Is this even legal???

We have been looking to rent a house for a while now and thought we finally found one.  After we submitted an offer letter, we noticed that the house was still listed but the price was higher.  We sent an email to the agent yesterday asking if the landlord was OK with the initial asking price and if our offer was accepted.  She told us not to worry about it and withdraw 350 pounds from our bank account for the deposit.  She sent me an email this morning telling me that the landlord would like to have us as tenants but he wants more money (how much??? no idea).  At this point I just want to walk away form this deal!!!  Can the real estate company keep my deposit?
 

You agreed to rent the house under certain terms, and now they are changing the terms.  They can't keep your deposit if you still agree to rent the house under the original terms.

Thanks Geeta.  At this point I am just worried that the landlord may be OK with the initial price if we do not agree to pay more.  I really do not want to rent from him anymore since he will be the one taking care of the property (and I am assuming that he will not be willing to make any repairs if necessary).

Does the landlord want more rent or a higher deposit?  It's not clear from your posts.

The idea of the deposit is that you want to rent the house on the terms offered.  You are giving a deposit to indicate your commitment, and that should allow the landlord to no longer look for a tenant.  If you then decide to not go through with it, then you basically have to forfeit your deposit to pay the landlord for his 'costs' of having to relist the property.

I should note that I'm not a lawyer or solicitor and these are just my common-sense thoughts!

Also, the other part of the deposit is to cover the landlord in case you leave or damage the property, so if you mean he wants a higher deposit, then that makes sense (as long as it's not over a month of rent, that is).

Sorry I am not being clear.  The landlord wants more money for the rent.  The property was listed at 1200 pounds per month.  We agreed to pay that amount and the agency took 350 pounds as a "holding deposit".  Now he says he wants 1250 for the rent.  I know it is only a difference of 50 pounds but I just do not see why I would have to pay more than the original asking price. 

Then I think you should say you're happy to rent at the existing rent or receive your deposit back and move on.  Unfortunately if he comes back and says the 1200 is okay after all, your only option is to forfeit your deposit if you don't want to rent there any longer.

I'm not a lawyer or solicitor either but the way I see it is that this is a problem between the estate agent and the landlord, there's seems to be some sort of miscommunication between the amount the landlord expected to receive per month and what the estate agent agreed to with you, or perhaps the landlord has now changed his or her mind.

If the rental agreement you signed states that you agreed to pay £1,200 per month with a deposit of £350, then I would say the estate agent is obligated to return your deposit if decide to pull out of the deal because they changed the terms. The agent cannot insist you pay an extra £50 a month, but if the landlord has not agreed to the deal I don't think there's an obligation to rent to you for £1,200 either.

It's a tough rental market in most places. Is £1250 still a decent price? If so, it may be worth it to grin and bear it and agree to the higher rent. If you pull out you'll have to start the search all over again.

Before you do I would try working something out with the estate agent. You could refuse the pay the extra £50 and see what he or she says. Or if the agent is also managing the property for the landlord, you could suggest they assume all or part of the extra £50 per month from the management fee they charge the landlord.

Feel free to talk to him about the legal ramifications of baiting and switching as well.  In most things, I don't believe it's legal to do that, but as others said, if it's a tough market, it may be worth just dealing with it and hoping for the best.  Good luck on whatever you decide!

Thanks to all of you.  We decided not to go above the asking price simply because we felt the house was not worth that much.  We are waiting to hear back from the agent.  We also noticed this morning that the agent withdrawed 420 pounds from our bank account for the holding deposit instead of 350 pounds (we have a contract where it is stated that the holding deposit is 350).  We are completely shocked!
This is really starting to get the best of me and I want to go back to the States!  Being French I thought that it would be very easy for me to adapt but I was wrong!  I am having a hard time and the weather is not helping!!!

If you judge this situation by the adage that your gut initial impressions are the right ones, I would get out of this deal NOW. You have a contract, which has already been violated. What's next?

This is NOT going to get any better, IMHO, and I would be on the phone right now asking who authorized a debit of £420, when £350 was the agreed amount. If you aren't happy with the answer, get the money back now, and start over. Hard as that is, it will probably be the best thing you can do.

I usually start these conversations with 'help me to understand why x, y, z happened, when you said a,b,c' ..... that puts the onus on them to start EXPLAINING, and you aren't seen as the aggressor.

Good luck.

I'd be on the phone with that agent straightaway if they had incorrectly withdrawn more money than they were supposed to. I think you are right to be uncomfortable with this.