Landlord entitled to retain part of the deposit.

The parties entered into a lease for an indefinite period covering a room with access to a bathroom, kitchen and sitting-room. At the end of the rental period, the landlord retained ISK 38,206 of the ISK 110,000 deposit to cover cleaning costs and part of the cost of a broken wash-basin. The tenant denied responsibility for the broken wash-basin, but admitted not having cleaned the premises; he said they had not been clean when he moved in.

The Complaints Committee considered no demonstration had been made to the effect that the wash-basin had been broken during the rental period, and therefore rejected the landlord’s claim. To judge from the communications between the parties, the committee considered that the tenant had admitted that the premises needed cleaning at the end of the rental period, as he had found someone to clean the apartment, but refused to share in the cost of this cleaning.

Conclusion: The landlord was obliged to return the remainder of the deposit, except for ISK 13,333 for cleaning.