We have failed referencing, lost the 250£ holding deposit and our inquiry was canceled.
Our landlord answered that we had missed payments. But all that missed payments were during pandemic/lockdown and we have agreed with the landlord that we will delay our payments. So it was “agreed delayed payments” and we are still in a good relationship with our landlord.
We don’t want our landlord to provide false information, but what can he answer to not make it a bad reference for us? Or is it better to not give any reference at all? Thanks!
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What was the agency fee for?
Under The Tenant Fees Act, tenants are not meant to be charged fees.
Sometimes references are tick boxes with a yes/no option, and there is not space to add any explanation.
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Sorry it was a holding deposit:
Message from agency:
Unfortunately we will now withdraw your application and put the property back on the market. This will also mean that your holding deposit is non refundable as per the terms outlined on our application form and Tenancy Guide as you have failed referencing.
Have you read the terms? You may still be entitled to have the holding deposit returned, depending on what those terms were and any responses from yourself.
Did you get asked any questions prior to placing the holding deposit and did you not tell the truth to any of them?
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I agree with Mr T. Failing referencing isnt usually enough to justify them keeping the deposit. You would have to have given false information on your application form. Ask the agent for the specific reason they propose to retain your holding deposit.
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challenge the agency. . They cannot keep the money unless you have lied and mislead them, In which case they may argue that they would not have proceeded if the truth were known
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I told them the truth. There were no questions to me regarding delayed payments to the landlord.
I would give you your holding deposit back
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There’s no harm in challenging them over the reasons for keeping the deposit as Colin and David say.
If the agents say referencing failed on late payment of rent and it was Covid related and you caught up with payments, there were unprecedented circumstances, which some will think fair but others will not.
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And, if you haven’t misled then and they don’t repay, make a formal complaint to them. And if they still don’t repay, ask for a deadlock letter and make complaint to their ombudsman - they should be a member of one of the schemes.
If they won’t give you a deadlock letter then you can usually complain to the ombudsman after 8 weeks anyway.
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Thank you all. Agency told me that I needed to mention about agreed late payment in the application graph with the question:
"Please also inform us of any potential issues that may affect the outcome of referencing e.g. CCJ or legal disputes. Failure to do so may result in forfeit of holding deposit). "
If it was a private agreement with my landlord should it be considered as a legal dispute?
How can I make a formal complaint to them?
Thank you!
Complaint about what? You had an obligation to inform Openrent of any issues that may arise prior to the landlord spending money on the referencing and you didn’t do it.
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I thought that personal agreements is not the same as CCJ or legal disputes. It was agreed in an email conversation before the actual date and paid back as agreed - so how can it be considered as failed reference and lie?
Ok, well in legal terms, the Openrent disclaimer seems a bit vague - “any potential issues that may affect the outcome of referencing” would require the applicant to know more about the referencing process than it would be reasonable to assume. On that basis, you may be able to demand the return of your holding deposit.
If you had a rent repayment plan which you stuck to with a previous landlord, you should let any landlord know in advance so that this doesnt affect you in future.
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That is true. As the rules changed, every failed referencing will cost money to Landlord. So this holding deposit became more important! So landlords are more likely to exercise their rights when it comes down to financial loses.
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Thank you all! Looks like the agency decided to refund the deposit so I wouldn’t annoy them any further. 
I hope they update their application form to avoid similar situations in the future.
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