A clearer way to track security deposits and move-out balances
Separate agreed deposits, funds held, rent use, repairs and refunds so a tenancy closes with an understandable record.
The agreement and the money are different
Agreed deposit is the requirement in the tenancy terms. Held deposit is the money available after receipts, use and refunds. Separating them prevents a common mistake: treating a top-up as an increase in the original agreement.
KSh 20,000 received, used for rent and later replenished means KSh 40,000 arrived over time. It does not mean KSh 40,000 is currently held. Show the current balance and dated movements explaining it.
Using deposit for rent is an allocation
When agreed, link the use to the specific rent bill. Rent due and held deposit fall by the same amount. No new cash arrived. If the tenancy continues, show the appropriate top-up obligation without duplicating it.
Revoking notice does not restore money already used for rent. Review the top-up separately instead of recreating funds that no longer exist.
Departure and settlement can finish separately
A unit can become vacant before repair costs are known. Record the departure to free the unit while keeping the settlement open. Do not force a guessed refund to finish a move-out screen.
Review final rent explicitly. Ending a tenancy does not automatically cancel every old bill. A final charge that no longer applies needs its own reasoned cancellation or correction.
Use the right funding source
Some repairs are paid from agreed deposit deductions; others are paid by the owner or someone else. Record actual costs against the source that paid. An estimate is not a completed expense.
Record refunds only after money is returned. For historical deposits already cleared with an unknown repair/refund split, preserve that uncertainty rather than inventing movements.
Finish with a readable settlement
Bring together final rent, deposit actually held, agreed repairs and refunds. A leaving tenant who paid only part of the deposit should be settled against actual funds rather than automatically given a continuing-tenancy top-up demand.
These are record-keeping principles, not a substitute for your agreement or advice on a dispute. Keep evidence and explain adjustments in ordinary language.
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