MyDeposits.co.uk advises tenants to be careful, should they decide to throw a party in their rented property during this holiday season. They say that cleaning costs are one of the most common reasons for landlords withholding all or part of a deposit at the end of a tenancy, accounting for 38 per cent of all deposit disputes!

Tenants should protect easily damaged fixtures and fittings from overzealous party guests and the first rule is - shoes off at the front door!

Tenants can avoid expensive cigarette burns in the carpets by asking guests to smoke outside. Moving precious objects into a room which is shut off from the party will protect them from the dangers of vigorous dancing.

David Salusbury, Chairman, mydeposits.co.uk, commenting on the hidden hazards of festive parties, said:

“Christmas and New Year gatherings pose a number of hazards which could cause tenants to lose their deposits. A hangover may only last a day but tenants could find themselves paying for a festive party months after the fun has ended.

“Tenants who prepare by taking simple steps to protect the properties they rent will avoid costly accidents and ensure that the festive period passes without incident.”

Renters are advised to not to pay rent up front for more than 1 month when moving into a property, unless they have proof that the landlord has not fallen behind with his mortgage payments. The number of buy-to-let investors who are in arrears, and face losing their property, has soared in the last 3 months.

Chris and Siobhan Taylor rented a five-bedroom house in Loughton, Essex, in August. They paid £48,000 upfront for the year after being offered a £6,000 discount. Now settled in, they have discovered that their landlord is already tens of thousands of pounds behind on his mortgage repayments.

‘We are feeling very vulnerable. We had no idea when we rented the property that this could happen. We just assumed that everything was OK. We face losing all our money and our deposit, or having to go to court, should the lender want to repossess during our one-year tenancy,’ says Siobhan, 39.

The Taylors have fallen into a gaping hole in the legislation covering tenants. As their rent is more than £25,000 a year, they had to sign a standard tenancy contract, not an assured shorthold tenancy contract, which would have given them a raft of protection.

It also means their initial £7,850 deposit was given directly to the landlord rather than being held by a third party under the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme.

Read the whole story at MailOnline.

It would normally be up to the letting agent to check that the landlord’s lender knows about the property being rented out but do not count on it - it would be wise to always ask for some sort of proof on paper.

Attention, teenagers, and others young at heart - if you’ve never heard of tenancy deposit protection before, click here.

The Landlord Law Blog writes of an interesting case in hand.

A London tenant is bringing a claim against his former landlords and their agents, who took over 5 months into the contract to register the deposit.

Under the UK Housing Law agents or landlord must protect the deposit taken within 14 days from receipt of the deposit from the tenant.

The tenant has filed a claim in West London County Court for 3x the deposit as per law.

Make sure that your deposit is protected!