Deposit protection: is my deposit protected?

How the deposit protection schemes work

The three schemes — the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme — are the only ones approved by the government for England. Whichever one your landlord uses, it works in one of two ways, and your landlord or agent chooses which.

Custodial

The scheme itself holds the money for the whole tenancy, and it costs the landlord nothing. At the end, the scheme pays it back once you and the landlord agree the amount, or once a dispute is decided.

Insured

The landlord or agent keeps the money and pays the scheme to insure it. If there is a dispute at the end, the scheme holds the deposit until it is settled.

Either way the protection is the same to you: the deposit is safe, and a disagreement about it goes to the scheme’s free dispute service rather than being decided by whoever holds the money.

The 30-day rule and the prescribed information

A deposit must be protected within 30 days of the landlord receiving it. Within the same 30 days the landlord must also give you the prescribed information, which has to tell you:

• the address of the rented property and how much deposit you paid;
• how the deposit is protected, and the name and contact details of the scheme;
• the landlord’s or letting agent’s contact details;
• why they might keep some or all of the deposit, and how to apply to get it back;
• what to do if you cannot reach the landlord at the end of the tenancy, and what happens if there is a dispute.

Both duties matter. Protecting the money but never serving the prescribed information is still a failure to comply, and it is the half landlords most often miss.

If it was never protected

Ask the landlord or agent in writing first, and keep the reply. People do sometimes find the deposit was protected under a slightly different name or amount.

If it genuinely was not protected, you can apply to the county court. The court must order the landlord to repay the deposit or pay it into a scheme within 14 days, and to pay you compensation of at least the amount of the deposit and up to three times it. That claim can be brought even after the tenancy has ended. GOV.UK gives the court fee as £387, which you can get back if you win, and help with the fee is available on a low income or some benefits.

It also affects eviction. Before 1 May 2026, an unprotected deposit stopped a landlord serving a section 21 notice. Section 21 has now gone, and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 moved the consequence to the court: on most grounds for possession, the court cannot make a possession order unless the deposit is protected and the prescribed information has been given, the deposit has been returned, or your claim about it has been decided, settled or withdrawn. The antisocial behaviour grounds, 7A and 14, are the exception.

Being pushed out without a court order is a different matter altogether: see what counts as an illegal eviction.

Getting your deposit back, and disputes

At the end of the tenancy you and the landlord agree how much comes back. Once you have both agreed, the deposit must be returned within 10 days.

If you cannot agree on deductions, every scheme offers a free dispute resolution service, which looks at the evidence from both sides, and the deposit stays protected until the dispute is settled. If you cannot contact the landlord at all, you can raise it with the scheme directly.

Disputes are decided on evidence, and the most useful evidence is the inventory and check-in report, with dated photos, that you agreed at the start. Keep a copy, and take your own photos on the day you leave.

Moving in soon? What a rental inventory should record and the new tenancy checklist set you up to get the deposit back later.