Can I retain tenants deposit?

Emma606

Hi all,
Hoping someone can advise. I started renting a property in September last year. I signed a contract with the landlord as lead tenant and was to sub let twp other rooms. The rent and bills all came out of my account. One of the girls left in February, and another moved in. The new girl paid her deposit to me in cash and I gave it to the girl leaving. New girl never signed a contract. I informed the landlord she was living here. She never had any direct contact with the landlord. She paid her last months rent, and left without staying until the end of the lease. She was very very messy throughout her stay and I gave her a duvet and pillow to borrow as she arrived with nothing. She never returned these and left them filthy and unwashed when she left. She left the gas cooker on all night when she came home drunk one night. She never slept with a sheet on her bed and used the cushions from the sofa as a pillow. I had to clean her room and the whole house when she left and her room was disgraceful. She never bought anything for the house, cleaning supplies etc. I bought a new mattress protector for her bed as she obviously didn't use the one that was there for whatever reason.

My question is can I retain some of her deposit for these things that left me out of pocket? The landlord refunded the full deposit to me. And I am to issue it to the girls. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

Chemical Byrne

Legally I don't know where you'd stand. But personally, I would just retain it given the level of crap you had to deal with from her. If she left out of the blue with no notice, it's fairly unlikely she will come back asking for it.