A tenancy deposit is the money a tenant pays a landlord at the start of a private tenancy, held as security against unpaid rent or damage to the property. In England and Wales the law does not let a landlord simply keep that money in their own bank account: it must be protected in a government-approved scheme, the tenant must be told where it is, and there are strict limits on how much can be taken and how deductions are made at the end. This guide explains the rules as they stand in 2026, including the 30-day deadline, the three approved schemes, the deposit cap, and what to do if your landlord has not protected your money.

The rules described here apply to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate tenancy deposit schemes with their own rules. In England, assured periodic tenancies replaced assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026, and the deposit protection duty now attaches to assured periodic tenancies. This guide is general information about published rules, not legal advice: if your deposit is at risk, get advice from Citizens Advice, Shelter or a solicitor before taking action.

What is tenancy deposit protection?

Tenancy deposit protection, often shortened to TDP, is a legal requirement. If you rent your home on an assured periodic tenancy in England or Wales, your landlord or letting agent must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days of receiving it. The schemes exist to make sure you get your deposit back if you meet the terms of your tenancy agreement, do not damage the property, and pay your rent and bills.

Protection matters because it takes the money out of the landlord’s hands, or insures it, and gives you a free route to challenge deductions. Without protection, a tenant who moves out can find the deposit already spent and the landlord unwilling to return it. With protection, the deposit is held or insured by an independent scheme, and any dispute about deductions is decided by an independent adjudicator on the evidence, not by the landlord alone.

The three approved schemes

In England and Wales your deposit can be registered with one of three government-approved schemes: the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits, including deposits that were held by Capita, or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. All three offer a free dispute resolution service, and the choice between them is usually made by the landlord or agent, not the tenant.

Each scheme offers two options. Under a custodial scheme, the scheme holds the deposit itself for free for the duration of the tenancy and releases it when you and the landlord agree, or after a dispute decision. Under an insured scheme, the landlord or agent keeps the deposit and pays the scheme a fee to insure it; if there is a dispute, the disputed amount must be sent to the scheme. Custodial protection costs the landlord nothing and keeps the money out of their hands, while insured protection suits landlords who want to hold the cash and return it quickly. All three schemes offer both options, so the structure matters more than the name on the certificate.

The 30-day rule and the information your landlord must give you

The deadline is fixed and short: your landlord or letting agent must put your deposit in the scheme within 30 days of getting it. The 30 days run from the day the money is received, not from the day the tenancy starts. Within the same 30 days, the landlord must also give you the prescribed information, a specific set of details set out in the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007.

That information includes the address of the rented property, how much deposit you paid, how the deposit is protected, the name and contact details of the scheme and its dispute resolution service, the landlord’s or agent’s name and contact details, the name and contact details of anyone who paid the deposit on your behalf, the circumstances in which the landlord could 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, and what to do if there is a dispute. Most schemes provide a ready-made certificate and information form, and the landlord must give the same information to anyone who paid the deposit for you, such as a parent.

The 30-day rule applies even if the deposit is paid in instalments or collected by a letting agent, and if an agent handles the deposit the landlord is still legally responsible. Protecting the deposit but failing to serve the prescribed information is still a breach, and it is one of the most common mistakes landlords make. Keep your copy of the certificate and the prescribed information somewhere safe: it is the document you will need if anything goes wrong later.

How much deposit can a landlord take?

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps the deposit. Where the total annual rent is under £50,000, the maximum deposit is five weeks’ rent. Where the annual rent is £50,000 or more, the maximum is six weeks’ rent. To work out one week’s rent, multiply the monthly rent by 12 and divide by 52, then multiply by five or six.

The arithmetic is worth doing yourself before you pay. On rent of £1,200 a month, the annual rent is £14,400, one week’s rent is £276.92, and five weeks’ rent is £1,384.61. On rent of £1,300 a month, one week’s rent is £300 and the deposit cannot be more than £1,500. On rent of £4,500 a month, the annual rent is £54,000, so the six-week cap applies: one week’s rent is £1,038.46 and the maximum deposit is £6,230.76. Joint tenants share one cap: a landlord cannot ask each of them for five weeks of the total rent. Anything over the cap is a prohibited payment, and taking more than five weeks’ rent, often by rounding up, is a common error.

A holding deposit is different. It is the money you pay to reserve a property while checks are carried out, and it is capped separately at one week’s rent. Your landlord does not have to protect a holding deposit. Once you become a tenant, however, the holding deposit becomes part of the tenancy deposit, and it must then be protected like the rest. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, a landlord also cannot ask for more than one month’s rent in advance before the tenancy starts.

Getting your deposit back at the end of the tenancy

When the tenancy ends, your landlord must tell you what, if anything, they want to deduct and why. Once you both agree how much you will get back, the landlord must return the deposit within 10 days. The 10 days run from the agreement, not from the day you move out, so agree the figure in writing and keep a record of the date.

