From 1 June 2019, under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, a "holding deposit" is a permitted payment up to a maximum of 1 week's rent. However, a particular procedure must be followed when handling holding deposits.
Suppose a person wants to hold onto and retain a holding deposit. In that case, the person who received the money must inform the payer within seven days, giving reasons why the holding deposit isn't going to be repaid (the seven days is calculated differently depending on the circumstances).
Suppose the receiver of the holding deposit fails to provide notice to the payer within seven days giving reasons why the holding deposit is being retained. In that case, you must repay the holding deposit in full, regardless of the circumstances.
This template is a letter in Word format which has been created to inform the payer that the landlord or agent (or whoever received the holding deposit) is not repaying the holding deposit as a result of the tenant failing to enter into a tenancy despite the landlord or agent taking all reasonable steps.
