For Landlords

As a landlord you are responsible for making sure all of your tenant deposits are protected. You can use our tool and information to make sure you are compliant.

If you are charging rental deposits to private tenants then you are legally obligated to hold their deposits in a government backed scheme.

Landlords in England and Wales have to follow a very clearly defined mechanism for protecting tenancy deposits. Current legislation dictates you must hold tenant deposits in one of three government backed schemes specifically the Deposit Protection Services (DPS), MyDeposit and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). Failing to protect deposits can leave you open to legal action, often with a far higher liability than the initial deposit amount. At present legislation specifies you must transfer tenant deposits to one of the three schemes within 30 days of receiving it.

The role of the tenancy deposit protections schemes is to ensure that tenants get their deposits back if:

  1. They meet the terms of your tenancy agreement
  2. They don’t damage your property
  3. They pay your rent and bills

At the end of the tenancy agreement you must return the deposit within 10 days of agreeing any deductions (due to any property damage). If you are in dispute with your tenant over the final amount then the deposit will remain in the scheme until a mutually agreeable amount can be finalised.

If you have not correctly protected tenant deposits then you may be liable for a far greater amount than the original deposit. Our role is to help you check you have correctly protected your tenant deposits.

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What landlords need to know about tenant deposits

The Deposit Protection Process

1

Tenant chooses a property

2

Agree contract terms

3

Tenant pays deposit to Landlord/Agent

4

Landlord/Agent protects deposit in a government backed scheme

The tenant(s) to be provided with a copy of the protection certificate, Prescribed information about the scheme and “how to rent booklet”.

5

Tenancy ended, deposit return request made from scheme

In some cases the scheme can assist with arbitration between the tenant and the landlord/agent.

6

The Deposit is then returned to tenants

In some cases only part of the deposit is returned following agreement/arbitration.

What Are My Responsibilities?

  • Protecting tenant deposits in one of the three scheme.
  • Keeping copies of all contracts and receipt.
  • Providing tenants with the "Protection certificate", "Prescribed information" and "How to rent" handbook.

How Do I Check If The Deposit Was Protected?

Use Deposit Check UK’s online deposit protection search to check the UK’s three deposit protection schemes which include the DPS, the TDS and My Deposits.

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