Paying interest on deposits

If your deposit is held with us in our Custodial deposit protection scheme, you will earn interest on it from the day your deposit is protected. This means that at the end of your tenancy you might receive interest in addition to getting your deposit back. You can also choose to donate this interest to our partner charity, Centrepoint. Find out more here: https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/centrepoint/.

 

What does this mean for you?

  • Once your deposit has been protected with mydeposits you will start to earn interest on it
  • The interest you earn will be calculated daily based on the current mydeposits interest rate of 0.77%.  We review this rate on a monthly basis
  • Any interest you have earned at the end of the tenancy will become available when your deposit balance is £0
  • If your landlord chooses to transfer your deposit to a different deposit protection provider, we’ll transfer any interest along with your deposit. Please note, you will need to claim this back from the new deposit provider at the end of your tenancy
  • Any interest due will be paid after your tenancy ends. UK payments are instant. For overseas accounts, we will make the payment within five working days, but please be aware of your bank’s own processing times
  • Payment of interest will only be entitled by BACs
  • Interest will only be calculated and accrued from 1 July 2023 onwards

 

Donating your interest to charity

If you would prefer, you have the option to donate the interest earned to our chosen charity, Centrepoint, instead of claiming it yourself.

You can let us know if you choose to donate your interest to the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint at the end of tenancy, on your online account. At mydeposits, we have chosen Centrepoint as our charity of choice and are working alongside them to support their campaign to end youth homelessness by 2037.  

Frequently asked questions

You can find all of the above on our Content Hub.  
Swapping a tenant:   Insured: How to action this? 
  • 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?  
  • 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 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.   
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 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 tenancy, which will incur a new fee in the same way as a new tenancy.
Deposit protectionStandard pay as you go feeDiscounted fee for NRLA members
Up to £500£20£13.20
Over £500£27.20£17.95
 
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 in England:
  • 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.
An ‘interested party’ is a third party who paid all or part of the deposit and is listed on the deposit protection. Examples may include local council, family, a friend or guardian. They will also need to be provided with the prescribed information within 30 days of paying the deposit. An interested party can also request a resolution on behalf of the tenant, and we can make awards of any unresolved amount to the interested party.