The following facts were found by the referee and adopted by the trial court. The plaintiffs had leased certain premises from the defendant from May 1, 1997, through June 30, 2000. The plaintiffs had paid to the defendant a total of $10,200 in security deposits. On June 10, 2000, the plaintiffs notified the defendant of their forwarding address to ensure the proper return of their security deposit. On July 26,2000, the defendant sent a check in the amount of $4818.53, together with an accounting, which represented the balance of the security deposit that the defendant said he owed to the plaintiffs. The defendant claimed a credit for nonpayment of rent where the plaintiffs had deducted certain sums for repairs to the premises in the amounts of $885.10 for a chimney repair and $421.24 for radiator repairs, and he claimed a credit for damages to the premises. The referee found that the defendant had authorized the plaintiffs to expend certain funds for repairs of damage to the premises that existed prior to the plaintiffs’ taking possession and, thus, the defendant was not entitled to deduct those amounts from the security deposit. On August 27, 2003, the referee filed his findings of fact and his recommendation that judgment be rendered in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $15,177.20, consisting of the full return of the security deposit in the amount of $10,200 plus statutory interest in the amount of $774, minus the amount previously returned of $4818.53, leaving the balance of $6155.47 unpaid, plus additional interest commencing from August 1, 2000, at a rate of 6 percent per annum. The referee recommended that attorney’s fees in the amount *818of $7913.75 be awarded to the plaintiffs as reasonable fees allowable pursuant to the parties’ lease agreement, which allowed the plaintiffs to collect attorney’s fees in the event that the defendant was found to have breached the lease.