until the landlord provides sufficient evidence to justify a claim Deposits, disputes and damages, p. 5. the onus is on them to prove they have a legitimate claim to a share of the deposit, whilst the tenant has no obligation to prove their position. ↩

  11. 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. Code of Practice for Residential Letting Agents (England) (PDF). The Property Ombudsman, updated 1 May 2026. p. 11. Note that you cannot require a tenant to pay for a professional clean ↩

  12. Tenancy deposit protection. GOV.UK, under “At the end of your tenancy”. Your landlord must return your deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you’ll get back. ↩

  13. Tenancy deposit protection: Disputes and problems. GOV.UK. Your tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme offers a free dispute resolution service if you disagree with your landlord about how much deposit should be returned. You do not have to use the service but if you do, both you and the landlord have to agree to it. ↩

  14. Getting your tenancy deposit back. Citizens Advice. You’ll usually have to make your claim to the ADR service within 3 months of moving out of the property. ↩

  15. Getting your tenancy deposit back, Citizens Advice. You and your landlord will have to accept whatever the ADR service decides - you won’t be able to challenge it. ↩

  16. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 11(1). (a)to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes), (b)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation … (c)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water. ↩ ↩2

  17. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 11(6). may at reasonable times of the day and on giving 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier, enter the premises comprised in the lease for the purpose of viewing their condition and state of repair. ↩

  18. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 9A(1). there is implied a covenant by the lessor that the dwelling— (a)is fit for human habitation at the time the lease is granted or otherwise created or, if later, at the beginning of the term of the lease, and (b)will remain fit for human habitation during the term of the lease. ↩

  19. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, s. 10. regard shall be had to its condition in respect of the following matters— repair, stability, freedom from damp, ↩

  20. Private Sector Housing. Brighton & Hove City Council. If your property is in disrepair and your landlord is not fixing it or if it’s caused by a neighbouring property, you can ask for help to get repairs. ↩

  21. Private renting: Repairs. GOV.UK, under “If repairs are not done”. Contact the environmental health department at your local council for help. They must take action if they think the problems could harm you or cause a nuisance to others. ↩