Hi I am currently in a back and forth with a landlord on here. I had viewed a property which I was happy with. The landlord then said she would like to rent the property to me and asked if I would be happy to place a holding deposit. I did so.
After receiving the deposit she ordered a reference check for me. I explained straight away that there would be a delay in getting some of the paperwork for the check, she said that’s fine, take your time. Only AFTER taking my holding deposit, she insisted on me having a guarantor. I tried to get one but was unable to. She said without a guarantor I would need to pay six months rent up front, This is impossible for me.
I then let her know that I have no way to get a guarantor and cannot pay six months rent up front and that we should cancel the process. I also asked for my holding deposit back as a good will gesture on her part due to these conditions not having been made clear prior to me paying the deposit.
She feels entitled to keep my deposit now even though this is none of my fault. I feel this is unjust due to the late mention of her requirements.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to get my deposit, thanks
The Landlord can only keep the holding deposit if you have ‘lied’ or ‘mislead’ her in some way, and they would need proof that you have done that.
You need to contact Openrent for help FAQs | OpenRent to provide your version of events, and ask for the holding deposit to be refunded.
Thanks Karl. That’s good to know as I have been upfront throughout the process. I messaged openrent yesterday but they’ve not replied yet.
Hopefully I will hear from them soon.
you did pay the holding deposit thru openrent and not direct to the landlord?
Yes I paid through open rent. They have replied to my message with nothing more than a generic reply and a link to the holding deposit info.
They completely ignored the specifics I mentioned I.e. the landlord not asking for a guarantor until after she took the deposit. So I doubt they will be much help.
that may be because out of office hours. Send email tomorrow?
They replied during office hours
The landlord would nor be entitled to keep the deposit under these circumstances. Send a further message to Openrent requesting repayment of the holding deposit.
I did and yet again they did not properly read and understand my message.
They replied saying sorry if I did not find open rent policies regarding the holding deposit clear and that if I cancel the process then I lose out.
Whereas I said it was the landlord who failed to make her conditions clear prior to taking my deposit.They seem to just skim over the messages and reply as quickly as possible.
Would it be useful to contact trading standards or any other such organisations ? Please let me know as I don’t think open rent will be of any help
I suggest you tell them that you believe the landlord has breached the Tenant Fees Act in relation to the holding deposit by imposing a requirement for a guarantor after the deposit was paid, contrary to schedule 2 para 13(a) of that Act. If you still don’t get anywhere then you should contact the local authority trading standards office who are the enforcement body for the Tenant Fees Act. They will help you if you have a case.
Thank you, that’s what I was looking for
In similar circumstances to you in regards to openrent not reading a support request fully and understanding the situation at hand. I made a support request claiming that a landlord had lied to me in direct message claiming the property is no longer available but many days later the property is still being advetised. I sent a message to support making them aware as i certainly didnt want other people to waste their time waiting weeks for a reply when the property is no longer available.
I got a generic copy and paste message saying if i was interested in the property i can send the landlord a direct message…like i knew all this and clearly they didnt read my support request.
However on your situation you will get your holding deposit back if you paid through openrent if the landlord has not approved/denied you. If they have denied you, youll get it back, if they accepted you then claim you backed out, you would need to prove to openrent that infact you didnt back out.
I received my holding deposit back as the landlord had not replied to any of my message. So i posted a holding deposit so he knew i was serious about the property. He informed me he was abroad, so i received holding deposit back automatically after the time elapsed.
I hope you manage to get this sorted, goodluck
You can also contact your bank as regards this as they can claim back a payment from the receiving bank if illegal.
Thanks for the info. Yes it is frustrating when your emails are not read to be understood by openrent and also landlords play games to try and squeeze money out of people.
After the third email openrent have finally understood what I was trying to say and have mailed the landlord saying she has no right to keep my deposit as she made the request for a guarantor after payment. Hopefully I receive it back soon.
Thanks mate. It looks like openrent are in the case now so I should get it back soon.
Great advice from David 122 and Chris 50. I hope you get your money back soon and I hope you find a landlord soon who is a decent human being!. It is chancers like the landlord you have had the misfortune to experience who give the rest of the landlord community a bad name.
Similar thing happened to me I went to my bank reported the transaction as fraud . I got my money back .Got Some unpleasant messages from open rent . But they don’t do their job on vetting fraudulent properties . They don’t legally have any access to your accounts so emails in the bin …
Yes and she still seems to think she is in the right to keep the holding deposit. I would be personally ashamed to keep someone’s deposit in these circumstances regardless of what the technicalities say.
I would give it back even at some loss to myself
Good to know. If openrent are not on the ball then what do they expect.
In this situation, if you have been mislead by the landlord, she can’t keep your money. It’s illegal. She needs to cancel the application, not you. Easy solution is to do nothing. She cannot start a new tenancy in the meantime, hence is losing rent (Open Rent will not allow her start another tenancy unless the previous holding deposit has been returned). She will give in and cancel - meaning a refund to you.
Sounds like it was a plot get get 6 month’s rent up front. I really don’t like underhand tactics like this. I also do not like it when it goes the other way (tenants promise there’s nothing adverse on their credit ratings, then the truth comes out. Time and money wasted).