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NLJ this week: Cheque-mate for tenants hoping to get their deposit back

20 October 2023
Issue: 8045 / Categories: Legal News , Property
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The ‘return’ of a cheque posed a conundrum for the courts in a recent case about the return of a tenant’s deposit on a rented flat. In this week’s NLJ, Edward Blakeney and Fern Schofield, barristers at Falcon Chambers, examine the case along with the ‘surprisingly knotty problem of returning tenancy deposits by cheque and the surprisingly limited amount of authority on this question’

Deposits must, by law, be protected by the landlord, but the ins and outs of exactly how a deposit should be returned are not legally clear. The question before the court was whether or not the return of an uncashed cheque constitutes return of a deposit. The tenant in this case did not accept cheques.

Blakeney and Schofield look at the wider implications of the case, including in the event of the Renters Reform Bill passing into law.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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