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Cheque-mate? Returning tenancy deposits by cheque

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20 October 2023 / Fern Schofield , Edward Blakeney
Issue: 8045 / Categories: Features , Property
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Edward Blakeney & Fern Schofield on the pitfalls of returning deposits by cheque
  • Can a deposit ever be ‘returned’ for the purposes of s 215(2A) of the Housing Act 2004 by simple delivery to the tenant of a cheque for the full amount where the cheque has not been cashed?
  • The questions of fact and degree which can arise in the instance of return of sums by cheque have the potential to complicate many sets of proceedings.

In the not-too-distant past, the use of cheques was seen as outdated, and they were set to be scrapped. They received a reprieve and those plans were shelved, but they continued to be a relatively infrequently used form of payment.

However, cheques have recently been thrust (somewhat) back into the limelight with the County Court decision of HHJ Luba KC in Richworth Ltd v Billingham [2023] EW Misc 8 (CC), which looks at the surprisingly knotty problem of returning tenancy deposits by cheque and the surprisingly limited amount of authority

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