How long does a landlord have to return my deposit?

How long your landlord has depends on two things: whether the two of you did a joint inspection when you moved out, and whether there is damage to repair. Under the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999, the usual timelines are seven days from the end of the lease where an inspection was done and nothing needs fixing, about 14 days after the repairs are finished where there is damage, and about 21 days from the end of the lease where no outgoing inspection took place at all. In every case the deposit comes back with the interest it earned.

The deposit is your money, held in trust

A landlord may ask for a deposit, and most do. What the landlord may not do is treat it as extra income. The Rental Housing Act requires the deposit to be invested in an interest-bearing account with a financial institution, and the interest belongs to you, not the landlord. You are entitled to ask for written proof of the interest earned, and the landlord must provide it on request.

The deposit is security for damage, unpaid rent and unpaid utilities. It is not a cancellation fee, and it is not the last month's rent. Unless your landlord agrees in writing, you cannot simply live out the deposit by skipping the final month, and doing so gives the landlord a clean deduction against you.

Where an estate agent manages the property, the agent normally holds the deposit in its trust account instead. The same rules apply. The money is still yours, it still earns interest for you, and the agent must account for it in the same way.

Inspections decide the timeline

Two inspections matter.

The incoming inspection should happen jointly before you move in, and the defects you both note become the baseline. Do this properly. Photograph every room, every mark on the wall, the geyser, the stove, the taps and the outside. Send the photos to the landlord by email or WhatsApp the same day so there is a dated record.

The outgoing inspection should be done jointly in the last few days before the lease ends. This is where deposits are won and lost. If the landlord does not arrange it, and you have made yourself available, the landlord is treated as having accepted the property in good condition. That means no deductions and a full refund with interest, usually within about 21 days of the lease ending.

If the inspection happens and there is no damage beyond fair wear and tear, the refund is normally due within seven days of the lease ending.

If the inspection shows damage you are responsible for, the landlord may repair it and refund the balance, normally within about 14 days of the repairs being done, together with the receipts and invoices. You are entitled to see what the money was spent on. A round number scribbled on a statement is not a proper accounting.

The refund clock, step by step

Put the three scenarios on a calendar and the rule becomes easy to apply.

• Lease ends on the 31st, joint inspection done, no damage. The deposit and interest are due by about the 7th of the next month.
• Lease ends on the 31st, joint inspection done, damage found. The landlord arranges the repairs. Once they are complete, the balance and the invoices are due within about 14 days of that completion date. The landlord may not sit on the repairs for months to delay the refund; the work must be done within a reasonable time.
• Lease ends on the 31st, no inspection because the landlord never arranged one. The full deposit and interest are due by about the 21st of the next month.

Note that the clock runs from the end of the lease, not from the day you hand over the keys if that is earlier, and not from the day the landlord finally gets round to looking at the flat.

A worked example

The names and figures are illustrative.

Sipho paid a deposit of R15 000 on a Durban flat three years ago. His lease ends on 30 June. On 28 June he and the letting agent walk through the flat together. The agent notes a cracked bathroom tile and a missing gate remote. Everything else is faded paint and worn carpet, which is fair wear and tear.

The agent gets the tile replaced and buys a new remote, spending R1 100 in total, and the work is finished on 5 July. By about 19 July the agent must pay Sipho R13 900 plus three years of interest, together with the two invoices. If instead the agent had sent Sipho a statement saying "repainting and cleaning, R6 000" with no invoices, Sipho would have a clear Tribunal complaint. The paint aged because three years passed, not because of anything he did.

What may and may not be deducted

Fair wear and tear is the normal deterioration that comes from living in a place. Faded paint after three years, small scuffs on a skirting, worn carpet in a hallway and a tired kitchen counter are wear and tear, not damage. A landlord may not charge you to repaint the whole flat as a matter of course.

Deductions that are usually fair are broken windows, holes in walls beyond a picture hook, missing keys or remotes, damaged cupboard doors, a stained or burnt counter, a garden left completely overgrown, arrear rent, and unpaid water, electricity or levy charges that are your responsibility under the lease. Cleaning may be charged if the place is left genuinely dirty, but not simply as a standard fee if the lease does not say so.

Documents to gather

Before you write to the landlord, put these in one folder:

• the signed lease and any renewal, showing the deposit amount
• proof that you paid the deposit, such as a bank statement line or a receipt
• the incoming inspection report and your dated move-in photographs
• the outgoing inspection report if one was done, or your written request for one if it was not
• your own dated photographs from the day you handed over the keys
• your final utility statements and proof that you paid them
• every message about the inspection, the refund and any deductions

What to do this week

1. Check the calendar. Work out which of the three timelines applies and the date the refund fell due.
2. Write a short letter of demand. State the lease end date, the deposit paid, which timeline applies, that no lawful deductions apply or which ones you dispute, and that you require payment plus interest within seven days. Attach the photographs.
3. Ask for the interest statement in the same letter. Landlords who have not kept the deposit in an interest-bearing account often settle quickly once they realise you know that rule.
4. Keep the delivery record, whether a read receipt, a courier slip or a WhatsApp tick.
5. If the deadline passes, download the Rental Housing Tribunal complaint form for your province and file it.

If the deposit does not come back

If that letter does not work, you have free options.

• The Rental Housing Tribunal in your province hears deposit disputes at no cost. You complete a complaint form, the Tribunal usually tries mediation first, and if that fails it holds a hearing and issues a ruling. A Tribunal ruling is enforceable in the same way as a magistrate court order, and failing to comply with it is an offence.
• The Small Claims Court handles claims up to R30 000, costs nothing, and does not allow lawyers on either side. You go to the clerk with your lease, your proof of payment and your letter of demand.
• If you cannot afford advice, Legal Aid South Africa on 0800 110 110 can point you to the right forum.

For most deposit disputes an attorney costs more than the deposit is worth, which is exactly why the Tribunal and the Small Claims Court exist.

Common mistakes and what they cost

Skipping the incoming inspection. Without a baseline, every mark in the flat is presumed to be yours. This is the single most expensive mistake a tenant makes, and it happens on day one.

Not being available for the outgoing inspection. If the landlord invites you in writing and you do not turn up, the landlord can inspect alone and you lose the protection that comes from the landlord failing to inspect.

Leaving without a forwarding address or bank details. Some landlords use "we could not find the tenant" as a reason for delay. Give your details in writing on the day you hand over the keys.

Accepting a verbal promise. "I will pay you at the end of the month" is not a refund. Put the deadline in writing.

For landlords, deducting without invoices. A Tribunal will usually disallow any deduction that cannot be shown with a receipt, and may order the full deposit refunded with interest.

If you are the landlord

Do the paperwork and you will rarely lose a deposit dispute. Keep the deposit in a separate interest-bearing account from day one, run a joint incoming inspection with a signed list and photographs, invite the tenant in writing to the outgoing inspection, keep the invitation, and refund with a written breakdown and actual invoices inside the timelines above. Tribunals routinely rule against landlords who cannot show an outgoing inspection or cannot produce receipts for what they deducted.

Related reading: Who pays for repairs in a rental property? and What happens if I break my lease early?.

LawMatch is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.