It is very rare that a landlord does not return a deposit, when an agent is involved. There are many cases where a landlord has not returned some or all of a deposit when the landlord did not use an agent. First of all, landlords who use agents (which is the vast majority of landlords in the middle and upper parts of the market) are normally professional in their dealings. Secondly, agents are third party arbitrators and can apply social pressure. Thirdly, landlords who are problematic get blacklisted, which leads to them losing money when agents don’t find a new tenant. Landlords who are blacklisted or greedy tend to try to find renters directly without an agent. Landlords who use agents get their properties rented more quickly. For every month their property is empty, they lose that much money … so that the agent’s commission quickly pays for itself in extra rent collected. Landlords depend on agents and their reputation. In most cases, the deposit is returned in full.
We’ve had many cases where estimates of damages due to tenant negligence were negotiated, such as damage to furniture from pets or jealous Thai girlfriends, windows left open during a rain storm, and so on. However, „normal wear and tear“ are not deducted from the deposit, as stated in a normal lease. The deposit is normally returned directly from the landlord to the tenant, and the agent is kept up to date on the status. It is extremely rare that a deposit is not returned (and the same applies to agent commission, whereby when there’s one problem, there’s often both), but it does happen on occasion, and there is a blacklist of landlords which is passed around by agencies (at least, between some of us expat agencies) and people in the grapevine in those communities. We have various ways of applying social pressure, both privately and more publicly, for return of deposits.
As a last resort, you can take the landlord to court. Whether it’s worth the time and expense, however, depends upon the total amount of the deposit. Agreements are a matter of personal honor, integrity, and moral class, which tells a lot about the kind of person somebody is. However, the world has all types — good, evil, and in between. Most people have enough pride to be an honorable kind of person.