Landlord wants to withhold deposit

[tethersend]

Not sure I'm posting in the right place...

My brother recently gave his notice and moved out of a rented flat due to the damp wall which the landlord refused to fix. The landlord claimed it was condensation, and gave my brother a factsheet on how to prevent it

The flat was on the top floor of a 5 storey block- we think the damp was more likely due to a leaking roof.

As the landlord refused to address the problem, my brother gave his notice and moved out. The problem now is that the landlord has said that he wants to withhold part of my brother's deposit, as the 'condensation' has damaged the flat , and my brother is responsible, as he didn't follow the advice on the factsheet (ie, keep heating on at all times and open windows).

AFAIK, the deposit should be held in the deposit protection scheme- where does my brother stand, legally? Can the landlord cite this as a reason to withhold a deposit? Who arbitrates and ultimately decides?

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated...

Oooh my mate is going through this - will ask him who he had to contact.

Go to DPS and tell them everything - they tell you what to do etc

Check where the deposit is held. When you brother signed his tenancy agreement he should have been given a "prescribed notice" detailing where it;s held and what to do in the event of a dispute. It depends when he took the tenancy, if it was before 6th April 2007 then the Landlord can hold it privately, if not then it shoud be registered and he must have been served the prescribed notice. If he wasn't then your brother can take this further. The penalty for the landlord is that he would be unable to reposses via a section 21 notice, but it sounds like your brother wants to leave any way, and three times the deposit ina fine to the Tenant.

If the deposit is registered then he can take to arbitration with however the deposit is registered and it should not cost him anything.
Try the ARLA web site as well.

Good luck