Lawful deductions are limited. A landlord can deduct unpaid rent or bills that the tenancy agreement makes you responsible for, the cost of damage beyond fair wear and tear, cleaning if the property is not left as clean as it was at the start, and the cost of removing items left behind. Fair wear and tear cannot be charged: adjudicators allow for the age of the item, the length of the tenancy and the number of occupants, so a ten-year-old carpet usually brings little or nothing even if it is worn.

Evidence decides these cases. The adjudicator will compare a check-in inventory with a check-out report, both dated, with photographs. Without a check-in record, most claims for damage fail. That is why the inventory matters as much at the start of a tenancy as at the end: photograph every room when you move in, note existing marks and damage, and make sure the inventory is signed and dated. At the end, take the same photographs again, keep receipts for cleaning, and ask for a written breakdown with quotes or invoices for anything the landlord wants to deduct.

If you disagree: the free dispute service

If you disagree with your landlord about how much deposit should be returned, your tenancy deposit scheme offers a free dispute resolution service. You do not have to use it, but if you do, both you and the landlord have to agree to it, and the decision made about your deposit will be final. Both sides are asked to provide evidence, and an independent adjudicator decides on the written evidence alone.

Try to agree first: offer a breakdown, ask for the landlord’s evidence, and put your position in writing. If you cannot agree, either side can raise a dispute with the scheme, and the amount that is not in dispute should be returned straight away. If you cannot contact your landlord at all, you can raise a dispute to get your deposit back if it is held by one of the approved schemes, and the scheme will refund it if the dispute resolution service agrees. There may be a time limit for raising a dispute, so contact the scheme as soon as possible rather than waiting.

If your landlord did not protect your deposit

If your landlord has not used a tenancy deposit scheme when they should have, you can apply to your local county court. You do not need a solicitor to do this, but GOV.UK advises getting legal advice before applying, and it can be quicker and cheaper to write to your landlord first. Many landlords offer the deposit back after receiving a letter, to avoid legal costs. If you cannot reach an agreement, you can apply to the court for compensation.

The claim is made on Form N208, the Part 8 claim form, and the court fee is £387. You can claim the fee back from your landlord if you win, and you can apply for money off the court fee if you claim certain benefits or have a low income. If the court finds that your landlord has not protected your deposit, it can order them to repay it or to pay it into a scheme’s bank account within 14 days, and it may also order the landlord to pay you compensation of between one and three times the deposit, also within 14 days. Protecting the deposit late does not remove the penalty claim, although courts often take late protection into account when deciding the multiplier.

There is also a possession consequence. Before 1 May 2026, an unprotected deposit mainly blocked a Section 21 notice. With Section 21 abolished by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, the link now applies to Section 8: the court cannot make a possession order on most Section 8 grounds unless the deposit is protected and the prescribed information has been given. Only the anti-social behaviour grounds are exempt. GOV.UK also notes that the court may decide you will not have to leave the property when the tenancy ends if your landlord has not used a deposit scheme when they should have.

How to check whether your deposit is protected

Do not take your landlord’s word for it: check. Contact the tenancy deposit scheme directly if you are not sure whether your deposit has been protected. Each scheme has an online checker, and GOV.UK lists their contact details: the Deposit Protection Service on 0330 303 0030, MyDeposits, including deposits held by Capita, on 0333 321 9401, and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme on 0300 037 1000 or deposits@tenancydepositscheme.com. Check all three if you are unsure which one holds your money.

Put a reminder in your calendar for day 31 after you paid the deposit, and check on that day. If there is no record of your deposit in any scheme, write to your landlord and agent asking for the certificate and the prescribed information, and keep a copy of the letter. If the deposit is still not protected, get advice from Citizens Advice or Shelter before deciding whether to go to court. The same check applies if a third party paid your deposit for you: the landlord must use a scheme even if the money came from a parent or a rent deposit scheme.

Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the key points

Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate tenancy deposit schemes with their own rules, so the three schemes named in this guide do not apply there. Tenants in Scotland should check the schemes listed on mygov.scot, and tenants in Northern Ireland should check nidirect. The deadlines, caps and dispute routes differ, so do not assume the England and Wales rules apply.

The essentials for England and Wales are simple. Your landlord must protect your deposit in the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme within 30 days of receiving it, and must give you the prescribed information within the same 30 days. The deposit cannot be more than five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks’ rent where it is £50,000 or more. At the end of the tenancy, the agreed amount must be returned within 10 days, deductions must be justified with evidence, and disputes go to the scheme’s free service. If the deposit was never protected, a county court can order compensation of one to three times the deposit. Check on day 31, keep your paperwork, and take advice before going to court.