Tenants
Your questions answered
What is deposit protection?
- By Law, Landlords
and Agents (in England and Wales) who
take a deposit from tenants under an Assured Shorthold
Tenancy agreement (AST) on or after 6th April 2007 must protect that deposit using
a government-approved tenancy deposit protection
scheme. - Do you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreement with your Landlord?
- Not sure? See the Shelter website for further information.
What is mydeposits?
- mydeposits is an insurance-based scheme which allows your Landlord/Agent to protect your deposit whilst continuing to hold the money for the duration of the tenancy.
What do you need to do?
- Very little. It’s your Landlord/Agent’s responsibility to protect your deposit in a government-approved scheme.
- However, when you move into your property it is in your interest to ask your landlord to draw up an inventory and list in detail the contents and condition of the property.
- It’s also advisable to keep a record of all rent payments you make.
What does your Landlord/Agent need to do?
- The Scheme will issue the Landlord/Agent with a Deposit
Protection Certificate confirming the protection of your
deposit whilst it is held by the landlord.
- It is the responsibility of the landlord to obtain this Certificate within 14 days from the date of taking the deposit.
- Your Landlord/Agent will sign the Deposit Protection Certificate and ask you to countersign it to confirm that the details are correct. They will keep a copy of the Certificate and pass a copy to you as proof of protection.
Is my deposit protected?
- To find out if your deposit is protected, go to our online search.
- If your deposit is not protected with mydeposits, your Landlord/Agent may have joined one of the other Deposit Protection Schemes – please ask your Landlord/Agent for details.
What happens if my landlord hasn’t protected my deposit, or given me the required certificate?
- In the first instance you should ask the Landlord/Agent. There may be an explanation.
- If no reason is given, you can apply for a court order which will state that the Landlord (who is responsible under the law even if they are using an Agent) must either return the deposit or protect it in a government-approved scheme. The Court may order the landlord to pay you compensation equivalent to three times the value of your deposit within 14 days of the order.
What happens at the end of my tenancy?
- The Landlord/Agent will conduct an "exit inspection" to confirm that all is well with the property and then refund the deposit in full unless they can show good reason to withhold all or part of it.
- Assuming that you and the Landlord/Agent agree on how much of the deposit you should get back, you should receive it from the Landlord/Agent within 10 days of reaching an agreement or within 10 days of formally requesting the return of your deposit from your Landlord/Agent.
But what happens if you do not agree?
- If you are not satisfied with their explanation for withholding all or part of your deposit, you can ask Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd for advice and assistance on how to resolve the issue in the first instance.
- If this fails to resolve the matter, Tenancy
Deposit Solutions offers a free and impartial Dispute
Resolution Service to Tenant and Landlords/Agents.
- To initiate this process, the Tenant should request a Dispute Notification Claim
Form from the mydeposits Customer Service Centre.
For further information on Tenancy Deposit Protection, see the following websites:
