Can they do that? Brighton & Hove
All questions

Does my landlord have to protect my deposit?

Short answer

Yes, within 30 days

Your landlord or agent must put your deposit in one of three government-approved schemes, and send you the details, within 30 days of getting it.

If you pay a deposit for a private tenancy in England, your landlord or letting agent must, within 30 days of receiving it:

  1. protect it in one of the three government-approved schemes,1 and
  2. give you the “prescribed information”: which scheme it’s in and how to contact it, why they might keep some of your deposit, how to get it back, and what to do if there’s a dispute.2

This also applies if someone else paid the deposit for you, such as a rent deposit scheme or your parents.3 The law says they must be given the information too.4

A holding deposit, paid to reserve a property, doesn’t need protecting. Once you become the tenant, it becomes a deposit, and it must be protected.5

How much? Your deposit can’t be more than five weeks’ rent, or six weeks’ rent if the rent is £50,000 a year or more.6

Check your deposit

Search all three schemes. You’ll usually need your surname, the property postcode, and the date your tenancy started.7

Scheme Check here
Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) Is my deposit protected?
Deposit Protection Service (DPS) Check deposit status
mydeposits Tenant deposit checker

If you can’t find it:

  • Try each tenant’s name, not just your own. If you’ve renewed your tenancy, try the different start dates too.8
  • Check your tenancy agreement and the papers you got when you moved in, for a section headed “Deposit” or “Prescribed information”.
  • Search your email, including spam, for “TDS”, “DPS”, “mydeposits”, “deposit certificate” and “prescribed information”.
  • Phone each scheme. Their numbers are on their websites.9
  • Ask the agent in writing which scheme it’s in and for the certificate. There’s a letter for this.

If it wasn’t protected

See what to do if your deposit was never protected.

What changed in 2026

Since 1 May 2026, the rules apply to assured periodic tenancies, which replaced assured shorthold tenancies on that date.10

  • The 30-day deadlines haven’t changed.1
  • A tenancy that was already an assured tenancy, but not a shorthold, before 1 May 2026 isn’t covered by the change.11
  • Eviction: if your deposit isn’t in a scheme, or you haven’t been given the prescribed information, a court can’t usually make a possession order against you.12 This changes if the landlord returns your deposit, or a court claim about it is decided or settled.13 It doesn’t apply to some grounds, such as antisocial behaviour.14
  • If you got a section 8 or section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, different rules apply.15 Get advice.

References

  1. Housing Act 2004, s. 213(1) and (3). must, as from the time when it is received, be dealt with in accordance with an authorised scheme. the initial requirements of an authorised scheme must be complied with by the landlord in relation to the deposit within the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which it is received. Tenancy deposit protection. GOV.UK. Your landlord or letting agent must put your deposit in the scheme within 30 days of getting it. ↩ ↩2

  2. Tenancy deposit protection: information landlords must give tenants. GOV.UK. Once your landlord has received your deposit, they have 30 days to tell you: … the name and contact details of the tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme and its dispute resolution service … why they would keep some or all of the deposit … how to apply to get the deposit back … what to do if there’s a dispute over the deposit ↩

  3. Tenancy deposit protection, GOV.UK. Your landlord must use a TDP scheme even if your deposit is paid by someone else, such as a rent deposit scheme or your parents. ↩

  4. Housing Act 2004, s. 213(5), (6) and (10). A landlord who has received such a tenancy deposit must give the tenant and any relevant person such information … within the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which the deposit is received by the landlord. means any person who, in accordance with arrangements made with the tenant, paid the deposit on behalf of the tenant. ↩

  5. Tenancy deposit protection, GOV.UK. Your landlord does not have to protect a holding deposit (money you pay to ‘hold’ a property before an agreement is signed). Once you become a tenant, the holding deposit becomes a deposit, which they must protect. ↩

  6. Tenant Fees Act 2019: statutory guidance for enforcement authorities. GOV.UK, 2026. They must not ask for a deposit which is more than five weeks’ rent for properties where the annual rent is below £50,000. For tenancies with an annual rent of £50,000 or higher, a landlord or agent must not ask for a deposit which is more than six weeks rent. ↩

  7. Check your landlord has protected your deposit. Citizens Advice. You’ll need to enter a few details, for example your postcode, surname and the date you started your tenancy. ↩

  8. Check your landlord has protected your deposit, Citizens Advice. You might need to enter the details of any joint tenants if you can’t find the details under your own name. If you’ve renewed your tenancy it’s worth checking the different start dates too. ↩

  9. Check your landlord has protected your deposit, Citizens Advice. If you still can’t find out whether your deposit has been protected, speak to someone at each tenancy deposit scheme provider. You can find their contact numbers on their websites. ↩

  10. Tenancy deposit protection, GOV.UK. Your landlord must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme (TDP) if you rent your home on an assured periodic tenancy (APT). APTs replaced assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026. ↩

  11. Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Sch. 6, para. 11. The amendments made by section 26 do not apply in relation to an existing tenancy that, immediately before the commencement date, was an assured tenancy other than an assured shorthold tenancy. Check your landlord has protected your deposit, Citizens Advice, lists among the exceptions: you have an assured tenancy that started before 1 May 2026 ↩

  12. Housing Act 2004, s. 215(1)–(3), as substituted from 1 May 2026. Where a tenancy deposit has been paid in connection with an assured tenancy, the court may make an order for possession of the dwelling-house let on the assured tenancy only if the tenancy deposit is being held in accordance with an authorised scheme. only if the requirements of section 213(5) and (6)(a) have been complied with. Section 213(5) and (6)(a) are the duty to give the prescribed information. Late compliance counts: (whether or not within the period mentioned by section 213(3)) ↩

  13. Housing Act 2004, s. 215(5). the tenancy deposit has been returned to the tenant in full or with such deductions as are agreed between the landlord and tenant, or an application to the county court has been made under section 214(1) and has been determined by that court, withdrawn or settled by agreement between the parties. ↩

  14. Housing Act 2004, s. 215(4). Subsections (1) to (3) do not apply in relation to an order for possession made on Ground 7A or 14 in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. Check your landlord has protected your deposit, Citizens Advice. In some cases, your landlord can get a court order to evict you even if they didn’t follow the deposit rules. For example, if you were involved in antisocial behaviour. ↩

  15. Check your landlord has protected your deposit, Citizens Advice. If you got a section 8 notice before 1 May 2026, your landlord can use it to evict you even if they didn’t follow the tenancy deposit protection rules. If you got a section 21 notice before 1 May 2026 ↩