My prospective tenant put down a holding deposit of £200 and we started the referencing process. She has now decided she does not want the property. This is very inconvenient for me at this point in time, so would like to keep the holding deposit. How do I secure it? If I end the process then she will presumably get the deposit back. Can I relist now without ending the process?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Hi Richard, thanks for posting!
We appreciate this is inconvenient and has wasted advertising time, which is why if a tenant pulls out of an application they do run the risk of forfeiting their holding deposit to the landlord. You can see how we treat the holding deposit here:
At this stage your applicant is able to cancel an agreement directly from their account, this will forfeit the holding deposit to you. Alternatively we can get in touch with them directly to confirm their intentions.
We will also re-advertise your property straight away to avoid any more delays in getting your property let.
I will confirm this in an email so you can let us know how you’d like to proceed.
Thank you, Elinor. I see that you have relisted the property. Much appreciated. Will give the applicant a day or two more before pursuing the holding deposit.
Hi, Im a tenant that has placed a 200 deposit at open rent process, but now the landlord has raise the price of the agreement by too much, if I dont accept this new prices , does it mean I lose my deposit?
Hi Rahamim,
Upon placing a holding deposit, this indicates your willingness to go ahead with the tenancy at the advertised rental/deposit amounts.
Where a landlord makes changes to this amount without consulting you, then this can constitute reasonable grounds for you to withdraw your application and have the holding deposit returned.
The landlord will have already been notified as such, so we’d firstly suggest getting in contact with them to discuss this.
If you require further assistance then please do get in touch here.
Kind Regards,
George