The Deposit Protection Scheme, which holds the money of the four boys' deposit, advises that a landlord MUST counter any full repayment within ten days of the end of the tenancy. Yet this did not happen for SIX weeks. And still, despite a bogus claim and a large portion undisputed, the DPS has not returned a penny of their deposit, which they needed for future deposits and so on. 

This raises another considerable hurdle for the student tenants, that of even getting their de[posit back at all, with landlords and letting agents able to play the system and with zero come-back on them, it seems.