[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":210},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-deposit-adjudication-process":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"cta":185,"date":188,"description":189,"extension":190,"meta":191,"navigation":193,"path":194,"related":195,"seo":198,"seo_title":199,"stem":200,"tags":201,"__hash__":209},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdeposit-adjudication-process.md","What Actually Happens When You Dispute Your Deposit","doug-k",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":181},"minimark",[10,14,17,20,26,29,32,34,39,42,45,48,51,53,58,61,64,67,69,74,77,80,83,86,89,91,96,99,102,118,121,123,128,131,134,137,140,143,145,150,153,156,159,161,166,169,172,175,178],[11,12,13],"p",{},"So you've decided to dispute. Good. Here's what that actually looks like — from the moment you hit submit to the day a decision lands in your inbox.",[11,15,16],{},"No vague reassurances. Just the process, in order.",[18,19],"hr",{},[11,21,22],{},[23,24,25],"strong",{},"First, a quick note on who's running this",[11,27,28],{},"Your deposit should be held in one of three government-authorised schemes: the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), MyDeposits, or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). When you raise a dispute, it goes to whichever scheme holds your deposit. Each scheme runs its own adjudication service — but the process is broadly the same across all three.",[11,30,31],{},"If you're not sure which scheme holds yours, check any paperwork your landlord gave you within 30 days of moving in. They were legally required to tell you.",[18,33],{},[11,35,36],{},[23,37,38],{},"Step one: You submit the dispute",[11,40,41],{},"You'll do this through the scheme's website. You'll need to set out your position — which deductions you're contesting, and why — and upload your evidence.",[11,43,44],{},"This is the most important moment in the whole process. Not the decision. This.",[11,46,47],{},"Adjudication is a document review. There is no hearing, no phone call, no opportunity to explain yourself in person. An adjudicator reads what you submit and what your landlord submits, and makes a call based on that. If you haven't sent it, it doesn't exist.",[11,49,50],{},"So before you submit: check-in inventory, check-out inventory, photos with timestamps, any written communication about the property's condition, receipts if relevant. Everything that supports your position goes in now.",[18,52],{},[11,54,55],{},[23,56,57],{},"Step two: Your landlord is notified and gets their chance to respond",[11,59,60],{},"Once you've submitted, the scheme contacts your landlord. They'll have a set window — typically around 14 days, though this varies slightly by scheme — to put their side of the case together and upload their own evidence.",[11,62,63],{},"You won't see what they've submitted at this stage, and they won't see yours. The schemes keep the submissions separate while the case is being prepared.",[11,65,66],{},"This waiting period can feel strange. You've done your part and now nothing seems to be happening. It is happening — it's just not involving you right now.",[18,68],{},[11,70,71],{},[23,72,73],{},"Step three: The case goes to an adjudicator",[11,75,76],{},"Once both sides have submitted — or the landlord's window has closed, whether or not they responded — the case is assigned to an adjudicator.",[11,78,79],{},"This is a trained professional whose job is to look at the evidence and apply a standard called fair wear and tear.",[11,81,82],{},"Fair wear and tear is the normal, reasonable deterioration that comes from someone living in a property over time. Carpets that are slightly flattened after two years. Paint that's scuffed in doorways. These are not damage. These are expected. A landlord cannot deduct for them.",[11,84,85],{},"What they can deduct for is damage beyond that: a burn on a worktop, a broken window latch, a stain that wasn't there at check-in. And even then, the adjudicator will consider the age and condition of whatever was damaged — they won't award the cost of a brand new carpet if the one that was there was already five years old.",[11,87,88],{},"You don't need to argue this yourself. You just need to give the adjudicator enough evidence to see the condition clearly.",[18,90],{},[11,92,93],{},[23,94,95],{},"Step four: The adjudicator reviews everything",[11,97,98],{},"There is no set timeline written into law for how long this takes. In practice, most decisions come back within 28 days of the case being