New owner

Sounds like he is spoofing, was the house advertised for sale? Any viewings?

Why would he want to "do up" a house that is already sold?

Do nothing until you are given a valid termination notice.

OKAY - I re-read and its the NEW owner that wants you to leave. Must read slower.

I think the OP means the landlord wants them to leave, but is withholding their deposit?

Ignore, I misread.

Not enough information here OP. Are you renting an entire dwelling and do you have a tenancy agreement/lease? If you do, then you are entitled to written notice with varying notice periods depending on how long you are renting the dwelling, and deposits must be refunded subject to regulations. When did your lease start? Did you sign a lease for a specific period of time? You gain part4 rights after 6 months occupancy as a tenant.

Are you the only person on the lease? If you are house/flat sharing, did you move in at the start of the tenancy with other tenants or did you replace a previous tenant? Who did you pay the deposit to - directly to the landlord or to the tenant that you replaced? Did the landlord add you to the RTB tenancy register? If you replaced someone, you may not be a tenant but a licensee with no part4 rights, and notice periods will be different. Deposits are usually refunded after tenants have moved out.

You are not the o/p so you don't know what is happening.

It does not answer my question. There is another scenario possible on what the o/p says. There may have been merely been a contract signed and not a closed sale. the new owner wants vacant possession and the o/p is still dealing with his original landlord. The original landlord wants him out to close the sale. You should let the o/p clarify what is going on rather than jumping to conclusions.

"sold" may not mean a sale is closed. People often say a property is sold when in fact it is just sale agreed. The o/p is no lawyer and wouldn't necessarily know. He may be in conversation with the original owner who is relaying messages from the incoming owner. You should let the o/p explain it himself and stop jumping to conclusions based on ambiguous wording.

The word sold is ambiguous in the context of the sale of property. You are making things up to suit your butting in to answer a question you weren't asked.

You are deliberately misinterpreting what he posted.