Landlord deposit protection: Simple, secure, and NRLA backed

mydeposits, powered by Total Property, is the trusted deposit protection provider of choice. We offer a choice of Ins

Protect a deposit today
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Why choose mydeposits for your landlord deposit protection?

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Choice and flexibility

You choose how to protect your tenants’ deposits. Protect with either our insured or custodial protection options.

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Free dispute resolution

When you reach the end of the tenancy, you and your tenant might have different views on proposed settlements. We offer completely free access to our award winning adjudication service to find a fair resolution for everyone. 

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Partnered with NRLA

We are proudly backed by the leading landlord association, the NRLA, helping to raise standards across the private rented sector. 

Protecting a new tenant's deposit: Your step by step guide

Protecting a new tenant's deposit: Your step by step guide

Step 1

Choose your protection scheme

Before taking a deposit, choose how you would like to protect it. You can protect the deposit for free and send it to us or pay a fee and keep hold of the funds. 

If you have taken a deposit, you must protect it in an insured or custodial government authorised scheme within 30 calendar days.

Once you have protected the deposit, we will give you the prescribed information. You must give this to your tenant (and anyone who contributed to it) within 30 days of them first giving you the cash deposit. This will include the certificate and all other relevant details. 

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Compare our protection options: Insured vs Custodial

Insured scheme: You hold the deposit

1

You hold the deposit

You keep hold of your tenant’s deposit for the length of the tenancy.

You pay a small fee to protect each deposit.

Give the tenant the prescribed information immediately after protecting the deposit.

You can return the deposit as soon as the tenant has left the property.

Tenant provides evidence to support their request for the return of the deposit and can initiate a resolution case after 1 full round of negotiation.

Find out more

Custodial scheme: We hold the deposit

1

We hold the deposit

We hold your tenant’s deposit for the length of the tenancy.

There is no fee for using our Custodial scheme.

Once the money clears, you can give the Prescribed Information to your tenant.

You or your tenant can start the deposit release once the tenant has moved out of the property.

Your tenant can request a formal resolution by providing all evidence to mydeposits within three months of moving out of the property.

Find out more

Compare our protection options: Insured vs Custodial

Insured scheme: You hold the deposit

1

You hold the deposit

You keep hold of your tenant’s deposit for the length of the tenancy.

Custodial scheme: We hold the deposit

1

We hold the deposit

We hold your tenant’s deposit for the length of the tenancy.

Insured scheme: You hold the deposit

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Protection fee

You pay a small fee to protect each deposit.

Custodial scheme: We hold the deposit

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Free for landlords

There is no fee for using our Custodial scheme.

Insured scheme: You hold the deposit

3

Issue prescribed information

Give the tenant the prescribed information immediately after protecting the deposit.

Custodial scheme: We hold the deposit

3

Issue Prescribed Information

Once the money clears, you can give the Prescribed Information to your tenant.

Insured scheme: You hold the deposit

4

You return

You can return the deposit as soon as the tenant has left the property.

Custodial scheme: We hold the deposit

4

We release

You or your tenant can start the deposit release once the tenant has moved out of the property.

Insured scheme: You hold the deposit

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Tenant can request a formal resolution

Tenant provides evidence to support their request for the return of the deposit and can initiate a resolution case after 1 full round of negotiation.

Custodial scheme: We hold the deposit

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Tenant can raise a dispute

Your tenant can request a formal resolution by providing all evidence to mydeposits within three months of moving out of the property.

Payment of interest to tenants

If your tenant’s deposit is held with us in our custodial deposit protection scheme, from day one they will earn interest on it. This means that at the end of the tenancy your tenant may be entitled to receive the interest earned in addition to their deposit.

Find out more
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We offer a free, impartial formal resolution service, for you.

When it comes to the end of a tenancy...

When you reach the end of the tenancy you and your tenant might not agree on any deductions from the deposit.

Don’t worry, we offer a completely free resolution service for all of our customers.

Find out more
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I found mydeposits very helpful and informative when I contacted them after my tenant had given notice and I couldn’t find my password or account. They also refunded the deposit with no problem. It takes away the stress knowing that they are always there to help if need be.

Sandra

I have been using mydeposits since its inception (as a landlord) and found it very simple to protect and unprotect deposits.

Kitty Omfalos

I always find the site really easy to use. mydeposits provides an excellent insurance for my deposits and gives my tenants a great sense of security. I am extremely happy with the service they offer to myself as a landlord and my tenants.

Landlord member

Frequently asked questions

How quickly can I protect a deposit? 

You can create an account and protect a deposit in minutes using our user friendly Total Property platform. 

 

Is mydeposits available to all UK landlords? 

Yes, we provide deposit protection solutions and expert support to landlords operating across the UK. 

 

What support is available if I need help? 

Our dedicated support team has over 25 years of experience in the private rented sector and is always on hand to assist you with any queries. 

