key deposit withheld, after saying they had no objection

My name is Charmaine, I was a tenant by 5 Montague street, in sea park, port Shepstone..

My daughter is an epileptic sufferer, and has fallen down the stairs on numerous occasions due to her severe seizures. My house doctor gave me a letter to give to the landlords, stipulating that the house was no longer safe for my daughter to live in.. Unfortunately I am the sole breadwinner, I don't have the funds to hire anyone to take care of my daughter..

I emailed the agent informing them of the situation together with photo's of what my daughter looked like after falling down the stairs, together with the dr's requests. Whereby I received a reply saying that they honoured my cancellation that was given within 30 days, and that they were understanding of my situation and would foresee no problem returning my key deposit.

Not only did I take it upon myself to find new tenants, I also advertised myself, resulting in me finding new tenants.. The estate agent let me know that the new tenants would be moving into the house the end of March and not the 1st, I had to consider staying an extra month to ensure that I would get my deposit back, but when I said that i had already given a 30 day notice and was afraid for my daughters seizures, at the same time there was a serial ****** in our area, where there was an attempt to enter our home while we were still living at home, not only was i feeling unsafe for my daughter but for myself , I had to sleep by family as it was said by the security that we were being targeted..

Regardless of that fact, It was told to me that there would not be a problem to give me my deposit back ,but when I said I could not stay until the end of march, it became a problem to give me my deposit back.

I have given sufficient paperwork for my daughter's safety from the Dr, my cancellation was accepted, and that they were understanding of my situation, but now they are refusing to pay me back my deposit..

I have mentioned to the agent and the landlord that I have done everything in my power, that they were aware that I took it upon myself to advertise for new tenants , and a new tenant was found..

Please can you assist me in this situation, my deposit was R5500 and my electricity and water deposit R2000.00 . I have requested that my R2000.00 be used to settle the bill, the remaining to be paid back...

I just moved and my daughter was admitted into hospital due to seizures, and needed to settle medical bills from her fall down the stairs. I re**** on receiving my deposit back, as I was told that they accepted and understood my cancellation in the beginning and now the owner is refusing to pay my deposit back..

I am going to also report them to Facebook on compliments and complaints, I cannot stand to lose such a huge amount of money, according to the Consumer Protection act , it is ******* for a landlord or agent to withhold a deposit..

Looking forward to hearing from you

Charmaine Badenhorst mobile : ***