If you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007, your landlord or letting agent must put your cash deposit in a Government backed tenancy deposit protection scheme within 30 days of receiving it and notify you that they have done so.
Tenancy deposit protection makes sure you get your deposit back at the end of your tenancy provided you have met the terms of your tenancy agreement, not damaged the property and paid your rent and bills.
Your deposit must be registered with one of the following tenant deposit protection schemes:
- Deposit Protection Service - find out more on the Deposit Protection Website
- MyDeposits - including deposits that were held by Capita - find out more on the My Deposits website
- Tenancy Deposit Scheme - find out more on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme website
After your landlord receives your deposit
Once your landlord has received your deposit, they have 30 days to tell you:
- the address of your new home
- how much deposit you have paid
- how the deposit is protected
- name and contact details of the protection scheme and its dispute resolution service
- their name and contact details or those of the letting agent they are using
- name and contact details of any third party that has paid the deposit
- why they would keep some or all of the deposit
- how to apply to get the deposit back
- what to do if you cannot get hold of the landlord at the end of the tenancy
- what to do if there is a dispute over the deposit
Holding deposit
A holding deposit is money you pay to hold a property before an agreement is signed.
Your landlord does not have to protect the deposit at this stage but once you become a tenant, the holding deposit becomes a deposit, which they must protect.
Deposits made by a third party
These are protected. Your landlord must use a deposit protection scheme even if your deposit is paid by someone else, for example, your parents or our bond scheme.
If your landlord does not protect your deposit
You can check whether your deposit has been protected on the following websites:
You can apply to your local county court if you think your landlord has not used a deposit protection scheme when they should have. Before applying to court, find legal advice on the Citizens Advice website.
If the court finds your landlord has not protected your deposit, it can order the person holding the deposit to either repay it to you or pay it into a protection scheme within 14 days. The court may also order the landlord to pay you up to three times the deposit within 14 days of making the order.
At the end of your tenancy
Your landlord must return your deposit within ten days of you both agreeing how much you will get back.
If you are in a dispute with your landlord, your deposit will be protected in the protection scheme until the issue is sorted out.
The scheme offers a free dispute resolution service if you disagree with your landlord about how much deposit should be returned. You do not have to use the service but if you do, both you and the landlord have to agree to it. You will both be asked to provide evidence, and the decision made about your deposit will be final.
If you cannot contact your landlord and your deposit is held by one of the approved protection schemes, you can raise a dispute to get your deposit back.
The scheme will refund your deposit if the dispute resolution service agrees. There may be a limit on the time you have to raise a dispute so contact the scheme as soon as possible.
If your landlord has not used a protection scheme when they should have, a court may decide that you will not have to leave the property when the tenancy ends.