Guy has paid deposit on my room

karen234

I am moving in two weeks and a week ago a guy came and put a deposit on my room and now he is saying he might not want to move in and can ask for it back as I gave him a receipt.Is this true?I turned away loads of people who wanted the room because of him and now I'm really worried I'll be stuck paying rent on this place and my new place.

seamus

If he has signed any kind of agreement, then no he can't just back out. If he hasn't signed anything, then he is perfectly entitled to ask for his deposit back.

Equally you are not required to hold the room on the basis that he "might not" want to move in. If you can find someone else to take the room officially, you can accept their offer and give the other guy his deposit back. You are under no obligation to hold it for him because you have his deposit.

silja

You say you gave him a receipt, what does it say on the receipt?

Cathmandooo

If you turned away loads of people then surely it would be snapped up again? Contact the people you turned away and offer it.

I'd give the deposit back, it's only been a week afterall.

karen234

It says the amount recieved for a deposit for the address from his name.And I have signed it.
I thought a deposit was supposed to be security for me so people couldn't pull this.

petethebrick

Not too sure, try to get someone else asap.
If the tables were turned I'm sure he wouldn't be too impressed if you gave the room to someone else after accepting his deposit.
I know most landlords wouldn't give the deposit back if they couldn't find someone else in time but don't know the legality

Oink

When I paid my deposit, the receipt clearly said "non-refundable". If you don't have any sort of signed paperwork, you're better off just giving it back and chalking it down to experience.

helen1

Ring threshold. I had the same problem recently, someone gave me deposit then changed their mind. When I contacted threshold was told that the deposit should have been returned. I cant remember the reason they give.

diceyreilly

If you find someone else in the time the decent thing to do is give it back if not then i wouldnt..

karen234

I would be happy to give the deposit back as long as I'm not going to be out of pocket because of him.I'm really surprised that he can do this.

Cathmandooo

Have you tried to contact any of the people you originally turned away?

djimi

What is the point of a deposit? Serious question. Is it just to give security to the tenant that the landlord wont rent the room to anyone else?

karen234

I'm wondering that too.Yes,I tried to get in touch with everyone.Only one has got back to me.

seamus

Deposits mean different things in different contexts. In the case that you're buying a TV, for example, from a retailer, putting down a deposit forms part of the contract of sale. The retailer may not sell that TV to someone else, and you are obliged to follow through with the purchase.

When you're buying a house, the deposit is a large sum of money. So putting the deposit down effectively means that you are unable to put a deposit on any other property and so offers a certain level of protection for the seller. It does not oblige you to continue with the purchase, but it's an indicator that you're not looking elsewhere.

The same could be said of renting out a property, but the deposit amounts are smaller so it's not really the same thing. It's effectively a gentleman's agreement to follow through with the rental, but it has no legal bearing unless a document has been signed.

nxbyveromdwjpg

Keep it. What the hell is the point of it if not to hold the room? You held the room, he backed out, deposit gone

UDP

seamus wrote: »

Deposits mean different things in different contexts. In the case that you're buying a TV, for example, from a retailer, putting down a deposit forms part of the contract of sale. The retailer may not sell that TV to someone else, and you are obliged to follow through with the purchase.

When you're buying a house, the deposit is a large sum of money. So putting the deposit down effectively means that you are unable to put a deposit on any other property and so offers a certain level of protection for the seller. It does not oblige you to continue with the purchase, but it's an indicator that you're not looking elsewhere.

The same could be said of renting out a property, but the deposit amounts are smaller so it's not really the same thing. It's effectively a gentleman's agreement to follow through with the rental, but it has no legal bearing unless a document has been signed.

Surely a deposit is seen as consideration in terms of contract law thus it looks to me like there was a legally binding oral contract between the OP and the person that paid it. Technically the OP could sue for breach of contract for the period they agreed to rent for but usually people just hold onto the deposit instead (depending if they care about it or not).

OP its your call. You could technically and legally keep the deposit but you might make someone very angry and have to deal with result of that.

Baralis1

OP I'm confused. Why is he giving the deposit to you in the first place and not to the landlord if you are just the previous tenent? Are you going to give him back his deposit when he eventually moves out be it in a few months or a few years?

karen234

I have year lease on my room but I spoke to the landlord and she said I could move out if I found someone for the room.Which I did.He gave me a deposit and she said I could keep his and she would keep mine.

UDP

karen234 wrote: »

I have year lease on my room but I spoke to the landlord and she said I could move out if I found someone for the room.Which I did.He gave me a deposit and she said I could keep his and she would keep mine.

Tell the person you have already swapped the deposit with the landlord so that is who he has to go after to get it back.

karen234

Well I really don't want to go causing problems for the landlord because she has been really good to me and it is my job to find somebody for the room because of the lease.

Cathmandooo

Ah so you're breaking your own lease, your landlord asked you to fill the room yourself so you can get out without penalties, which is fair, and now you've hit a bit of a bump in the road by a tenant pulling out?

Personally I'd give back the deposit, and put effort into finding a new replacement rather than wasting time fighting this person. Give them back their deposit, you're not entitled to keep it. A deposit is for rent arrears and damage above normal wear and tear.

Your landlord is being fair to you, so be fair to the person who has changed their mind. You still have 2 weeks to get someone in.

karen234

Thank you for all of your help.He took the room in the end!