Landlords need proof to withhold deposits

One of the government-approved tenancy deposit protection schemes has warned landlords they must provide sufficient evidence if they want to withhold some or all of a deposit. According to the study there have been a growing number of landlords who find tenants have damaged their property at the end of a tenancy who are having to pay for the damage themselves as they haven’t enough evidence to justify keeping the deposit. During the third quarter of 2008, 125 disputes were dealt with by independent adjudication, and tenants received all or part of their deposits back 91 per cent of the time.