Insurance protection (references will begin with DPC) Your landlord/agent hold the deposit funds so are responsible for sending any agreed amount back to you directly within 10 days of your formal request for the return of your money. You do not need an account with us to request your deposit back. You will need to formally request for the deposit to be returned to you and allow 10 calendar days for your landlord/agent to respond. Your landlord or agent may ask to keep some, or all, of your original tenancy deposit to cover things like cleaning or damage. You can either agree, negotiate, or disagree with this amount. If you have agreed on the amount to be returned you can now discuss with the landlord or agent how this will be sent to you. If you cannot agree on the deposit amount being returned you will be offered free resolution from our specialist team. All parties must agree to use it. This is when you require an account with us, you can view our full resolution process and more information including the timeframes for each step here. A resolution must be requested within three months of you moving out of the property or unprotection, whichever is sooner. When you request a resolution with our scheme you then will be provided with an account to manage your case. Custodial protection (references will begin with DPN if it is an old protection, or EWC if it is a new protection) When your landlord/agent protected your deposit, if they provided us with your email address you would have received an email from us asking you to activate your account.   The email would have been sent from noreply@mydeposits.co.uk with the email subject being your deposit has been protected. Please check your spam / junk folder if you are unable to locate this email. The activation link is valid for 14 days from receipt of that email. If you require a new activation link then please click here to be sent a new magic link to sign up to your online portal.  Your landlord/agent are responsible for making sure that they have provided the nominated lead tenant with the necessary information required in order to access their deposit.     
You can find all of the above on our Content Hub.  
Since April 2007, it has been a legal requirement to protect tenants’ deposits in a government approved tenancy deposit scheme. No matter how or where it is protected, the deposit belongs to the tenant. The Housing Act 2004 covers all deposits taken on Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs) in England and Occupation Contracts in Wales as of 1 December 2022, under the Renting Home (Wales) Act 2016. It allows tenants to safely recover their deposit at the end of the tenancy, unless landlords or agents propose costs for any breach of the tenancy agreement, which they can prove with evidence. mydeposits is one of three government authorised schemes and all three deposit protection schemes offer a free resolution service.   
Within 30 days of receiving the deposit, your landlord or agent must protect it and provide you with proof that this has been done.  This and other key information is called the prescribed information. Insured: You will receive a Deposit Protection Certificate with a unique DPC number and our information for tenants leaflet. Custodial: You will receive a Deposit Protection Certificate with a unique Deposit ID number starting EWC and our information for tenants leaflet.   
mydeposits is approved by the Government to offer two ways of protecting tenancy deposits. These are the insured and custodial methods, which are all monitored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) 
  1. Insured: The agent holds the deposit and pays a fee to protect it; it must be held in a ring-fenced bank account. In the event of a formal resolution at the end of the tenancy, the landlord or agent must pay us the unresolved amount. This allows our free resolution service to review the evidence and decide on how the amount should be distributed, based on the evidence provided. 
  1. Custodial: The landlord or agent transfers the deposit to us to hold for the length of the tenancy.
In the event of a formal resolution at the end of the tenancy, we will continue to hold the unresolved amount. This allows our resolution service to review the evidence and decide on how the amount should be distributed, based on the evidence provided.  We retain any interest earned on the deposit for that time. If your tenant’s deposit is held with us in our custodial deposit protection scheme, after 182 days they will earn interest on it. This means that at the end of the tenancy your tenant may be entitled to receive the interest earned in addition to their deposit. 
Insured: If you disagree with any proposed costs from the deposit at the end of the fixed term you can request a resolution if you are not happy with the amount that has been returned/if any has at all.  Custodial: At the end of the tenancy either you or the member can initiate the release. If you disagree with the proposed release terms, you can request a resolution.
In line with the Tenant Fees Act 2019, the maximum holding deposit you can be asked to pay is capped at one week’s rent. A holding deposit is paid to reserve the property while initial checks are carried out and does not need to be protected, unless it is later used as all or part of the tenancy deposit, when it will need to be protected.
Your landlord or agent should provide you with proof of protection within 30 days from the date they took the deposit. Checking if your deposit is protected with us is easy. Just use our deposit checker. If your deposit is not protected with us, you can contact the other two deposit protection schemes, TDS and DPS, to see if your deposit has been protected with them. If there is no record of your deposit protection with any of the schemes, we would recommend you contact Justice for Tenants, Citizens Advice Bureau or seek independent legal advice. 
The following rule now applies to deposits:
  • Where annual rent is £50,000 or below, a maximum of five weeks’ rent can be taken
  • Where annual rent is £50,001 or above, a maximum of six weeks’ rent can be taken
For example, where there are three tenants who are jointly liable for a total weekly rent of £240, the landlord or agent cannot ask each tenant to pay a tenancy deposit of up to five times the total weekly rent (5 x 240 = £1200). The maximum this group of tenants could be asked to pay as a tenancy deposit between them would be £1200. They may then choose to split this equally so that each person would pay £400.
A third party who paid all or part of the deposit is referred to as an ‘interested party’ and will need to be listed on the deposit protection and provided with the prescribed information.
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