Return of deposit

Anni.....

My daughter paid a deposit to secure a room in a house that was being let by the owner.
Because of some differences of opinion she has decided not to move in.
Where does she stand in regards to the deposit she has paid?
There was no written agreement. He has said he will pay back half.

BitterAndTwisted

Did she get a receipt? What is the landlord's justification for withholding half?

MoneySavingSpender

If a cheque it'll have a unique transaction number, quote that number in the correspondence asking for the deposit.

JoolzS

I think she needs to write off the money. The whole point of a deposit is "I'll pay you this, so you don't do that" - the "don't do that" in this case is offering the room to other people.

If the landlord has offered half back, then she should take it and run, and perhaps learn a lesson in the process.

Julie

GayeGordon

The landlord is being very generous in offering your daughter half the deposit back. It was her who reneged on the deal (verbal or otherwise) and just as one would lose their deposit if they pulled out of a holiday, or a booking on a hotel, the landlord has no legal duty to give her the deposit back. The whole point of a deposit is to secure that room, and the landlord could actually not just keep the deposit but take her to court for loss of rent. It's quite possible that he turned down other prospective tenants on account of your daughter, and it is HE who is now at a financial loss.

Anni.....

No she doesn't have a receipt, it was more an agreement with a friend of a friend. He is renting out a room in his house. No rentbook or tenancy agreement.

The disagreement arose over the fact that she wanted to use one room for teaching. He said she hadn't made it clear, but she felt she had. He also teaches from home.

I know she is on shaky ground so perhaps 50% is a good compromise.

Thanks for all your replies.

Anni....