A London lettings agency has been dissolved just six days after a property tribunal ordered it to repay a £600 holding deposit that it wrongfully withheld from a prospective tenant.

The First-tier Tribunal ordered the firm to repay the cash on 6th August, but according to Companies House, Fresh New Homes Limited was struck off on 12th August.

Tenant Ka Leung paid the deposit in January to secure a flat in Maine Tower, Canary Wharf (main picture), after being told the money was needed pending referencing checks. Despite passing them all, the landlord did not progress the tenancy.

Tribunal application

Fresh New Homes did however tell the prospective tenant that the deposit would be returned, but did not repay it, prompting Leung to make a tribunal application.

The company then failed to respond to the tribunal’s directions or provide any defence, meaning Judge Tagliavini decided to base the case solely on Leung’s evidence.

The tribunal is satisfied the landlord failed to enter into a tenancy agreement despite the prospective tenants being willing to do so.”

In his ruling, he said: “The Tribunal is satisfied the landlord failed to enter into a tenancy agreement despite the prospective tenants being willing to do so. Consequently, the holding deposit was required by the Tenant Fees Act 2019 to be returned by the respondent who had received it on behalf of the landlord”.

The Tenant Fees Act requires holding deposits to be returned within seven days if no tenancy agreement is reached by the deadline – typically 15 days after the deposit is paid.

Fresh New Homes has faced multiple strike-off attempts since its incorporation in March 2022. The company received its first strike-off notice in May 2023, followed by another in February 2024, before the final dissolution notice in May 2025.

Director Jeff Crudgington was the sole officer of the dissolved estate agency, which listed its business address as Old Ford Road, Bow.

The tribunal order remains enforceable through County Court proceedings, though the company’s dissolution complicates any recovery efforts.

You can read the full court report here.