Deposit deduction worksheet

What this worksheet checks

Enter the monthly rent and the deposit actually held, then list each proposed deduction with its amount. The one choice that matters for each line is whether it is damage the tenant caused, or ordinary wear and tear from living in the place. Only the first one can lawfully come off the deposit.

1. Enter the monthly rent and the deposit actually held.
2. List each proposed deduction with its description and amount.
3. Mark each line as damage the tenant caused, or ordinary wear and tear.
4. Check the total: only the damage lines are deductible, and the deposit itself is checked against the lawful one-month cap.

The deposit itself has a lawful ceiling

A security deposit cannot exceed one month’s rent, or one twelfth of the annual rent, whichever is less. For a tenancy let by the month, those are the same figure. If the deposit you enter is above that, the worksheet flags it immediately: holding more than the cap is not a deductions problem, it is a problem with the deposit itself, and it should be flagged before deductions are even discussed.

Damage versus fair wear and tear

What counts as damage

Damage is harm beyond ordinary use: a broken window, a hole punched in a door, tiles cracked by something dropped on them, fittings removed or destroyed. These are the tenant’s responsibility and belong in the “damage” column.

What counts as wear and tear

Wear and tear is the ordinary, expected effect of someone living in the property over the length of the tenancy: paint fading, carpet flattening in a walkway, a lock stiffening with age, small marks that accumulate from normal use. None of this is chargeable to the tenant, however tempting it is to list it. The worksheet still shows these lines, marked as not deductible, rather than hiding them. A landlord should see exactly why an item doesn’t count, not only that it was left out.

What this worksheet does not do

It totals what you enter and checks it against the rules above; it does not adjudicate a dispute over whether a particular scratch is damage or wear and tear, and it is not a substitute for a proper move-in and move-out inspection with both parties present, which is the actual evidence a disagreement gets settled on.

For the deposit rules in full, covering receipts, what happens if the property is sold, and the rest of the Landlord and Tenant Act 2022, see Uganda’s Landlord and Tenant Act 2022, explained.