Protecting a tenancy deposit: a step by step guide for landlords in England

To protect a tenancy deposit, you must put it into a government approved tenancy deposit scheme (TDP) when the tenancy type requires it, and you must do this within 30 days of receiving the deposit. You also have 30 days to give the tenant specific information about how the deposit is protected and how to get it back.

Does my tenant’s deposit have to be protected in a scheme?

In England, you must protect the deposit if you let the home on an assured tenancy. Since 1 May 2026 almost every private tenancy in England, new or existing, is an assured periodic tenancy, which replaced the assured shorthold tenancy. In Wales, deposits taken for an occupation contract must also be protected within 30 days, in one of the same three schemes.

The guidance also explains that where a home is not let on an assured tenancy (a company let, for example), the landlord can accept valuable items such as a car or watch as a deposit, and those items are not protected by a scheme. This does not apply to a normal private tenancy.

If you are unsure what tenancy type you have, check your paperwork and, if needed, use official guidance or professional advice. This article is based on the government deposit protection guidance and the Housing Act 2004, and is not legal advice.

Which tenancy deposit protection (TDP) schemes are government approved?

The guidance lists the approved schemes (for England and Wales) as:

• Deposit Protection Service
• MyDeposits (including deposits that were held by Capita)
• Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes and different deadlines. In Scotland, the deposit must be lodged with an approved scheme within 30 working days of the tenancy starting. In Northern Ireland, it must be protected within 28 days and the written information given within 35 days. Check mygov.scot or nidirect for the full rules.

Step by step: how to protect a tenancy deposit (the right order)

Here is a simple order of operations based on the government guidance.

1. Confirm you have received a tenancy deposit. The 30 day clock in the guidance is based on “getting it” (receiving it). Keep a clear record of the date you received the deposit.
2. Choose a government approved TDP scheme. In England and Wales this means one of the schemes listed on the government page.
3. Put the deposit in the scheme within 30 days. The guidance is clear that your landlord or letting agent must put the deposit in the scheme within 30 days of getting it.
4. Give the tenant the required deposit information within 30 days. The guidance lists the information landlords must give tenants and says you have 30 days to tell them after you have received the deposit.
5. File the evidence. If there is a dispute later, the scheme’s dispute resolution service can ask for evidence. The guidance says you will both be asked to provide evidence if you use the free dispute resolution service.

What information must I give the tenant within 30 days?

The law calls this the prescribed information, and it is set out in the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007. The government page gives a helpful summary, but the full set also includes the leaflet your scheme provides and a certificate signed by you confirming the information is accurate. It must be given to the tenant, and to anyone who paid the deposit on their behalf, within 30 days of receiving the deposit. Most schemes provide a prescribed information template, and using it is the safest approach.

Within 30 days, you must tell the tenant:

• the address of the rented property
• how much deposit the tenant has paid
• how the deposit is protected
• the name and contact details of the tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme and its dispute resolution service
• your (or your letting agent’s) name and contact details
• the name and contact details of any third party that’s paid the deposit
• why they would keep some or all of the deposit
• how to apply to get the deposit back
• what to do if you cannot get hold of the landlord at the end of the tenancy
• what to do if there’s a dispute over the deposit

Two practical tips:

• Send it in writing and keep proof. The guidance does not prescribe a method on this page, but keeping a clear record helps if the tenant later says they did not receive it.
• Include third party payer details when relevant. The list explicitly includes “any third party that’s paid the deposit”, so do not miss this if a parent or scheme paid it.

What about holding deposits and third party paid deposits?

Holding deposits

The guidance says you do not have to protect a holding deposit. It defines a holding deposit as “money you pay to ‘hold’ a property before an agreement is signed”.

It then makes an important point about timing: once the person becomes a tenant, the holding deposit becomes a deposit, which you must protect.

Deposits paid by someone else

The guidance is also clear that you must use a TDP scheme even if the deposit is paid by someone else. It gives examples such as a rent deposit scheme or the tenant’s parents. If this applies, remember the information you must give the tenant includes the name and contact details of that third party payer.

What happens at the end of the tenancy, and how quickly must I return the deposit?

The government guidance says that at the end of the tenancy, you must return the deposit within 10 days of you and the tenant agreeing how much will be returned.

If there is a dispute, the guidance says the deposit will be protected in the TDP scheme until the issue is sorted out.

What if there is a dispute about deductions?

If you disagree with the tenant about how much deposit should be returned, the guidance says your TDP scheme offers a free dispute resolution service.

• Neither of you has to use the service, but if it is used, both you and the tenant must agree to it.
• You will both be asked to provide evidence.
• The decision made about the deposit will be final.

This is one reason it is worth keeping clear records throughout the tenancy, including anything you may later rely on as evidence.

What if the tenant cannot contact the landlord at the end of the tenancy?

The government guidance covers this too. It says the tenant can “raise a dispute” to get the deposit back if they cannot contact the landlord and the deposit is held by one of the approved schemes listed on the page (Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Deposit Protection Service, or MyDeposits).

It also warns there may be a limit on the time the tenant has to raise a dispute, and says the tenant should contact the TDP scheme as soon as possible.

What if a deposit is not protected when it should be?

The guidance tells tenants to contact a TDP scheme if they are not sure whether their deposit has been protected.

It also explains that a tenant can apply to their local county court if they think their landlord has not used a TDP scheme when they should have, and that it can be quicker and cheaper to write to the landlord rather than going to court.

The page, together with section 214 of the Housing Act 2004, sets out the court process:

• Apply using Form N208: Claim form.
• The court fee is £387. The tenant can claim this back from the landlord if they win the case.
• If the court finds the landlord has not protected the deposit, it can order the landlord to repay it to the tenant, or pay it into a TDP scheme’s bank account within 14 days.
• The court must also order the landlord to pay the tenant compensation of between one and three times the deposit, within 14 days of the order.

In England, if a deposit has not been protected or the prescribed information has not been given, the court can only make a possession order on Ground 7A (serious antisocial behaviour) or Ground 14 (nuisance, annoyance or antisocial behaviour). It cannot make one on any other ground until the deposit is held in an approved scheme and the prescribed information has been given (doing both late still counts for this purpose, although it does not remove the risk of a compensation claim), or until the deposit has been returned in full or with agreed deductions, or a court claim about it has been decided, withdrawn or settled. In practice, an unprotected deposit can stop you recovering your property on almost every ground until you put it right.

If you want a simple operational takeaway, it is this: protect the deposit in time, and give the tenant the required information in time, then keep good records.

Keeping key dates and documents together in one place helps you stay on top of deposit protection tasks.