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holding deposit refund advice HELP

hey wondering if i have a leg to stand on here or not

prior to Christmas i planned on moving into a shared house with 7 friends, i payed a holding deposit and filled in the tenant details and guarantor details and such, and was due to sign a tenancy agreement in January.

long story short a friend dropped out and needed replacing, the replacement was someone i hated so i disputed choosing that person with all of 5 mins thought and was effectively told to suck it up, fast forward and i told said group i was probably going to have to drop out.

now when i discussed replacing tenant, prior to singing the tenancy with the estate agent handling our property he stated that we wouldn't be refunded the holding deposit if we dropped out, and it was standard for the person replacing the person dropping out to pay the £200 holding deposit, essentially paying to take their place.

a new tenant has now taken my place but i'f been informed that the estate agent is charging them another £200, either as their holding deposit or as a tenant replacement fee, they haven't made that clear, effectively stopping me from getting £200 from them.

i'd planned on collecting my £200 before agreeing to leave the tenancy so my replacement would effectively buy my place from me HOWEVER the estate agent has already all-cleared the replacement and removed me from the unsigned tenancy agreement WITHOUT MAKING ANY ATTEMPT TO CONTACT ME TO CONFIRM IF I WAS LEAVING THE HOUSE SHARE

so what i want to know is, can they remove me from the house share without informing me/seeking confirmation from me/contacting me at all when I've paid my holding deposit? and would i be likely to be able to claim my £200 back considering their omission of information regarding changing tenants and their lack of contacting me for consent to remove me from the house share?

any advice/information would be appreciated, i could really use that holding deposit as i now need to find another place for next year and will need money for that holding deposit!
Have you tried actually calling them?
Talk to Shelter CAB or your SU.
You could also try contacting their trade body if they are a member of something like ARLA.
You should also look at any documents you go from them when registering to look at the terms of the holding deposit.My understanding was it wasonly returnable if you went ahead. You are not and therefore theres a chance this means you have lost it. It is not reliant on finding a new tenant but you need to read the agreement.

Estate agents are money grabbing, but it sounds like your deposit is lost because you havent gone ahead,unless it says or they told you they were willing to return it.
I suspect you signed something when registering with the letting agent and that explains what the purpose of the holding deposit is. Take a copy along with you or read it. Something like The letting agent needs to have given you clear and unequivocal evidence that it would be returned.
http://www.lordsassociates.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Student_Tenancy_Information.pdf

The money is either forfeit if you do not o ahead or becomes part of your actual deposit if you do.You have not gone ahead.It is not dependent on you finding a replacement, unless they said so.

I think them notifying you is a red herring as you had already told them you werent going ahead..That is what triggers the loss of the deposit imo.
Original post by 999tigger
I suspect you signed something when registering with the letting agent and that explains what the purpose of the holding deposit is. Take a copy along with you or read it. Something like The letting agent needs to have given you clear and unequivocal evidence that it would be returned.
http://www.lordsassociates.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Student_Tenancy_Information.pdf

The money is either forfeit if you do not o ahead or becomes part of your actual deposit if you do.You have not gone ahead.It is not dependent on you finding a replacement, unless they said so.

I think them notifying you is a red herring as you had already told them you werent going ahead..That is what triggers the loss of the deposit imo.


no that's my point, although i said to my friends that i probably wasn't going to go ahead i at no point said to the estate agents that i was leaving the house share, so while my friends will likely have said as much the estate agents weren't given any such information from myself, and i'm of the mind they should have contacted me to confirm it no?
Original post by musicmanjames
no that's my point, although i said to my friends that i probably wasn't going to go ahead i at no point said to the estate agents that i was leaving the house share, so while my friends will likely have said as much the estate agents weren't given any such information from myself, and i'm of the mind they should have contacted me to confirm it no?


So if you run with that they put you back on the contract. Are you ready to sign up and go through with it? Your deposit is lost if you dont complete.

Go and complain to them that they didnt tell you they were removing you and you would formally like to tell them that you dont wish to proceed.It still doesnt get past the point that your deposit is lost. They might say you had already indicated etc, but it doesnt move you forward.

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