Rogue landlords will find it more difficult to withhold deposits under proposed new housing laws.

Last year Brighton and Hove Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB) dealt with £110,000 worth of disputes where landlords refused to return their tenants' deposits.

At 20 per cent, the city has a higher proportion of rented accommodation than anywhere else in the UK.

The CAB estimates the total amount held by the city's letting agents and landlords, after tenants have moved out, is between £500,000 and £1 million.

Now the Government is considering a tenancy deposit scheme whereby deposits will be held by a third party who settles any dispute.

The idea is part of the Government's Draft Housing Bill.

Addressing a Government select committee, Adrian Davies, manager of Brighton and Hove CAB, said: "People are giving in and not going to court because of lawyers' fees and the chance of losing.

"They end up borrowing money to get deposits for new accommodation and are getting struck twice."

A spokesman for homelessness charity Shelter said: "Although most tenancies end without dispute, about 20 per cent of households say that part or all of the deposit from their most recent tenancy was unreasonably withheld."