Deposit refund demand to a landlord

Your lease has ended, the keys are back with the landlord, and your deposit has not arrived. This letter is the step between asking politely on WhatsApp and lodging a formal complaint. Every paragraph in it does one job, and the whole document is built to be read later by somebody who was not there.

What this document does and when to use it

This is a letter of demand. It is not a court process and it does not by itself force anyone to pay. What it does is create a dated written record that you asked for a specific amount, on specific grounds, by a specific day.

That record earns its keep twice. Most of the time it works on its own, because a landlord who has been ignoring messages reads a letter that sets out the lease, the payment and a deadline. And when it does not work, it is the first document you hand to the Rental Housing Tribunal.

Use it in one of two situations. The refund deadline has passed and nothing has come. Or a deduction has arrived with no invoices, quotations or receipts behind it, because a number in an email is not a breakdown.

Do not use this letter while you are still living in the property, and do not use it to end a lease. If you are still on your way out, send the notice to vacate first.

Before you start: get these facts straight

Five facts carry the letter. Get any of them wrong and you hand the landlord something to argue about that has nothing to do with the money.

The date the lease ended. Take it from the lease or from your notice, not from the day you moved the last box.

The deposit amount and the day you paid it. The amount comes from the lease, the date from your bank statement. Print that statement line. It is your proof that a deposit exists at all.

The day you handed back the keys, remotes and access cards, and the day you gave the landlord your forwarding address and banking details. A landlord who says he could not pay you because he had no account number has an answer to your complaint. Take it away from him.

Whether the inspections happened. Incoming, outgoing, both or neither. This decides which optional paragraphs stay in.

The day the refund fell due. This is the one people guess at, and the whole letter turns on it. The period depends on whether a joint outgoing inspection was done and whether there is anything to repair. Work it out on the deposit refund calculator and read how long does a landlord have to return my deposit before you write a date into paragraph 5.

Address the letter to the landlord named in your lease and copy the agent. The agent usually holds the money, but the landlord is the party you contracted with.

Walking through it, clause by clause

Paragraph 1 identifies the lease by property, signing date and parties. It looks like filler. It is what aims the rest of the letter at the right person, and it stops a landlord replying that he does not know which unit you mean.

Paragraph 2 proves the deposit. "On [DATE DEPOSIT PAID] I paid a deposit of R[DEPOSIT AMOUNT] into [BANK AND ACCOUNT NAME]." Name the account you actually paid into, even if it was the agency trust account. If the deposit went in as two payments, say so and attach both.

Paragraph 3 closes the handover. It records that you left, handed back everything, and gave your forwarding address and banking details. If you emailed your banking details later, use that later date and attach the email.

Paragraph 4 handles the inspections. You delete one option. Either a joint outgoing inspection happened, or it did not and you asked for one in writing.

Paragraph 5 is the legal spine. It states that under the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 the deposit had to sit in an interest-bearing account with a financial institution and that the interest belongs to you. Then it names the date the refund fell due, and what you have received so far. Choose between "nothing" and a part payment honestly. A landlord who can show he paid you something you did not mention undermines the rest of your letter.

Paragraph 6 is optional and disputes a deduction. Keep it only where money was taken without proof. It says the deduction is disputed, that fair wear and tear is not damage and cannot be charged to you, and that you want the actual invoices. Describe the deduction in the landlord's own words. If he wrote "cleaning and touch-ups", quote that.

Paragraph 7 is optional and covers a missing outgoing inspection. Keep it only where you were available and no joint inspection took place. It records the consequence, which is that the property is treated as accepted in good condition.

Paragraph 8 is the demand itself, and it asks for three things. Clause 8.1 is the deposit plus the interest for the full period it was held. Clause 8.2 is written proof from the financial institution of the account and the interest. Clause 8.3 is a written breakdown of every deduction with the supporting documents. Most people ask only for 8.1. Asking for all three is what makes an evasive landlord uncomfortable.

Paragraph 9 gives your banking details. Fill in every line, including the reference. This removes the last excuse.

Paragraph 10 states the consequence and the deadline, and paragraph 11 reserves your rights, meaning nothing in the letter counts as giving anything up.

Two things are genuinely negotiable. The deadline in paragraph 8, usually seven days and fairly shortened where the money was due months ago. And whether you state a rand figure for the interest in clause 8.1 or ask the landlord to confirm it. If you do not have the statement, ask him to confirm.

A worked example

This example is illustrative only and the facts are made up.

