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Swapping a tenant:   Insured: How to action this? 

• email info@mydeposits.co.uk or contact us via live chat confirming: 

• DPC 

• vacating tenant 

• replacing tenant 

• who the lead tenant is if the lead tenant has vacated 

When can we action this? We can action this before or during the fixed term of the tenancy. If a tenant swap happens after the fixed term has ended a new protection will be required. When can’t we action this? If all original tenants are vacating to be replaced, we are unable to action this, and you would need to create a new deposit protection then unprotect the former protection as the tenancy has ended. If a tenancy is a sole tenancy, we are unable to action this and you would need to create a new deposit protection then unprotect the former protection as the tenancy has ended.   Custodial:  How to action this? Email info.custodial@mydeposits.co.uk or contact us via live chat confirming: 

• deposit ID (starting EWC) 

• vacating tenant 

• replacing tenant 

• replacing tenant contact details including email address & mobile number 

• who the lead tenant is if the lead tenant has vacated 

When can we action this? We can action this at any time while the deposit status remains protected. When can’t we action this? If all original tenants are vacating to be replaced, we are unable to action this and you would need to follow the release process and lodge the deposit under a new deposit protection. If a tenancy is a sole tenancy, we are unable to action this and you would need to follow the release process and lodge the deposit under a new deposit protection. If the deposit is in release or negotiation, we cannot swap tenants.   Removing a tenant:  Insured:   When can we action this? We are unable to remove a tenant that has not been replaced, this would require a new deposit protection to be registered and purchased.  Custodial: How to action this? Email info.custodial@mydeposits.co.uk or contact us via live chat confirming: 

• deposit ID (starting EWC) 

• vacating tenant 

Attach a copy of this vacating sharer form  

When can we action this?

We can action this at any time while the deposit status remains protected and there is more than one tenant on the protection. When can’t we action this? If the tenancy is a sole tenancy, this would require a deposit release. 

Adding a tenant: 

Insured: How to action this?  

• Email info@mydeposits.co.uk or contact us via live chat confirming: 

• DPC 

• additional tenant name 

When can we action this? We can action this before or during the fixed term of the tenancy. When can’t we action this? If a tenant joins a tenancy after the fixed term has ended a new protection will be required.  Custodial:  How to action this? Email info.custodial@mydeposits.co.uk or contact us via live chat confirming: 

• deposit ID (starting EWC) 

• additional tenant 

• additional tenant contact details including email address and mobile number 

When can we action this? We can action this at any time while the deposit status remains protected. When can’t we action this? If the deposit is in release or negotiation. 

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 Short-hold Tenancies (ASTs) 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.   

If you do not protect a deposit within 30 days of receiving it and serve the prescribed information, you could face a number of penalties including:

• being unable to recover possession of the property using a Section 21 notice
• being required to lodge the deposit with a custodial scheme or return the deposit to the tenant within 14 days
• paying the tenant between one and three times the deposit amount in compensation as well as refunding the full deposit

A private landlord owns the property in their individual name, e.g. Mr Michael Smith. A company landlord owns the property in the name of a company, e.g. Michael Smith Properties Limited. This is considered a separate legal entity in the same way as a public or private limited company, partnership or limited liability partnership. When applying for membership, the name must reflect the name listed on the land registry for the property and deposit you are protecting. If you wish to protect deposits taken on properties both in your own name and a company name, you will need to set up separate memberships.

If you choose to use an agent to manage your property on your behalf, they will be our insured or custodial member and you will not have access to the deposit protection information or be able to contact us directly. We strongly recommend you request proof of the deposit protection, and proof that the prescribed information has been provided to the tenant, and any interested party, as you will remain legally responsible for the deposit under the Housing Act 2004.

Custodial: Our custodial scheme is free of charge to use. Insured: It is free for you to join as a private and company landlord but fees apply for protecting deposits. A new protection IS required each time you give the same tenant(s) a new fixed term tenancy, which will incur a new fee in the same way as a new tenancy.

Deposit protection	Standard pay as you go fee	Discounted fee for NRLA members
Up to £500	£20	£13.20
Over £500	£27.20	£17.95

No fee will apply if the original tenancy agreement extends into a statutory or contractual periodic tenancy (SPT/CPT), and you inform us no later than 30 days after the fixed term end date.

AUP stands for ‘automatic unprotection’ and only happens for insured protections. This means we will automatically unprotect the tenant’s deposit and inform you, the tenant and any interested party if you do not update the protection status within 30 calendar days after the fixed end date of the tenancy, which you registered at the point of protection. We will send you four notifications reminding you to update your tenancy deposit protection status. You will need to let us know if:

• the tenancy has ended and the deposit needs to be unprotected
• the tenancy is extending into a periodic tenancy, whether contractual or statutory
• the tenancy has been renewed with a new fixed term

The reminders will be sent as follows: If the deposit is automatically unprotected you can contact us within 30 days of the automatic unprotection and pay to reinstate the deposit protection at the original protection fee. You will not have to reserve the prescribed information as former protection will be reinstated. If you contact us outside the 30 day period, you will need to purchase a new deposit protection and re-issue new prescribed information.

By law we need to notify the tenant if the protection status changes at any point during the tenancy and then at the end of the tenancy. Insured: When you register the deposit protection, we will ask you to provide an email address and contact number for your tenant. Where this information is not available you may enter the rental property address which the tenant can then update at any point by emailing or calling us.  Custodial: When you register the deposit protection, we will ask you to provide an alternative address for your tenant (this is not mandatory), an email address and contact number. This is so we can provide them with details on how to access their online portal as well as notifying them of any changes to their protection such as a deposit release request.

The following rule now applies to deposits:

• Where annual rent is £50,000 or below, a maximum of 5 weeks’ rent can be taken.
• Where annual rent is £50,001 or above, a maximum of 6 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 pay as a tenancy deposit would be £1200. They may then choose to split this equally so that each person would pay £400.