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A Complete Guide to Rental Deposits

In case you damage your rental property, or leave before your lease is up and fail to pay what you owe, most landlords will require that you pay a tenancy deposit before you move in. 

If you have an assured shorthold tenancy (most tenants do, but use Shelter’s tenancy checker to find out), then as a matter of law your deposit must be protected in a government-registered tenancy deposit protection scheme (TDP). The bulk of this article will apply to tenants in this position. If you are a lodger, however, you are exempt from this law: jump to section 7 for more information. 

Sections in this article:

    1. Rental deposits in a nutshell
    1. Deposit information your landlord must provide you with
    1. Making sure your deposit is protected
    1. If find your deposit is not protected
    1. How to ensure you’re owed your full deposit at the end of your tenancy
    1. Disputes regarding the return of your deposit
  1. Deposits for lodgers

1. Rental deposits in a nutshell

A rental deposit tends to be equivalent to one month’s rent, but this can vary depending on your tenancy agreement. Once you’ve handed your deposit over to your landlord, it’s still your money. It’s our aim to provide you with all the information you need to rest assured it’s protected, and to get it back when you’re entitled to it.  

In a nutshell, as an assured shorthold tenant, your landlord has 30 days from your date of payment to ensure your deposit is protected and to provide you with information about the scheme they’ve used. When it’s time for you leave the property, your landlord must agree with you how much of the deposit you are to get back (depending, for example, on any outstanding damages, bills etc.), and return the agreed amount within 10 days.  

In the event of any disputes surrounding the deposit, the tenancy deposit protection scheme will hold your deposit until the dispute is resolved. 

2. Information your landlord must provide you with

There are three government-registered schemes in England and Wales that are eligible to protect your rental deposit. These are: 

    • MyDeposits (including deposits that were once held by Capita)

(There are separate TDP schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.) 

Once you have paid your deposit to your landlord, they have 30 days to provide you with the following information:

    • How much deposit you’ve paid
    • How your deposit is protected
    • The contact details of the tenancy deposit protection scheme and its dispute resolution service
    • What you should do if there is a dispute over the deposit
    • The landlord’s own contact details, along with any letting agency information too
    • Details of the circumstances in which they would keep some or all of the deposit come the end of the tenancy 
    • How you are to apply to have the deposit returned to you
    • What you should do if you can’t get in touch with the landlord come the end of the tenancy

3. Making sure your deposit is protected

If you’re unsure about the protection of your deposit, you can check with the schemes directly. 

All three schemes have online verifiers, which you can find here: 

    • MyDeposits (including deposits that were once held by Capita)

You’ll need to provide your (the tenant’s) name, the rental property postcode, the start date of the tenancy and the amount you paid for your deposit.

You can also get in touch with the schemes directly via phone and/or email:  

    • MyDeposits (incl. deposits once held by Capita)
      Telephone: 0333 321 9401

4. If you find that your deposit is not protected 

In the event that you find your deposit is not protected with a government-approved body, ask your landlord to have it done immediately. Even if they have missed the deadline, it’s better to have your deposit protected late than not at all. 

If this doesn’t work, you are within your rights to take your landlord to court, where you can claim for tenancy deposit compensation of between one and three times the amount of your deposit. You should always seek legal advice before applying to court.

Shelter can provide you with more information on claiming tenancy deposit compensation.

If your landlord has not used a TDP scheme when they should have, a court may also find that you do not have to leave the property when the tenancy ends.

5. How to ensure you’re owed your full deposit

If, at the end of your tenancy, you have met the terms of your tenancy agreement, there are no outstanding damages to the property and you have paid all due rent and bills, you are entitled to your full deposit within 10 days of agreeing it with your landlord. 

Here are some tips for ensuring you’re entitled to the full amount. 

    • Pay attention when you fill in the inventory. It’s up to you to ensure that any wear and tear already existing on the property when you move in is recorded and signed off by the landlord as soon as possible.

It’s easy to skim over inventories; they can be long and tedious, and amidst the excitement of moving in somewhere you can’t always be arsed to crawl round every nook and cranny with a fine toothcomb.  When the time comes, though, you’ll be glad you did.

    • Photograph stuff. Even alongside the inventory, if there’s anything you think your landlord could try and use against you when you leave – Blu Tack marks, carpet stains, the likes – it’s always good to take some back-up snaps. These can be used as evidence if you ever need to raise a dispute with your TDP scheme, which we talk more about below.
    • Speaking of Blu Tack marks… Be careful with what you’re sticking on the walls. A couple of these oily spots and you could be billed for repainting a whole wall. It’s fair enough to want to brighten a place up with pictures and hangings, but search around for a damage-free adhesive first.
    • Read your contract. Properly. No one reads the T&Cs for anything, ever, and look what happens: PornHub sells your browsing information to every third party and its dog, and now they’re all laughing at you because they know you’re into weird sh*t with vegetables. 

Failing to read your rental contract is not the same. At all. But still do it. There may well be clauses regarding the state in which you’re to leave the property – spick and span windows, for example, or maybe even professionally cleaned – that you don’t want to overlook. 

    • Be clean. Because, like, duh. We’re stating the blindingly obvious, we know, but clean throughout your tenancy so that you don’t have to tackle a year or more’s worth of grime at the end. If you’re worried about the state of the place when you leave, it might even be worth hiring a professional cleaner regardless of whether it’s in the contract. Always keep the receipt, too.
    • Invite your landlord round. A little while before you’re due to move out, ask your landlord to give a preliminary property check. This way, they can point out anything they might have an issue with, and you have time to put it right. 

6. If there’s a dispute regarding your deposit

If there’s any issues regarding the return of the deposit, always open a dialogue with your landlord first. If they want to make deductions, ask them for a detailed written explanation as to why; they should itemise and detail any financial losses they believe they have suffered, and enclose any copies of relevant receipts. 

In the event that you disagree with your landlord’s reasoning, all three government-backed TDP schemes provide a dispute resolution service free of charge.  

Provided both you and your landlord agree to the service, you’ll each be asked to give evidence and make a case for yourself. This is when the inventory and any photographs or receipts you’ve collected will be crucial. The decision made about your deposit will be final. 

If you can’t get hold of your landlord, you can ‘raise a dispute’ with your TDP scheme directly: 

    • MyDeposits (including deposits once held by Capita)

Always raise the dispute soon as possible, since there could be a time limit. If the dispute resolution service favours your case, the scheme will return the deposit back to you. 

If your landlord won’t agree to the scheme’s dispute resolution service, you can take court action as a last resort. Find out more about that here. 

7. Deposits for lodgers

If you’re a lodger – and therefore not an assured shorthold tenant – your landlord is not obliged to protect your deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme. 

If you pay a deposit and there’s any dispute surrounding its return, the only way to get your money back is to take your landlord to court. Use Shelter’s directory to find a housing adviser that can assist you with this.