header-logo header-logo

20 October 2023
Issue: 8045 / Categories: Legal News , Property
printer mail-detail

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

143307
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

Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles

Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles

Bell Yard Kysen appoints senior legal PR and ex-government communications adviser, Liz Giles

Clarke Willmott—Lee Edwards

Clarke Willmott—Lee Edwards

Clarke Willmott boosts Southampton commercial property team with addition of partner Lee Edwards

Lime Solicitors—four promotions

Lime Solicitors—four promotions

Lime Solicitors announces four promotions

NEWS
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
A polished legal defence may owe more to artificial intelligence than legal merit—and creditors risk paying the price in delay and expense
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Should a conviction stand when a later ruling reveals that the law underpinning it was wrong? The answer exposes a clash between finality and justice
The Environment Agency can prosecute offences beyond environmental legislation where proceedings support its statutory functions, the Divisional Court has confirmed
back-to-top-scroll