Whether the deposit can be refunded depends on the situation:

1. If the party paying the deposit fails to perform the debt or the performance of the debt does not conform to the agreement, thus the purpose of the contract cannot be achieved, it has no right to request the return of the deposit;

2. If the party receiving the deposit fails to perform the debt or the performance of the debt does not conform to the agreement, so that the purpose of the contract cannot be achieved, the deposit shall be returned in double.

What are the ways to solve contract disputes?

The settlement of contract disputes is as follows:

1, negotiation. The parties to a contract shall settle their disputes through friendly negotiation;

2. Mediation. If the parties to a contract fail to reach an agreement through consultation, they may request the relevant institutions to mediate. The parties may also request the contract management authority, arbitration institution and court. Conduct mediation;

3. arbitration. If the parties to a contract fail to negotiate and are unwilling to mediate, they may apply to an arbitration institution for arbitration according to the arbitration clause stipulated in the contract or the arbitration agreement reached by both parties after the dispute occurs;

4. litigation. If there is no arbitration clause in the contract and no arbitration agreement is reached afterwards, the parties to the contract may submit the contract dispute to the court for judicial settlement.

Legal basis: Article 588 of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC).

If the parties agree on both liquidated damages and deposit, when one party breaches the contract, the other party may choose to apply the liquidated damages or deposit clause.

If the deposit is not enough to make up for the losses caused by one party's breach of contract, the other party may demand compensation for the losses exceeding the deposit amount.

Article 585

The parties may agree that when one party breaches the contract, it shall pay a certain amount of liquidated damages to the other party according to the situation of breach of contract, and may also agree on the calculation method of the amount of compensation for breach of contract.

If the agreed liquidated damages are lower than the losses caused, the people's court or arbitration institution may increase the liquidated damages at the request of the parties; If the agreed liquidated damages are excessively higher than the losses caused, the people's court or arbitration institution may appropriately reduce them at the request of the parties.

If the parties concerned pay liquidated damages for delayed performance, the breaching party shall also perform the debt after paying the liquidated damages.