Holding deposit woes

ahmeras

Hi. Probably see a lot of these sadly, but I am having holding deposit issues :{

So last week I went to view a property to rent in London. I was with the LE and he showed me the property which I liked. I did explain to him my situation and that I wouldn't be able to move for 3 weeks as a minimum and ideally i would move in early jan. This all seemed fine at the time. Nothing was mentioned of when the land lord wanted tenants moved in by.

I then decided to go for it and let the agent know of my intention and they requested a holding deposit which I paid as apparently they still had viewings on the property. The same day shortly after the I paid the agent suddenly informs me the landlord wants me to move in straight away. I told him I still have to give notice in my current flat and I would need atleast three weeks as I had explained when I viewed the property. The landlord has been pushing the agent (and indirectly me) that he wants someone in before Xmas. It is at a point now the landlord has decided he does not want to wait for me and as such I am no longer being considered for the property

The estate agents in the meanwhile have kept my holding deposit. And won't give it back. No referencing etc was done. As far as I can tell as soon as I paid the holding the agent spoke to the landlord and the messiness with moving in dates started

As far as I can tell I am entitled to it back as I have not pulled out of the agreement. I was misled into thinking that my time line would be Ok and effectively the landlord pulled out due to the fact he couldn't wait for me.

Can someone with some experience in these matters please advise? I am contemplating taking this to small claims court.

ahmeras

It's also worth noting. Whole this was going the property was still available on Rightmove etc

ahmeras

There is no indication of this before Xmas requirement on the ad either

anselld

Send “letter before action” and then proceed to small claims if necessary ...
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

theartfullodger

Next time, get a receipt which shows the terms & conditions for the holding deposit or, if paying by bank transfer, email them 1st (about 10 seconds before paying) stating your terms for the holding deposit ... but....
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/letting_agent_fees_for_tenants

Holding deposits to reserve a property

If you want to reserve a property, a letting agent may ask you to pay a holding deposit while they check your references.
Paying a holding deposit means:

• you're committed to renting the property
• the landlord is committed to renting the property to you, subject to checks

Don't pay a holding deposit or sign anything if you are not sure that you want the property.
Before you pay any money, ask the letting agent to confirm to you in writing:

• how the holding deposit will be used
• if it will be returned to you (this should happen if the landlord decides not to rent the property to you)
• if it will be used towards your tenancy deposit or rent
• if any of their fees will be taken from it
• when some of it may not be refunded, for example, if you give inaccurate information about yourself (they can't legally keep all of it)

After you pay a holding deposit, the landlord shouldn't ask you to pay a higher rent than you initially agreed. You have the right to change your mind and get all your holding deposit back if they do.
You can take the letting agent to court for breaking the agreement if they:

• refuse to give you back your holding deposit
• decide not to rent to you when all your references and credit checks were in order....

You might also wish to point agent at government guidance on holding deposits, paras 6.19-6.28 here
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319820/Lettings_guidance_CMA31.PDF
- Bet they've never heard of it...

ahmeras

Thanks for the advice guys. I will deffo get it in writing next time. Im still a bit naive in the whole renting game, and especially in London where decent properties go off the market as quick as they come on.

I have read through the PDF and will deffo be quoting it.

I was more than happy to rent the property, I would still be open to it as well and i made this clear, I literally only needed 3 weeks. Had the estate agents made it clear the landlord wanted someone in ASAP i would have likely not put an offer in.

G_M

As anselld says:

'Letter Before Action'.

foaf26907

Hi may I ask for some advice?
Looking to rent a house, put an offer in and I was told my 19 yo son and I would need to do reference check. I’m a FT teacher, he’s a part rt time waiter. Hence monthly wage fluctuates cos of tips. However I apparently didn’t enter the correct info on the reference form. Apparently I shouldn’t have worked out an average and there was a section for tips etc. Anyhoo although I wasn’t trying to deceive them because of the ‘untruths’ We failed the reference check. I had signed the document that said if we failed the landlord could refuse to go ahead and the holding deposit would be used to cover LA fees, LL loss of rent etc.

Actual email from LA:

The some of the details you provided to us within your initial offer have turned out to be untrue and this has led to your external referencing failing. Specifically, Son's income and employment type. These issues, on top of the fact that you and Richard have failed to comply with our requests to provide us with the referencing documents within the correct time frame, are too much of a problem to overcome.

As both of the above constitute breaches of the terms of the holding agreement we have had to report this matter to the landlord and the landlord has instructed us to cancel your application for the property.

As per the terms of the holding agreement, the holding money you have paid has been retained to cover the landlord's expenses incurred due to your failed application and our fees. These costs include any lost rent that may be a result of lost marketing time, due to removing the property from the market during your application and the landlord's fees.


But a friend told me that I should be able to ask for a partial refund as £1000 holding deposit is a lot. Even with the LA referencing fees, the house is not vacant so he’s not lost out on rent as the tenancy wasn’t due to start until 10/03. It did take longer than the given 3 working days to get all the required documentation together but I work and they extended the deadline.
I know because we failed I can’t get a full refund but could I try for a partial refund? The money they have is stopping me from being able to rent somewhere else.
Any advice greatly appreciated

Marvel1

foaf26907 wrote: »

Any advice greatly appreciated

See post 4 and 5 above.

FBaby

Absolutely disgusting business. I bet the LL was told something a bit different and I would very much doubt the agency intend to share any of this holding deposit with the LL.

You need to put a complain in.

dimbo61

First you should have started a NEW POST not added onto another old one.
Read the above links.
Check out which redress scheme the Letting agents belong too.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/letting_agent_redress_schemes

Letting agent going to keep £1,000 Total XXXXXX

Letter Before Action and contact the redress scheme