Moving Out? What Decides Whether Your Deposit Comes Back

Your deposit is usually a month’s rent. Most of the arguments over it don’t start with damage — they start in the oven and the shower.

The rules, in plain words

In Ireland a landlord can’t ask for a deposit of more than one month’s rent. They can keep some or all of it for rent arrears, unpaid bills, damage beyond normal wear and tear, or if you leave a fixed term early without proper notice. [RTB]

“Normal wear and tear” is the ageing that comes from ordinary, reasonable use — a carpet that’s a bit flatter, paint that’s faded. Threshold’s advice is to clean the place thoroughly before you go, clear out everything, and take dated photos. They recommend the deposit comes back within 14 days in normal circumstances. [Threshold]

I’m a cleaner, not a solicitor. If you’re in a dispute, the RTB and Threshold are the people to talk to. But I see the practical side of it every time: a place handed back properly clean gives nobody anything to argue about.

Where inspections actually start

Whoever does the inspection, they tend to go to the same places, in roughly the same order:

• The oven. It’s the first door they open. Burnt-on grease on the glass and racks is the single most common thing I get called in for.
• The bathroom. Limescale on the taps and shower screen, grey grout, black spots in the silicone.
• Inside the presses and the fridge. Crumbs, rings from bottles, a forgotten jar at the back.
• Window sills and frames. In a Donegal winter, condensation leaves black mould in the corners. It’s one of the first things a landlord notices.
• Carpets. Traffic marks on the stairs and landing, stains by the bed or the couch.
• Skirting, doors and switches. Small things, but they’re at eye level when someone walks round with a clipboard.

A move-out checklist that holds up

• Oven cleaned inside — glass, racks, trays and the door seal.
• Hob, extractor filter and splashback degreased.
• Fridge and freezer emptied, defrosted if needed, wiped and left open.
• Every press, drawer and wardrobe cleaned inside.
• Bathrooms descaled: taps, shower screen, tiles, toilet, extractor fan cover.
• Window glass, frames and sills cleaned, mould treated.
• Skirting, doors, handles and light switches wiped.
• Carpets hoovered — or extracted if there are marks.
• Floors washed last, working towards the door.
• Bins emptied and taken away.

Timing makes it easier

Book the clean for after the furniture and boxes are gone. An empty room takes half the time, and nothing gets missed behind a wardrobe. If you’re handing over keys on a Friday, the clean is best done on the Wednesday or Thursday.

Then walk round with your phone and take photos of every room, the oven and the bathroom — dated, before you hand back the keys. It takes five minutes and it’s the best record you’ll have.

When it’s worth getting someone in

If the tenancy has been a few years, the oven hasn’t been done, or there are marks on the carpet, doing it yourself usually means a weekend of scrubbing on top of the move. An end of tenancy clean is done to your handover date, with the oven included, and you know the fixed price before I start. If the carpets need it, carpet cleaning can go in on the same day.

Landlords and agents book the same clean between tenants, so the next people move into a place that’s properly ready.