Guest Damaged Your Shortlet? What to Do Next

If a guest damaged your shortlet, do not release the caution deposit yet. Check the home, photograph the damage, then raise a dispute with the amount you want to keep and your evidence. On Cabans, nothing is kept until the Cabans team decides.

This guide walks through what to do, in order. It also covers the difference between damage and normal wear, what the guest and our team see, and how to make damage less likely next time. It is practical guidance, not legal advice.

First, check and photograph

Go to the home as soon as the guest leaves, before your cleaner starts. Cleaning can hide or remove what you need to show.

1. Walk every room with your check-in photos open on your phone. Compare them side by side.
2. Test things: the TV, air conditioners, the cooker, taps, locks and the generator switch.
3. Count what can go missing: remotes, towels, keys, cutlery, the gas cylinder.
4. Photograph each problem close up and from further back, so it is clear which room it is in.
5. Film a short video for anything that does not work, such as a TV with no picture.

Then confirm the check-out. On the booking, press “Confirm check-out”. You can add up to 10 “Condition photos” of how the home was left, kept privately with the booking. The stay ends, and the guest’s door code stops showing. You can do this even if the guest never pressed “I am leaving”.

How to confirm check-out and add condition photos shows each screen.

Damage or normal wear?

Not every mark is damage. Homes wear out a little with every stay, and that is a cost of hosting. The caution deposit is for damage and missing items, not for normal wear.

Ask yourself: would this have happened with careful use? If yes, it is probably wear. If no, it is probably damage. When you are unsure, claim less, not more. A fair claim is easier to support.

Work out the amount honestly. Use a receipt, a repair quote or the cost of a like-for-like item. An old sofa that was already worn should not be replaced at the price of a brand new one.

Raising a dispute with evidence

The “Caution deposit” panel on the booking shows the amount and its status. After check-out, you have two choices: release the whole deposit, or raise a dispute. You can only release the whole deposit, and once you release it you cannot raise a dispute afterwards. So decide before you press anything.

1. Confirm the check-out with photos. On the booking, press “Confirm check-out” and add up to 10 condition photos of how the home was left.
2. Press “Raise a dispute”. In the “Caution deposit” panel, press “Raise a dispute” instead of releasing the deposit.
3. Enter the amount to keep. Type the amount you want to keep. It must be more than 0 and no more than the caution deposit.
4. Explain what happened. Say what was damaged or missing, and how you worked out the amount. Use between 10 and 2,000 characters.
5. Add your evidence and send. Add photos, videos or receipts, then press “Raise dispute”. You can add more evidence and replies while the dispute is open.

A few rules to know:

• You can only ask to keep up to the caution deposit. If you enter more, you see “The amount cannot be more than the caution deposit.”
• There can only be one open dispute per booking.
• Evidence can be photos and PDFs up to 10 MB each, or MP4 and MOV videos up to 50 MB. A dispute can hold up to 30 files.
• There is no fixed deadline to raise a dispute. But from 14 days after check-out, the guest can ask our team to release the deposit. The team may do so unless you have already raised a dispute. Act within days, not weeks.

How to release or dispute the deposit shows the panel step by step.

What the guest and our team see

When you raise a dispute, the guest gets an email saying their host has raised a question about their caution deposit. On their stay page, a “Deposit dispute” card shows:

• your claim, in your words;
• the caution deposit, and how much you ask to keep;
• your evidence;
• a conversation where they can reply and add their own evidence.

The Cabans team sees everything too, and can reply. You get an email when the guest replies. Keep your messages short, polite and factual. Stick to what happened and what it costs. Angry messages do not help your case.

Guests cannot raise disputes themselves. They reply to yours. That is why your first message and evidence matter so much.

How the decision is made

The Cabans team reads both sides and the evidence before deciding. The decision can be anything from nothing up to the whole deposit. Whatever you are not given goes back to the guest.

• Both of you are emailed when it is decided, with the amount kept and the amount refunded.
• The guest sees “Our team’s decision” on their stay page.
• The guest’s share is refunded to them. Refunds reach guests within 14 days at most, usually in about 5 days.
• There is no fixed time for a decision. Clear evidence and a fair amount make it easier.

What helps a claim:

• before-and-after photos of the same spot;
• a receipt or quote for the repair or replacement;
• a short, calm explanation of how you worked out the amount;
• house rules the guest saw before booking, if a rule was broken.

The damage cost more than the deposit? A dispute on Cabans can only cover up to the caution deposit. For serious damage, keep every piece of evidence and get proper legal advice. For a crime, such as theft, report it to the police.

Preventing it next time

A few habits make damage less likely:

• Take check-in photos every time. Use “Add check-in photos” on the booking, from the day it is confirmed. Without a “before”, an “after” proves little.
• Set a caution deposit that fits the risk. A home with a pool, expensive furniture or space for gatherings needs more. See how much caution fee to charge.
• Write clear house rules. Parties, visitors, smoking and power use. Put the key ones in your listing. Copy our house rules template.
• Limit the number of guests. Set “Maximum guests” in your booking rules, and count people at check-in.
• Ask for ID if you want it. Tick “Guests must upload an ID” on the Stay information page. You can open a guest’s ID until 30 days after check-out. ID documents are kept securely for up to 6 years, as data laws require, and then deleted. See asking shortlet guests for ID.
• Explain how things work. Some “breakages” happen because a guest did not know the inverter cannot run the iron. Write it down.
• Keep an inventory. A simple list of what is in each room makes missing items easy to prove.

Still, be generous with small things. A chipped glass is not worth a dispute, and guests remember hosts who are fair. The Host Academy lesson check-out and the deposit covers the whole routine, and caution deposit protection for hosts explains how deposits work on Cabans.

Want to see how other hosts set deposits and rules? Browse shortlets across Nigeria or shortlets in Lekki. Ready to take bookings with a caution deposit built in? Take bookings online, or list your short let first.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

How much caution fee to charge · Is a caution fee refundable? · What guests should do if they break something · House rules template · Shortlet guest agreement · First booking host checklist · Security deposits in Nigeria