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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

Freeths—Ruth Clare

Freeths—Ruth Clare

National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Partner appointed head of family team

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

Firm strengthens agriculture and rural affairs team with partner return

NEWS
Conveyancing lawyers have enjoyed a rapid win after campaigning against UK Finance’s decision to charge for access to the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has launched a recruitment drive for talented early career and more senior barristers and solicitors
Regulators differed in the clarity and consistency of their post-Mazur advice and guidance, according to an interim report by the Legal Services Board (LSB)
Peter Kandler’s honorary KC marks long-overdue recognition of a man who helped prise open a closed legal world. In NLJ this week, Roger Smith, columnist and former director of JUSTICE, traces how Kandler founded the UK’s first law centre in 1970, challenging a profession that was largely seen as 'fixers for the rich and apologists for criminals'
The dangers of uncritical artificial intelligence (AI) use in legal practice are no longer hypothetical. In this week's NLJ, Dr Charanjit Singh of Holborn Chambers examines cases where lawyers relied on ‘hallucinated’ citations — entirely fictitious authorities generated by AI tools
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