assigned. Occasionally it takes a little longer.",[11,100,101],{},"The adjudicator is looking at:",[103,104,105,109,112,115],"ul",{},[106,107,108],"li",{},"What condition was the property in at the start of the tenancy?",[106,110,111],{},"What condition was it in at the end?",[106,113,114],{},"Is the difference attributable to damage, or to normal wear and tear?",[106,116,117],{},"Are the deductions being claimed proportionate to the actual loss?",[11,119,120],{},"That's it. They're not judging who was a better tenant or a better landlord. They're working through the evidence methodically, and they follow a set of published guidelines. The process is drier and more administrative than most people expect.",[18,122],{},[11,124,125],{},[23,126,127],{},"Step five: The decision arrives",[11,129,130],{},"You'll get the adjudicator's decision in writing — usually by email. It will set out how the disputed amount is to be divided: what goes back to you, what the landlord keeps, and why.",[11,132,133],{},"The reasoning matters. Read it. Even if the outcome isn't entirely what you hoped for, the explanation will tell you exactly what evidence was considered decisive. That's genuinely useful information.",[11,135,136],{},"The decision is binding. Not in the way a court order is enforceable, but both parties agreed to use the scheme's adjudication service, which means both parties agreed to accept the outcome.",[11,138,139],{},"If your deposit was held in a custodial scheme — meaning the scheme itself held the money throughout your tenancy — it releases the relevant portions directly. You don't have to chase your landlord for anything.",[11,141,142],{},"If your deposit was held in an insured scheme — meaning your landlord held the money and paid insurance to the scheme — the process for getting your share returned is slightly less automatic. The scheme will instruct your landlord to pay. Most do. If they don't, you have further options, but that's a separate situation.",[18,144],{},[11,146,147],{},[23,148,149],{},"A few things people don't expect",[11,151,152],{},"Your landlord might not respond at all. This happens more than you'd think. If they don't submit evidence within their window, the adjudicator works with what's there — which may well be only your submission. That's not automatically a win, but it significantly narrows what a landlord can claim.",[11,154,155],{},"You can't add evidence after you've submitted. Once your case is in, it's in. The schemes occasionally allow for clarifications in limited circumstances, but don't count on it. Get everything in on the first go.",[11,157,158],{},"Adjudicators don't always split things down the middle. It's not a compromise process. It's an evidence-based one. Sometimes the full disputed amount goes back to the tenant. Sometimes the landlord's claim is upheld entirely. It depends on what the documents show.",[18,160],{},[11,162,163],{},[23,164,165],{},"What you're actually doing here",[11,167,168],{},"Adjudication is not a confrontation. It's an evidence review conducted by someone who has no stake in the outcome, following published guidelines, based entirely on documentation.",[11,170,171],{},"That can feel impersonal when you're the one who lived there and knows what the place was actually like. But it also means the process is fairer than it might feel — because it's not about who argues more convincingly. It's about who has the clearer record.",[11,173,174],{},"Anyhoo. You've made the decision to dispute. The rest is just getting the right things in front of the right person.",[11,176,177],{},"Good luck with it.",[11,179,180],{},"— Doug",{"title":182,"searchDepth":183,"depth":183,"links":184},"",2,[],{"label":186,"href":187},"Check your deductions now","https:\u002F\u002Fdepositadvisor.co.uk","2026-04-21","No vague reassurances. Here is the deposit dispute process in order — who reviews your case, what they look at, and how the decision is made.","md",{"section":192},"deposit-disputes",true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fdeposit-adjudication-process",{"title":196,"slug":197},"Five things your landlord can't legally take from your deposit","five-things-landlord-cant-take-from-deposit",{"title":5,"description":189},"What Happens During Deposit Adjudication — From Submission to Decision","blog\u002Fdeposit-adjudication-process",[202,203,204,205,206,207,208],"adjudication","deposit-dispute","deposit-protection-service","mydeposits","tenancy-deposit-scheme","evidence","fair-wear-and-tear","0M-KQurd-EUmX0kx5SzeqtKuGcqPef54Gq2WcsiEHu0",1777025955658]