When Alice*, a then 21-year-old University of Nottingham student, moved into her accommodation and paid a £500 deposit, she never expected that that money would not be returned. “I asked for [my deposit] back, and they said I couldn’t have it due to damages to the property, but they didn’t actually explain what those damages were,” she says. Despite her claiming the property was in good shape when she left – “I was the only one living in it and took care of it,” she says – with no evidence ever being provided to the contrary, Alice was left in financial turmoil by her landlord.Alice is not alone: according to research by the National Union of Students (NUS), 39 per cent of student renters face difficulty reclaiming their deposit from their landlords. For struggling tenants, and particularly students, who are already dealing with a cost of living crisis, having a deposit taken away can be devastating. It left Alice strapped for cash, forcing her to give up any spending which was not for essential living costs.
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