Your landlord or agent must protect your deposit if you have an assured shorthold tenancy (AST). Most private renters have this type of tenancy.
Protecting your deposit means registering it with a special tenancy deposit protection scheme.
The scheme could help when your tenancy ends if the landlord wants to keep your deposit.
From the day when your landlord or agent receives your deposit, they have 30 days to:
If your landlord charges a refundable 'pet deposit', this is still a tenancy deposit and must be protected with a scheme.
There are 3 scheme providers:
You need a postcode, surname, tenancy start date and deposit amount to search.
Call your scheme if you cannot get into your online account.
The deposit must stay protected for your whole tenancy. Find out what should happen if your landlord or agent changes during the tenancy.
There were different time limits to protect deposits if your tenancy started before this date.
| Date you paid your deposit | Latest date for protection |
|---|---|
| Between 6 April 2007 and 5 April 2012 | 6 May 2012 |
| Before 6 April 2007 - if you signed a new contract after this date | 6 May 2012 |
| Before 6 April 2007 - if your fixed term ended after this date and you have not signed a new contract since | 23 June 2015 |
Your landlord does not have to protect your deposit if you paid it before 6 April 2007 and you never had a fixed term tenancy or the fixed term ended before that date.
But they must protect or return your deposit if they want to give you a section 21 notice.
Your landlord or agent must give you their own contact details and details of the deposit protection scheme they are using.
They must also give you a leaflet from the deposit protection scheme and information about:
Your landlord or agent must sign a certificate which says the information is correct.
Your landlord or agent must give you updated written information within 30 days if you stay after the fixed term ends and any details change, for example:
Your landlord must give you the updated information even if you stay and do not sign a new fixed term.
Sometimes it can help you to negotiate about other problems with the tenancy. For example, rent arrears or leaving a fixed term tenancy early. Find letter templates to help you.
Chris is behind with the rent, because his work hours were cut for several months. He owes the landlord £300.
The landlord wants the money, but Chris finds out that the landlord did not protect Chris' tenancy deposit with a deposit protection scheme.
Chris tells the landlord that if the landlord writes off the rent arrears, Chris will not go to court to get compensation that the landlord has to pay because the landlord did not protect Chris' deposit.
Lee has a 12 month fixed term tenancy. After 6 months, Lee decides they want to leave the property and move in with their partner.
It is usually hard to leave a fixed term tenancy early - but there is something Lee can do.
Lee has read about tenancy deposits online and knows that their landlord did not protect Lee's tenancy deposit with a proper scheme. Lee knows that the landlord has to pay Lee compensation for not protecting the deposit.
Lee tells the landlord that they will not ask for compensation if the landlord lets Lee leave the fixed term tenancy early. The landlord agrees.
Your landlord cannot give you a section 21 notice if:
Your landlord must return your deposit or give you the written information before they can give you a valid section 21 notice.
You can look at a compensation claim against a landlord or agent who did not protect your deposit or protected it late.
Check the time limits that were in place when you paid the deposit to see if you can claim.
You cannot get free legal help with a tenancy deposit compensation claim. But some solicitors offer help under a conditional fee arrangement, often called 'no win no fee'.
You have 6 years to make a claim so it's usually best to wait until after your tenancy ends.
Your landlord could give you a section 8 notice if you have rent arrears.
They can do this even if they have not protected your deposit.
You could have a counterclaim for compensation if your landlord did not follow the deposit protection rules.
The compensation could reduce what you owe in rent.
If you owe less than 2 months' rent, the court could stop a section 8 eviction.
Last updated: 13 May 2024