Some landlords are imposing unnecessary cleaning fees and ghosting tenants who claim their deposits have been unlawfully retained, according to a housing charity.
More than 1,600 disputes were logged last year with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), and since 2019, some 6,580 households have logged disputes with the RTB concerning deposit retention.
The number of cases has risen steadily since 2021 when 1,093 disputes were logged, increasing to 1,207 in 2022 and 1,606 last year.
Though the outcomes are not available, of the 121 determination orders issued concerning deposit retention in 2021, 69 per cent were fully refunded, while 25 per cent were partially refunded. The remaining 7 per cent were not refunded.
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Rent in arrears accounted for most disputes logged with the RTB last year at 2,973. This was followed by a breach of the landlord’s obligations (1,667) and deposit retention (1,606).
Housing charity Threshold was contacted by some 744 households seeking assistance for deposit retention in 2023.
Of those, 304 households received a refund in full after intervention while 44 did not. Some 103 of the cases remain ongoing while the remaining 451 outcomes remain unknown.
John-Mark McCafferty, chief executive officer of Threshold, said deposit retention remains one of the top issues for tenants seeking assistance.
“Since the beginning of this year, there have already been 187 new deposit retention cases that we’re working on,” he said.
Though sometimes legitimate, alleged damage and cleaning fees where landlords claim the property was “filthy” despite tenants arguing the opposite, as well as landlords “ghosting” tenants by not returning calls or emails are a common occurrence, he said.
“The landlord would usually assert that damage has been done to the property beyond normal wear and tear, and they would also cite things like damp and mould,” he said adding inadequate ventilation of the property not rectified by the landlord is usually the cause.
The charity has long called for a deposit-protection scheme that would see the funds held independently, saying the current arrangements are “not fit for purpose”.
The scheme would also rectify an ongoing problem that sees tenants rarely receiving their deposit in time for a new tenancy, he said, with the retained deposit being transferred between tenancies.
“One of the problems in a very tight market with very little supply is trying to find a new tenancy, especially when so many are ending with landlords selling.
“Many renters don’t have sufficient savings for a new deposit, and they rely on the existing deposit,” he said.
Mr McCafferty said tenants often must obtain enforcement proceedings to get their deposit returned, despite the RTB ruling in their favour.
Others face long delays in getting their deposit returned, before eventually receiving it in “drips and drabs”.
Mr McCafferty argued the scheme would also be beneficial for landlords who would not need to “find the money” to return a deposit once a tenancy ends.
He said renters whose landlords may be in breach of their obligations are not coming forward to Threshold or the RTB, and migrants in particular are at risk, potentially due to a lack of awareness.
Despite legislation to provide a deposit-protection system being passed in 2015, it has not yet been implemented.
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