TENANTS who are being stone-walled when trying to get their deposits back are flooding to Glasgow's Citizens Advice Bureau for help.

Staff at Glasgow Central CAB say they are visited every day by new clients who are having trouble getting their deposit back from their landlord.

Glasgow CAB staff describe it as the biggest issue facing young people in the city.

A new law came into effect on May 15 which requires private landlords to lodge deposits in a special account to ensure the cash is safely returned once a tenancy comes to an end.

However, as reported in the Evening Times last week, fewer than half of landlords in Scotland had lodged deposits by the time the law came into effect.

The Scottish Government is also considering regulating letting agents as part of a review of the private rental sector.

As the private rented and buy-to-let market has grown, so have the number of concerns and complaints about many firms acting as 'middle men' between landlord and tenant.

Now Glasgow Central CAB is urging all private tenants in Glasgow to check their deposits have been paid into the legally required protection scheme as advisers continue to see the problems being caused by unscrupulous landlords.

Manager Vincent Chudy says a common housing issue dealt with by advisers at the Bell Street bureau concerns clients running into major difficulties when trying to get back their deposit from the landlord.

Vincent said: "It is not uncommon for us to deal with a new client each day at our drop-in advice session who is having trouble getting back their deposit – it is probably the most inquired about issue by young people, especially students, that we deal with.

"In the past we have dealt with shocking behaviour employed by some private landlords who have gone missing, used false identities, who have not been registered and even made-up damage to property not caused by the tenants in order to keep our clients' deposits."

The CAB helps by first writing to the landlord or letting agent, but Vincent says they often don't reply.

He added: "If we cannot negotiate the only recourse available is raising an action in the small claims court which is time consuming, involves extra effort and incurs a cost for our client.

"I would encourage all private tenants to make sure that their deposit – usually a significant amount of money costing up to two months' rent – is definitely safe and in one of the approved schemes.

"Along with this, we would be keen to see an increase in standard good practise among tenants that can really benefit them if anything goes wrong with their tenancy – basic things to protect themselves like completing an inventory and taking photos of the condition of the property when you move in and again when you move out."

The deposit scheme was introduced by the Scottish Government in a bid to prevent unscrupulous landlords from keeping their tenants' money on false grounds.

It means all private landlords are obliged to register the tenancy deposit with an approved scheme within 30 days from the beginning of the tenancy, at no extra cost to the tenant.

This also applies to letting agents and citizens are urged to be extremely wary of any excuses by companies to avoid putting the deposit in the scheme.

At the end of the tenancy, either party can apply for the deposit to be repaid and if an agreement cannot be made about any reductions made, a tenant can use the independent dispute resolution process offered.

If access to the scheme is not offered, the landlord is committing a criminal offence.

Citizens who want to find out more about their rights are encouraged to visit the Scottish section of www.adviceguide.org.uk 'Common problems with renting' or head to www.glasgowcentralcab.org.uk

Nurse Debbie Macdonald has been waiting almost six months to get her deposit back on a flat she rented through a letting agency.

Debbie, 25, and her friend Evelyn Sansom, also 25, shared a flat in Glasgow's West End for two years.

They paid £695 rent per month and also put down a £695 deposit with the agents, Paisley-based Learmonts Letting Agents.

Despite having left in December last year, Debbie has not got the deposit back and says she is having difficulty finding anyone to speak to at Learmonts, who also have an office in Glasgow's Merchant City.

Debbie said: "Things were never perfect with the agency, but the most disappointing thing is not getting that deposit back.

"We told them on October 1 we were giving them the required two months' notice to leave.

"They said they needed it in writing, which is fair enough, so we wrote that same day.

"But they then said that since they never got the letter until a few days later, that we'd have to pay three months more rent instead of two.

"I thought that was an unfair way to treat a customer.

"Then when they came to do the final inspection, they said there was some water damage to a kitchen worktop, which we accepted as our fault, and that the repair cost would be taken from the deposit.

"There were other issues which we also repaired.

"Six months on, we haven't got any money back and the person I was dealing with is never available to take my calls."

Debbie can take the case to the small claims court, but fears this will cost more than it is worth in the long run.

We spoke to Jillian Thomas at Learmonts.

She insisted that Debbie and Evelyn failed to make some of the repairs.

Jillian added: "We are sorry if the tenants are aggrieved, but they are aware of the issues.

"The latest update from the landlord is that they have nearly finalised the accounts and they are expecting a balance to be remaining which will be refunded to the tenants."