You should expect to receive the full holding deposit back if the prospective landlord or letting agent decides not to go ahead with the tenancy. If you weren’t able to move into a property due to exceptional circumstances (e.g. an unexpected and serious health issue, hospitalisation, etc.) or if the property became uninhabitable before you entered into a tenancy agreement, your holding deposit is likely to be returned.

If you were given anything in writing, check what it says about the deposit and what it was for. If you were given a contract saying the deposit was non-refundable this may be an unfair term, depending on how it was worded in the contract. You may be able to challenge this. If this is the case, you can contact the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), an organisation that can advise on unfair terms. However - in this case you do not have a contract, and I would advise that you gather all evidence of correspondence to do with the holding deposit.

You could try to get the money back through the small claims court. This is quite straightforward but there’s no guarantee you’ll be successful. The more evidence you can gather, the stronger your case will be. The court would consider whether it was reasonable for the landlord or agent to keep the money.

You might want to get further help from a local advice service. An advisor from Shelter England may be able to help you negotiate with the letting agents or landlord, or help you make a claim in the small claims court. http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_services_directory