Should the deposit be returned ?

A person agrees to rent a property and pays about 30% of a deposit 2 days later.
Reciept issued for the money stating that it is part payment of a deposit and balance to be paid when they move in. Formal contract was due to be sign when they were moving in.

Advised them that following paying some of the deposit, the property would be taken off the market.

Not in a position to move in for another 2 weeks & then (after 2 weeks) said they now can't move in (information they could have gotten before they even started to look for a new property).

Does the deposit have to be repaid or can it be kept due to the fact the property was taken off the market and held for them?

It should be returned. Whether it has to be returned is debatable.
The house was 'off' the market for 2 weeks, how many viewings had you had before it was taken off the market? How quickly would someone have been able to move into the house if it had been still available?

I'd say you have to return it as the lease hadn't been signed. In future, make sure they sign the lease and pay full deposit BEFORE you take it off the market. It was a mistake on your part to trust them, unfortunately. It's one of those lessons. If you keep it, they might take it out on your property ;-)

Derek - I've no idea if the property would be let at this stage, but now I'll never know. I've lost those 2 weeks and they can never be retrieved.

While I know the lease was not signed, surely this is over and above what is required
by law. I had issued a reciept of monies paid, I had gotten the PRTB form signed and I had given a copy of the contract to be reviewed as I think tenants should be allowed to read the contract.

My issue is that they could have found out the info that is preventing them from moving 2 weeks ago (and earlier). I have a feeling they may be using it as an excuse. Would it be reasonable to ask for a letter of proof for what they are saying ? (I don't want to be too specific) - if that was forthcoming, I'd have no problem returning the deposit.

I don't mean to be horrible, but I don't want to be taken for a ride either. If I had been contacted within a day or two, I would have had no problem returned it in full.

I actually don't know if you have to return the deposit, but I'd like to know.

I don't think you should because the deposit was a confirmation of them renting the property, you don't have to have a written lease for a tenancy to be valid. To me you're out of pocket. They didn't do what they said they would. Are they looking for the money back?

Can you contact the PRTB to find out your rights or maybe it's on their website.

thanks Bronte - I've checked in all the usual places (PRTB, Threshold etc) but none of them have anything about something like this. Yes, they have asked will they get the deposit back. I want to make sure I'm being fair, but basically I am out of pocket - I was getting calls but told them I had let it. It was 2 weeks off the market

Can completely understand why you're annoyed and in this case I think there's a strong moral case for keeping the deposit or half-deposit or whatever. However I don't know if there's a legal case for it as I've never heard of a part-deposit.

Like someone else says you are prob best in the future to get lease signed and deposit before taking off market, although you did register the tenancy so my feeling is that you could at least expect to deduct that cost from the monies paid.

Try and appeal to the tenants better nature (if they have one) but I'd be wary of confrontation as you don''t want them turning nasty either.

OP did you phone the PRTB? I would write them an email instead.

Could you try the Irish property owners instead, they can guide you.