Thandiwe rented a one-bedroom flat. Her lease ran to 31 May and she paid a deposit of R9 500 on 20 February the previous year. She and the agent did a joint incoming inspection and both signed the report. She handed back the keys, the gate remote and one access tag on 31 May, and emailed her forwarding address and banking details the same day. She asked twice, on 18 and 26 May, for an outgoing inspection. Nobody came. On 18 June the agent emailed to say R4 200 would be held back for "repainting and general cleaning", with no invoices attached.

Thandiwe keeps both optional paragraphs. In paragraph 4 she uses the second option and gives 18 May as the date of her written request. In paragraph 6 she quotes "repainting and general cleaning" and says the deduction is disputed because no invoices were provided and repainting a flat she lived in for over a year is fair wear and tear. In paragraph 7 she records that no joint outgoing inspection took place although she was available. In paragraph 8 she asks for R9 500, the interest, the bank statement and the breakdown, and gives seven days.

She attaches the lease, the bank statement line, the signed incoming inspection report, her two emails asking for the inspection, the agent's email of 18 June, and eighteen dated photographs taken on 31 May. She emails it to the agent and the landlord, and diarises 25 June.

The clauses people get wrong

Leaving the due date in paragraph 5 blank or guessing it. A wrong date lets the landlord answer the date instead of the money. It costs you the deadline you gave.

Demanding the deposit and forgetting the interest. The interest belongs to you for the whole period the money was held. On a large deposit held for two or three years this is real money, and once you accept a refund without it you will not go back for it.

Skipping clause 8.2, the bank statement. This is the request landlords least want to answer, because many deposits were never put in a separate interest-bearing account at all. Leaving it out removes your strongest lever.

Accepting a deduction described in words. "Cleaning", "damages" and "touch-ups" are categories, not costs. Without invoices you cannot check whether the work was done, what it cost, or whether it was wear and tear. Paying costs you the difference, and you never find out how big it was.

Sending it only to the agent. If the agency changes hands or closes, your demand went to a party you did not contract with. Send it to the landlord named in the lease and copy the agent.

Sending a second warning after the deadline expires. The deadline is the only pressure the letter carries. A second letter tells the landlord your dates mean nothing. On the day after the deadline, lodge.

Signing it and keeping proof

Sign the letter, print your full name under the signature, and date it. A tenant's letter of demand does not need a witness or a commissioner of oaths. It needs to be dated, signed and delivered. Attach copies, never originals, numbered in the same order as the list at the foot of the letter, and save the bundle as one PDF, because that is what the Tribunal will want.

Delivery is where these cases are won and lost. Email it to the address the landlord or agent actually uses. Send the same PDF by WhatsApp if that is how you normally deal with them, and screenshot the delivery ticks. If the lease names an address for notices, deliver a copy there by hand or courier and keep the waybill or signed receipt. A demand nobody can prove was received is worth nothing, and a landlord who has been avoiding you will say he never got it.

Then diarise the deadline. Landlords often pay on the last day.

What happens if it goes wrong

The day after your deadline expires, lodge a complaint with the Rental Housing Tribunal in your province. It is free, you do not need an attorney, and deposit disputes are its everyday work. The Tribunal normally tries mediation first and then holds a hearing, and its ruling is enforceable in the same way as a magistrate court order. Take your lease, your proof of payment, the inspection reports, your photographs and this letter with its delivery proof.

The Small Claims Court is the alternative if you would rather have a court order and your claim falls under the limit. It costs nothing to bring, lawyers are not allowed on either side, and you start at the clerk of the court with the same bundle. Check where your claim sits on the small claims court calculator.

If you are unsure which forum fits, Legal Aid South Africa on 0800 110 110 can point you in the right direction, and university law clinics run free advice sessions in most major centres.

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

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to send this letter before going to the Tribunal?

No. You can lodge without it. Send it anyway. It often gets you paid without a hearing, and if it does not, it shows the Tribunal you gave the landlord a fair chance.

The landlord says the money went on repairs. What now?

Ask for the invoices in writing, which is what clause 8.3 does. Then compare each item against the signed incoming inspection report. Anything not recorded in a joint outgoing inspection cannot be deducted, and fair wear and tear can never be deducted at all. Read can my landlord keep my deposit for fair wear and tear.

I never got a bank statement for the deposit. Can I still claim interest?

Yes. The duty to hold the deposit in an interest-bearing account and account for the interest sits with the landlord, not with you. Ask for the proof in clause 8.2 and claim the interest for the full period it was held.

I left before the lease ended. Does this letter still work?

Yes, but say so in paragraph 3 and expect the landlord to raise rent or a cancellation penalty against the deposit. Those are set-offs he must prove and quantify, not reasons to keep the whole deposit in silence.

The letting agency has closed down. Who do I write to?

The landlord named in the lease, at the address for notices as well as by email. Your contract is with the landlord, and the agent held the money on the landlord's behalf.