Hi. I moved into a place in London in March, it's a 3 bed place I found on spareroom. The lead tenant organised it and found me and another guy on there. I haven't had any contact with the landlord and did everything through the lead tenant, including "signing" the contract (replying to an email attachment saying I agreed).

The landlord does not live there.

I didn't really look at the contract at the time, but it turns out it says it is a licence rather than an AST. The contract states that the landlord hasn't protected the deposit. I have also checked and the property is not registered as an HMO.

I'm moving out soon and I'm worried the landlord will not return my deposit. My understanding is a licence is a specific kind of tenancy that doesn't apply here and we actually have an AST in an HMO - I.e. it isn't a licence just because the landlord says it is.

Am I right and do I have recourse to claim back the deposit and a penalty for not protecting it?

Thanks.