refusal to refund deposit

Mr Connear was required to deposit of R6600.00 into the account of Pam Golding being a deposit on a property for rent. No contract between the two parties was signed. Two weeks later Mr Connear informed the agency that he could not afford the property anymore. He spoke to a certain Hantie which informed him that the aforementioned deposit could only be refunded if the property could be leased to a third party. If no third party then the deposit will not be refunded.