Q. My friend and I have rented a flat for the past six months. During that time, we have paid our rent on time and kept the flat in remarkably good order. However, on giving notice to the landlord, he has deemed to withhold our deposit without citing a valid reason. Can he do this?

A. Tenant’s deposits are usually required to protect the landlord against you leaving outstanding bills or causing damage to the property. A landlord is not permitted to withhold your deposit simply because of wear and tear or some other insubstantial reason. In April 2007, new laws came into force which provided protection for tenants with regards to their deposits. Under these rules, landlords must protect deposits by either paying into an insured deposit protection scheme or keeping the money themselves and insuring it independently. Either way, your landlord must tell you in writing within 14 days of you paying your deposit which of the two schemes he is using. Deposits secured this way are safe and should be returned to you when the tenancy agreement ends.

Let’s tackle this head-on. Firstly, look over your tenancy agreement and carefully check for any terms of conditions which you may not have been aware of which might permit the landlord to withhold your deposit. If, as I suspect, there are none, I would formally write to the landlord as well as the letting agent reminding them both of this fact, that the property and any contents remain in good condition and that you consider unwarranted withholding of your monies a breach of contract which, if the money is not returned, will lead you to seek recovery. This could either be, initially, via the deposit scheme’s own resolution procedure but, if still not resolved, ultimately through the County Court as a small claim.

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