Your landlord wants to keep your deposit. Here's how you fight back.
DepositBack builds a scheme-ready dispute pack in minutes. Upload your tenancy details and photos, get a strength rating for every deduction, and download a formal letter built on UK deposit law.
How DepositBack builds your case
DepositBack is an AI-powered dispute builder. It reads your tenancy, weighs your evidence against UK deposit law, and drafts a submission-ready letter for your scheme in minutes, not hours.
You describe your situation
Enter your tenancy details, the deductions your landlord wants, and upload your move-in and move-out photos. Takes about 5 minutes.
Our AI analyses the case
It checks fair wear thresholds, depreciation of furnishings, cleaning clause wording, and inventory gaps against your evidence to flag what you can and can’t be charged for.
You get a dispute letter
We generate a formal, submission-ready dispute letter addressed to your scheme, with every legal argument and calculation worked out for you.
Built on UK deposit law, not guesswork
DepositBack is built around the statutory framework governing tenancy deposits in England and Wales, including the Housing Act 2004, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and the adjudication standards published by the three government-approved schemes. Every assessment applies the same principles an independent adjudicator would use: fair wear and tear, depreciation, burden of proof, and evidential weight. The result is a submission built to the standard your case will be judged against.
Your journey, start to finish
Start free, only pay once you know your case is worth pursuing.
Free case assessment
5 minutes. No account needed.Tell us what your landlord wants to deduct and upload your move-in and move-out photos.
See your case strength
Still freeGet per-deduction strength ratings, an overall score, and an estimated recovery figure so you know where you stand before you pay anything.
Unlock your evidence pack
£9.99, one-timeGenerate your formal dispute letter, legal arguments, photo analysis, and a submission guide tailored to your deposit scheme.
Submit and wait
Decision in ~28 daysSend your pack to DPS, MyDeposits, or TDS. An independent adjudicator reviews the evidence and makes a binding decision.
See what you get
Every pack is tailored to your tenancy, your deductions and your deposit scheme. No templates.
Strength rating screenshot: per-deduction ratings, overall score, estimated recovery figure
Screenshots shown are representative. Every pack is generated from your own tenancy details and evidence.
£9.99 to recover an average of £1,200
Every case starts with a free assessment. Only pay once you've seen your strength rating and decided it's worth fighting.
Free case assessment
£0.00See your chances before you commit a penny
- Strength rating for each deduction
- Overall case score out of 10
- Estimated recovery figure
Complete evidence pack
£9.99Unlock once you've seen your free assessment
- Formal dispute letter addressed to your deposit scheme
- Fair wear and tear arguments for each deduction
- Depreciation calculations with worked figures
- Photo evidence analysis with professional notes
- Step-by-step submission guide for DPS, MyDeposits, or TDS
One-time payment. Instant download. No subscription.
Start with the free assessmentStart free. You only pay if your assessment shows a case worth fighting.
How DepositBack compares
DIY letter
- Cost
- Free
- Time
- Hours of research
- Legal reasoning
- Depends on you
- Evidence analysis
- Manual
- Scheme-specific submission
- You work it out
Solicitor
- Cost
- £200-500+
- Time
- Days to weeks
- Legal reasoning
- Yes
- Evidence analysis
- Manual
- Scheme-specific submission
- Yes
DepositBack
- Cost
- £9.99
- Time
- 5 minutes
- Legal reasoning
- Yes, built in
- Evidence analysis
- AI-assisted
- Scheme-specific submission
- Yes
Common unfair deductions
£300 for carpet damage after 2 years
Normal deterioration on a mid-range carpet of that age is fair wear and tear, not a chargeable cost.
Likely unfair£200 for professional cleaning
Without a professional cleaning clause, landlords can only charge to return the property to its check-in standard.
Likely unfairCharged for scuffs that were already there
Items worn or marked at check-in cannot be deducted. The burden of proof sits with the landlord.
Likely unfair£400 to treat black mould in bathroom
Mould from poor ventilation or disrepair is the landlord's responsibility under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
Likely unfairIf any of these sound like your situation, you likely have a case. Our free assessment will tell you exactly how strong it is.
Know your rights
Fair wear and tear
Your landlord cannot charge you for normal deterioration from everyday use. Scuff marks, minor carpet wear, and faded paintwork are all fair wear and tear.
Depreciation
Items lose value over time. A 7-year-old carpet can't be replaced at full cost from your deposit. Landlords must account for the item's age.
Burden of proof
Your landlord must prove you caused damage beyond normal wear. Without a check-in inventory, their case is significantly weaker.
This information is for educational purposes. DepositBack provides legal information, not legal advice.
Your data is safe, even with AI in the loop
Your tenancy details and photos are sensitive. Here is exactly how we handle them, including what happens when your case is reviewed by AI.
Encryption and access control. Everything you upload is encrypted in transit using TLS and encrypted at rest on UK-region infrastructure. Access is gated by authenticated keys and per-user permissions, so your case is only visible to you. No member of our team reads your data unless you raise a support request that requires it, and every access is logged.
How AI analysis works. When you request an assessment, the relevant tenancy details and photos are sent to our AI providers over an encrypted API to generate your case analysis. Under our provider agreements, your inputs are not used to train their models and are not retained beyond what is needed to return your result. Photos are processed for the sole purpose of analysing your evidence — we do not run facial recognition, location lookups, or behavioural profiling against them.
Nothing leaves our system without your say-so. We never share your data with your landlord, letting agent, deposit scheme, or any marketing partner. There are no tracking pixels or behavioural ad networks inside the assessment flow. Your dispute pack is only seen by an adjudicator when you choose to submit it through your scheme.
Payments and accounts. The £9.99 evidence-pack payment is processed by Stripe — your card details never touch our servers. You do not need an account to run the free assessment; your case is tied to a secure session until you decide to unlock the pack.
Retention and your rights. You can export or delete your case at any time and we will remove it within 30 days. Resolved cases are retained for up to 12 months in case you need to reopen a dispute, then deleted automatically. Gator Labs Limited is the data controller and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under UK GDPR.
FAQs
No. DepositBack provides legal information to help you prepare your own submission. It is not legal advice and we are not a law firm. For complex disputes or court proceedings, speak to a solicitor.
No tool can guarantee the outcome, because the adjudicator makes the final decision. What we do is build the strongest possible submission based on your evidence and UK deposit law, so you go in with a case that has been properly prepared.
DPS (Deposit Protection Service), MyDeposits, and TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme). These cover all protected deposits in England and Wales.
Building your pack takes about 5 minutes. Once you submit to your scheme, adjudication typically takes around 28 days.
The free assessment tells you how strong your case is, per deduction and overall. The evidence pack is the full submission: dispute letter, legal arguments, photo analysis and submission guide. You only pay once you have seen your assessment and decided it is worth pursuing.
No. You submit directly to your scheme, which keeps you in control and keeps costs down. We provide a step-by-step submission guide so it is straightforward.
The free assessment will tell you. If your evidence is thin or the deductions are likely reasonable, you will see that before you pay. We would rather you save £9.99 than buy a pack that will not help.
Your landlord has 10 working days to respond to a dispute. Don't let the clock run out.
Start with a free case assessment. 5 minutes, no account needed.
Check my case free