Deposit

[littlesally]

My daughter has recently moved into a rented house with a 12 month tenancy.
She paid the deposit to the estate agents - around £800
I was of the understanding that the deposit is no longer held by the person renting out the property but a third party.
When it is a third party who decides who gets the deposit at the end of the tenancy?

The people who had the flat before had only moved out the day before she moved in and the landlords had obviously not cleaned or decorated.
Her contract does not appear to have anything about not putting up shelves, not decorating etc so would these things count as normal wear and tear?

Sally x

[MrShed]

To be honest, the contract is not really required to say these things. The landlord is entitled to have the property returned to him in the same condition as it was prior, apart from fair wear and tear. Decorating and putting up fittings are not fair wear and tear, they are additions, and the landlord would be within his rights(although, if it is done tastefully, it is a fairly anal landlord that does this) to charge to return the property to the original condition.

With regards the deposit, the third party only gets involved at the point of a dispute over deductions.