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Ask your landlord to return your deposit (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland · in English · for tenants
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For a tenant in Northern Ireland who has moved out and is still waiting for the deposit. A letter before claim to the landlord or letting agent: it gives the date the tenancy ended, the deposit and the scheme protecting it — TDS Northern Ireland or myDeposits Northern Ireland — and asks for the deposit back within 14 days, or a written list of any deduction with evidence, saying which deductions you dispute. Next comes the scheme’s free dispute service, then a small claim in the county court (up to £5,000). If the deposit was never protected, report it to the council.
- Made for use in Northern Ireland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- You moved out of your rented flat in Northern Ireland weeks ago and the landlord still has your deposit.
- Your letting agent wants to keep part of the deposit for cleaning you do not accept.
- You handed back the keys and now the landlord has stopped answering your messages.
- You want to ask for your deposit back in writing before going to TDS or myDeposits.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant
- Tenant's address
- Town or city
- Tenant's postcode
- Date
- Landlord
- Landlord's address
- Landlord's postcode
- Address of the property
- Date the tenancy ended and the keys were returned
- Deposit amount
- Deposit scheme (TDS Northern Ireland or myDeposits Northern Ireland) and its reference
- Sort code and account number for the repayment
- Deductions proposed that you do not accept, and why (optional)
Common questions
- Which schemes protect tenancy deposits in Northern Ireland, and how fast?
- A private landlord must protect the deposit with an approved scheme within 28 days of receiving it and give you the scheme’s information within 35 days. The approved schemes named by Housing Rights and the councils are TDS Northern Ireland and myDeposits Northern Ireland; if you were never told which one, search both with your details. A deposit taken since 1 April 2023 can be no more than one month’s rent.
- How does a Northern Ireland deposit scheme’s free dispute service work?
- You raise the dispute online with the scheme that holds the deposit; the landlord had to give you its details within 35 days of taking the deposit. Both sides send their evidence — the check-in and check-out reports, photos, receipts — and an independent adjudicator decides on the papers, free. Read the scheme’s rules before you start: they set the time limit and what happens if one side does not take part.
- What can I do if my landlord in Northern Ireland never protected my deposit?
- In Northern Ireland a tenant has no court claim for a multiple of the deposit, as tenants in England have. The district council enforces the rules instead: it can give the landlord a fixed penalty or prosecute. Report it with the separate letter to the council, and still ask for your deposit back with this letter; if it is not returned, a small claim in the county court is the next step.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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