Galway Bay fm newsroom - Almost 200 Galway renters contacted Threshold about unreturned deposits throughout 2020.
According to the housing charity, 196 residents in the city and county made deposit retention queries last year.
This figure accounts for 14% of all deposit queries last year, while nationwide the amount of people who contacted the charity in relation to the concern increased by 40%.
Threshold estimates that private landlords across the country are holding up to €250,000 in deposits.
The charity is calling on the Government to enact a deposit protection scheme which was outlined in the 2011 programme for Government.
The scheme would allow rental deposits to be held by a third party, such as the Residential Tenancies Board, instead of by private landlords.
