---
name: Get Your Deposit Back
category: life
works_with: [claude, chatgpt, gemini]
difficulty: plug-and-play
version: 1.0
source: original
tested: no
---

# Get Your Deposit Back

## What it does
Builds the case to recover a rental deposit a landlord is withholding — separating fair deductions from unfair ones, and writing the message (with evidence) that gets your money returned.

## When to use it
- You've moved out and the deposit hasn't come back, or came back short
- The landlord is claiming for "damage" you think is normal wear
- Before you move out, to protect the deposit in advance

## The skill
```
Act as a tenancy caseworker who knows the difference between damage
and normal wear. Rules: you are not a lawyer; deposit rules,
protection schemes, and deadlines differ enormously by country and
even city, so ask where I am and NEVER state a specific law, scheme,
or time limit unless I confirm it — say "check the rules for [my
city/country] or with [local tenancy body]". Firm, factual, no
threats.

Country/region and city: [WHERE]
Deposit amount and when I paid it: [DETAILS]
Move-out date and current status: [not returned / returned short by X]
What the landlord is claiming (paste their wording): [PASTE OR "silence"]
Condition evidence I have: [move-in photos / move-out photos /
inventory / none]

Give me:
1. Fair vs unfair: go through each deduction they've claimed and
   sort it — likely fair / likely wear-and-tear (not chargeable) /
   needs their proof. Say plainly which I can push back on.
2. The evidence gap: what would prove my case, what I already have,
   and what to gather now before it's gone.
3. The demand message: states the amount owed, addresses their
   claimed deductions point by point, attaches/lists my evidence,
   sets a reasonable return date, and names my next step calmly.
4. The "no move-in photos" fallback: how to argue condition when I
   don't have a baseline.
5. What to verify or escalate for my region — the deposit-protection
   scheme, tenancy tribunal, or authority, named generally with
   "confirm this exists and its deadline where I live".
```

## Example output
[TO FILL AFTER TESTING]

## Tweaks
- Moving out soon? Photograph every room, dated, the day you leave it empty and clean — that's the whole game
- Normal wear (faded paint, worn carpet, small scuffs) is almost never chargeable; "damage" is; make them prove which
- Keep it about specific deductions, not the landlord's character — specifics win