THE Government has dismissed calls for a national deposit scheme to protect the thousands of tenants in the North from landlords who withhold their bonds.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott acknowledged there was a problem with unscrupulous landlords refusing to hand back deposits, but said it would be better dealt with by new laws.
Mr Prescott was reacting to a report from charity Shelter and the Citizens Advice Bureau, which said an estimated 4,340 tenants in the region have had difficulty getting bonds returned.
The report estimated more than £686,000 is wrongfully retained in the North each year.
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