Hi All,
I rented this Shared apartment August 2022 with a holding deposit and inventory fee of £150 and £48 respectively. I ended the contract December with 1 month notice as per agreement and up till now, the Landlord/Agent has not refunded my deposit as per their own agreement. I have sent tons of mails and massages and made numerous calls to no avail. What should be my next line of action? I need advice. Thanks.
Do you mean a holding deposit or a security deposit?
A holding deposit can be a maximum of 1 weeks rent and can only be held for 15 days and where theres then a tenancy, must be either used toward rent/security deposit or refunded immediately.
A security deposit can be a maximum of 5 weeks rent and must be protected in a government approved scheme.
An inventory fee is an illegal fee under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
Could you give us a few more specifics?
It was a holding deposit. In the agreement it is stated that the deposit will be refunded on termination of the tenancy with at least one month notice.
The issue here is that the agent took advantage of our naivety since it was our first time renting a house in UK. The room is a 2 bed room and I had a room mate. Both of us paid same deposit that is £150 each for same room. And paid £48 each for inventory. I quit the apartment to a larger house since my family joined me but my room mate maintained the room.
The law says that if a landlord or agent takes money and holds it in the way you describe, it becomes a security deposit even if it wasnt original taken as such. They have breached both the Tenant Fees Act and the deposit legislation in the Housing Act 2004 and you are entitled to claim your inventory fee and deposit back and claim a further penalty against them of 3x the deposit.
I would suggest you write to them outlining all this and indicating that your next step would be to instruct a solicitor and report them to the local authority for the breaches.
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Thank you so much for your help. I have written to the agent and gave him 1 week to issue my refund. I need a contact of a good solicitor in case he doesn’t pay back. Thanks a lot 
Ruth, is there anywhere a written confirmation that this money has been taken? Or is it your word against the agent’s? You will need proof that it has happened.
Bank/ transaction evidence.
Thank you All, the Agent refunded me the money today after 9months after threatening him with a lawsuit.
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Yay! Well done. We’re landlords but we don’t trust agents, either. We had some interactions with them in the past, and won’t trust them again. Really oily people and often bordering on being scammers. Not paying your deposit back is a common one.
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Ruth di dyam teef dem!
might be able to welcome if we knew what was said
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Well done Ruth, glad to hear you got your money back.
There are some unscrupulous agents and landlords in this business, giving reputable ones a bad name, and you really need to make yourself aware of the rules and regulations before entering the letting market again.
Citizens Advice would give you free guidance if you asked.
Of course, you can also get some quick and accurate advice here on this forum, which you already know about.
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I think he’s saying them agents are thieves…
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