Thank you Snorkerz! I think we will just end up getting our deposit back (hopefully). The deposit is with the Estate Agents so there is no forfeit to the landlord who did this to us. If we had done it then we would forfeit the holding deposit but there is no consequence to the landlord even though he is legally bound to take the property off the market while there is a holding fee in place. I cannot comprehend the term 'legally bound' if there is no consequence at all to a landlord who rents the same house out to multiple tenants and then just picks the one he wants with no forfeit. It is the most frustrating thing ever. Thanks for your advice though - I appreciate it.

I have a slightly different problem that I am hoping someone can advise me about. In early April we paid a holding deposit and supplied guarantors for a house we were renting for a year. We agreed terms and were moving in on 1st August. We have since discovered that the landlord has continued to show the property through a different agency and three weeks ago another holding deposit from some different tenants was put down. We were told yesterday by our agents that the landlord had decided not to rent the property after all - which we know is untrue as she has rented it to someone else a month after she agreed it with us. What is the point of the holding deposit? Is there any law that requires the landlord to keep the property off the market while a holding deposit is in place? How can the landlord be allowed to have different agencies all taking deposits for the same house? Has anyone had this experience?