Deposit Issues

Trebor01

My agent took a non-refundable deposit from a prospective tenant on an agreed let on my property.

Sadly the agent and i have fallen out and as a result they have dis-instructed themselves from me, however an agreed let was in place at the time and the non-refundable deposit was taken, and the house removed from the market some 8 weeks ago.

The contract states and I quote "the deposit will not be refunded to you (i.e. the tenant) should you the tenant withdraw your application, fail the references or are not in a position the tenancy on the agreed date".

My concern is this. The agent took the deposit and gave it back to the tenant when the agent dis-instructed, but the tenant could have continued the let with me directly if they had wished to do so, and as part of the agreed clause with the agent, have effectively withdrawn their application which has cost me in lost advertising for this house as it was withdrawn from the market as a let was agreed.

So now as a landlord I am out of pocket, and feel that the agent should refund the deposit back to me as they were obliged to do so under the terms of our contract.

Any views please.

bristolben

Why is it the tenants fault that you fell out with them? Ie, why should the tenant have to pay because you couldn't get along?

tbs624

You say that the property was removed from the housing market *eight weeks ago* - that's a long time for a property to not be let out, if a potential T is virtually lined up. Did your own disagreement with the LA delay matters?

A holding deposit normally covers the LA's "admin" costs for undertaking the tenant checks, including third party credit referencing.Unless there is something else not included in your post you do say "the tenant could have continued the let with me directly if they had wished to do so,". Perhaps they did not wish to do so?

You may want to consider letting it go and concentrating instead on getting a new T in place, pronto. You can set down your advertising costs against your rental income.

Trebor01

The deposit taken was to protect the landlord from lost business after a tenant agrees to a let. As the tenant had agreed to the let and paid the deposit, then pulled out of the agreement because the LA and I parted company, this does not break the contract concerning the deposit taken and I expect it to be paid to me via either the agent or the tenant that agreed the let. Why should I loose business/money simply because individuals change their minds, and when I have TOB that state this is why th deposit is taken...?

GAH

Why did the agent dis-instruct themselves?

They had a tenant lined up, you were obviously happy, and the agent would have made a commission.

Lazzza

Simple reality is your agent gave the potential tenant back the deposit, there ending the previous negotiations.

Your only beef is with the agent, but you'd have to establish that they ought to have transferred the holding deposit to you and now get them to pay you out of their own pocket. You're unlikely to get a meaningful win going that route.

Trebor01

The agent dis-instructed themselves because they have effectively taken sides in a dispute I have with a previous tenant, and are penalising me having never spoken to me about the situation.

The agent is now saying they have paid the money back to the tenant that was lined up, and I would not wish to penalise an innocent party, but someone along the way is not following the "non-refundable" aspect of why the deposit was taken. It was not me that pulled out of the agreement. Ultimately the prospective tenant has withdrawn following receipt of information for the agent, that they had decided to dis-instruct.

GAH

The tenant is not going to be penalised by your dispute.

So you are seeking compensation from the agent? I doubt you will have a case.

If they are members of the ombudsman, you could write to them, but I doubt they will help.

Trebor01

I am now writing to the ombudsman as the agent is failing on so many points including this one, it is beyond a joke. Breaching DPA, not following their own TOB/COP, not following their own Duty Of care to me etc etc etc.

Once I have the outcome of this case, and if I win, which I hope I will, I intend to speak to the CEO of the agent concerned to see if he would rather I did not discuss this case and its points with the press.....:), a sort of mutually agreed gagging order so to speak, otherwise its going to get the medias attention as its about time these cowboy agents were indentified and stopped.