Let me tell you about something that happened with a person I know. At the time of moving out when he asked for his security deposit back he was completely astonished. The landlord did not even return 50 percent of what was given at the time of moving in. And the reason will genuinely surprise you. The landlord said he had to get the room whitewashed and get the water tank cleaned before the next tenant could move in. That was it. Those were the two reasons. Two things that would have happened anyway, that would have needed to be done regardless of who was living there or how they left the place, and somehow it became entirely the outgoing tenant’s problem to pay for.
My friend was furious. And honestly who would not be? You pay that money upfront before you have even moved your first box in, you pay your rent on time every single month, you leave the place in decent shape, and then on the last day someone tells you that you are also paying for the whitewash and the water tank. Things that have nothing to do with how you lived there.
Have the difficult conversation on day 1
Do you know what would have avoided this entire situation? If both parties had the difficult conversation on day one. If there was a proper agreement that spelled out exactly what the deposit could be used for and what it could not. If everything was crystal clear at the beginning instead of being figured out on the last day when one person has the money and the other person just wants to leave.
That conversation feels unnecessary when you are moving in. You are excited, the landlord seems fine, and bringing up what happens to the deposit when you eventually leave feels like you are already planning for a fight that may never happen. So nobody has it. And then two or three years later you are standing there being told you owe money for a water tank cleanup.
Paperwork is your savior
Most rental agreements mention the deposit amount and nothing else. No conditions. No list of what counts as a valid deduction. No timeline for when it gets returned. That one gap in the paperwork is where every dispute like this one begins. The tenant assumes they will get it back if they behave well. And on the day they hand back the keys they feel disappointed, angry and sometimes…cheated.
The common excuse for deducting security deposit
Whitewashing is the most common excuse. Landlords treat it as automatic. You stayed, the walls need a fresh coat, you pay. But normal wear over two or three years of actually living somewhere is not damage. Marks on walls from hanging a frame or moving furniture is not the same as breaking something. Most tenants do not push back because they do not know where they stand and the landlord sounds very certain.
Water tank cleaning is the other favourite. No receipts, no prior inspection, no notice given during the tenancy. Just a deduction that sounds reasonable enough that most people swallow it and leave.
Document everything…I mean everything
The only thing that genuinely protects you is documentation done on the very first day. Photograph every room, every wall, every fitting, anything already scratched or stained or broken before you have unpacked a single bag. Send those photos to the landlord on WhatsApp that same day. That timestamp is the only thing you can actually point to later if it comes to a dispute.
Beyond that, push for the deposit conditions to be written into the agreement itself. What deductions are allowed, what counts as fair wear and tear, how many days after you vacate does the landlord have to return the money. If the landlord cannot answer these questions clearly before you sign, that is useful information to have before you hand over two months of rent.
My friend eventually got some more money back after weeks of going back and forth. Not the full amount. Never the full amount. The landlord did not produce a single receipt for the whitewashing or the water tank cleaning. But by that point my friend was exhausted and just wanted it to be over.
That is how it goes when nothing is written down at the start. The landlord sets the rules on the way out because nobody set them on the way in. Have the difficult conversation on day one. Get it in writing. It is a much easier conversation to have before you sign than after you have already handed over the keys.