Landlord initially asked to cancel the tenancy – can my £363 holding deposit be forfeited?

Tenant Discussion
1

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some advice regarding my £363 holding deposit.

I paid a £363 holding deposit for a property and initially agreed to proceed with the tenancy.

My wife is pregnant, and I informed the landlord about our family circumstances.

Importantly, before I finally agreed to cancel, the landlord had asked me to put the property back on the market / cancel the arrangement. Based on that conversation and my family circumstances, I agreed that we should cancel the tenancy.

The landlord is now saying that the decision not to proceed came from me and that he lost marketing time because the property had been held for me.

OpenRent has also reviewed the matter and has now confirmed that my £363 holding deposit is forfeited to the landlord.

I feel this is unfair because the circumstances were not simply a situation where I changed my mind and decided to walk away. The landlord had initially asked about putting the property back on the market/cancelling, and I agreed after discussing the situation.

I would like to understand:

1. If the landlord initially asked to cancel or put the property back on the market, can my holding deposit still be forfeited?

2. Does the fact that I agreed to cancel after the landlord’s request affect the decision?

3. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, what specific reason allows the £363 to be retained?

4. Can OpenRent reconsider its decision if I provide the messages showing that the landlord initially asked to cancel?

5. What is the correct process for challenging the forfeiture?

I have messages/evidence showing the conversation with the landlord and can provide them if required.

I am only asking for a fair review of the situation and the return of my £363 if the deposit was not lawfully retained.

Thank you for any advice.

2

@Banupriya

If the tenancy agreement was originally agreed on the basis of just you and your wife, and you told LL.about your change in circumstances, then you were withdrawing from what you had previously agreed with the LL. Otherwise why tell them.

Below the guidance for the Tenancy Fees Act. Arguably you have either misled the LL about your circumstances or these have materially changed.

I would ask OR what their appeal process if any is and supply all the correspondence.

However, also think of it like this- the LL did not have to agree the mutual surrender in which case you would have had to pay 2 months rent. By ending early the LL could charge you the additional costs they have incurred (to advertise and find a new tenant, new tenancy contract, extra referencing costs etc) up to 2 months rent. They haven’t done that but are undoubtedly out of pocket because of not having a tenant and having to find a new one. Their mortgage provider won’t have said they didn’t have to pay because of your decision to withdraw.

Good luck

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"A landlord or agent can keep the holding deposit if a tenant:

  • fails a right to rent check

  • withdraws from the application process

  • does not sign the tenancy agreement despite the landlord and agent taking all reasonable steps to do so

  • gives false or misleading information

False information is when there is a difference between the information provided and the correct information.

This is usually related to inaccuracies around the tenant’s financial suitability. A tenant could also fail to disclose relevant information.

For example:

  • a tenant has lied about income or employment

  • a tenant failed to disclose relevant information when they were asked for it. For example, a tenant has not disclosed that they have a County Court Judgment (CCJ)

  • income was shown to be significantly higher because of a typo, even if the tenant was not aware of the typo

A landlord or agent cannot keep a holding deposit if the false or misleading information or conduct is not relevant to the individual’s suitability as a tenant.

For example:

  • where a tenant has misspelled their name, the name of their employer or a previous address

  • the tenant did not declare a previous address. The omission did not impact on their credit worthiness or assessment of suitability

  • the tenant slightly misjudged their income which does not affect their ability to afford the rent

Where a landlord or agent keeps the holding deposit, they must give reasons in writing to the tenant. This has to be within 7 days of the landlord’s decision to not grant a tenancy agreement or the expiry of the deadline for the agreement. If they do not do this the landlord or agent must refund the holding deposit."

Also

"Payments when a tenant wants to end the tenancy early

The fee that a landlord or letting agent can charge depends on the type of tenancy.

If it’s an assured periodic tenancy, then the landlord can charge a fee if their tenant does not give the correct amount of notice. For an Assured Periodic Tenancy, the maximum amount of notice a tenant can be required to give is 2 months.

The landlord can charge up to the amount of rent they would have received if the tenant had given the correct amount of notice. "

3

What evidence do you have that the landlord asked you to withdraw?

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