ONLY one in five renters facing unreasonable deposit deductions actually benefit from the deposit protection system, Generation Rent suggested today.

In a survey of 1,021 private renters between January and March,  just over half of renters (58 per cent) said they got their full deposit back, but one in four (26 per cent) faced problems. 

Of these, one in five raised a dispute with the deposit protection scheme.

Over a quarter of respondents who didn’t challenge unreasonable deductions were unaware they had the opportunity to do so.

Some 9 per cent said the landlord refused to accept the dispute process altogether and 17 per cent were worried the process would take too long and needed the money back.

Dan Wilson Craw, deputy chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “As the new government reviews provision of deposit protection, it can make small changes to build trust in the system among tenants, such as making sure undisputed cash is returned immediately, and that unscrupulous landlords can’t ignore requests or bully tenants into accepting less than they are entitled to.”