Q – I am a single mum of two teens and currently having disputes with my landlord about my deposit. After giving advanced notice of my moving out they refused to refund my deposit, insisting that I have broken some clause in the tenancy agreement. Can my landlord refuse to pay back my security deposit?
A – Assuming that you’re on an assured shorthold tenancy, your landlord cannot just refuse to repay your deposit. If you are in dispute, then any deposit deductions will be decided by a tenancy deposit scheme adjudicator, and your landlord will need to provide evidence to support his claim. This of course assumes that your landlord has actually protected your deposit in a government approved scheme, as he is required to do by law, and that he has served you with the correct ‘prescribed information’. If he hasn’t done either of these things then you can claim back three times the deposit, plus your original deposit.