Security deposits: tracking who put in what
Document the split on day one so move-out is arithmetic, not argument.
In this guide
Split the deposit on the same percentages as rent, and write down what each person actually paid on the day they paid it. At move-out, return each person their original contribution first, charge any deductions to whoever caused them, and share whatever is left on the rent percentages.
- The deposit is the single most argued-about number at the end of a tenancy, and the cheapest to document at the start.
- Record contributions individually — not "we all paid our share", which is never quite true.
- Damage caused by one person is charged to that person, not to the household.
- A replacement tenant buys out the leaver directly; the landlord’s deposit does not need to move.
What to record on day one
- The total deposit held, and who holds it — landlord, agent or a deposit scheme.
- The exact amount each tenant contributed, with the date and the method.
- The percentages you agreed, and the method behind them.
- A dated set of move-in photos of every room, stored somewhere all of you can reach.
Four lines and a photo album. This is the highest return-on-effort record in a shared tenancy.
Working out the refund at move-out
Charging the deduction to the person who caused it is the part households get wrong. Splitting it equally feels diplomatic in the moment and reads as unfair to everyone else for years afterwards.
When someone leaves mid-lease
The cleanest mechanism is a direct buy-out: the incoming tenant pays the leaver their recorded deposit contribution, and the deposit itself stays untouched with the landlord. Update the record with the new name, the same amount, and the date of the handover.
Do not let the household refund the leaver out of rent money and hope the deposit covers it later. That converts a documented balance into an undocumented one.
Frequently asked questions
Should the security deposit be split the same way as rent?
Who pays for damage caused by one roommate?
What happens to the deposit when a roommate is replaced?
Maya T.
Research contributor to Expenso’s shared-money guides
Maya works on the examples and research used in Expenso’s guides. She writes about how households and travel groups can keep shared costs understandable and auditable.
