How do I check my tenancy deposit is protected?

Which schemes operate where you live, how much can be taken, the deadline for protecting it, and what you can claim if your landlord did not do it.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 12 min
Read: 5 min

Short answer

Check the scheme's free online lookup with your postcode, surname and the deposit amount. The cap and the deadline differ by nation: England allows five weeks' rent, rising to six above a rent threshold, protected within thirty days; Scotland allows two months' rent, lodged within thirty working days; Northern Ireland allows one month's rent, protected within twenty-eight days. Wales has no cap at all. An unprotected deposit gives you a claim of one to three times the amount.

Deposit protection is the one part of renting where the tenant has a straightforward, well-defined remedy: the money must be in a scheme, the schemes have free lookups, and a landlord who did not do it faces a claim that can substantially exceed the deposit. It is also the check that most renters never make, usually because they assume the letting agent dealt with it.

Step by step

Find out which scheme should hold it.England and Wales: the Deposit Protection Service, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, or mydeposits. Scotland: SafeDeposits Scotland, the Letting Protection Service Scotland, or mydeposits Scotland. Northern Ireland: TDS Northern Ireland or my|deposits Northern Ireland. Check all of the ones for your nation, not just the one you were told about.
Use the free lookup.Each scheme has an online check that takes a postcode, a surname and the deposit amount. It takes a minute and costs nothing. Do it in the first month, not when you are moving out.
Check the cap for your nation.England: five weeks' rent, or six weeks where the annual rent is above a threshold set in the Tenant Fees Act — check GOV.UK for the current figure. Scotland: two months' rent. Northern Ireland: one month's rent. Wales: there is no cap in force, because the regulations that would set one were never made.
Check the holding deposit separately.In England and Wales a holding deposit is capped at one week's rent and must be returned or applied to the rent within a set period unless you gave false information or withdrew. In Scotland holding deposits are unlawful altogether. Northern Ireland has no statutory cap.
Check the deadline was met.England and Wales: protected and the prescribed information given within thirty days of receipt. Scotland: lodged within thirty working days of the tenancy starting, with the tenant information given. Northern Ireland: protected within twenty-eight days and the prescribed information given within thirty-five.
Check you received the prescribed information.Not just the certificate. It must tell you which scheme, the contact details, how to apply for the deposit back, what happens if there is a dispute, and the landlord's or agent's details. Failing to give it is a breach in its own right even where the money itself was protected.
Know what happens at the end.You and the landlord agree deductions, or you use the scheme's free alternative dispute resolution, where an independent adjudicator decides on the paperwork. The scheme releases the undisputed part quickly. The adjudicator's decision is normally binding.
Know the remedy if it was not protected.England and Wales: a claim in the county court for between one and three times the deposit, plus return of the deposit itself. Scotland: an application to the First-tier Tribunal for up to three times, which must be made within three months of the tenancy ending. Northern Ireland: enforcement by the council's environmental health team, with a fixed penalty of up to three times the deposit and prosecution available.
Note the knock-on effects on possession.In Wales an unprotected deposit blocks a no-fault section 173 notice entirely. In England the deposit rules interact with possession claims, so tell your adviser about it if you are served with a notice.
Keep the certificate with your tenancy file.Scheme reference, certificate, prescribed information and the inventory. That set is what settles a deduction argument two years later.

Tips

Photograph every room, including inside cupboards and appliances, on the day you get the keys, and email the set to yourself so the date is fixed.
Keep the prescribed information as well as the certificate. Failing to serve it is a separate breach from failing to protect.
In Wales, check the deposit before you do anything else if you receive a section 173 notice — an unprotected deposit blocks it.

Common mistakes

Checking only at the end of the tenancy — By then the relationship is often strained and the evidence is old. A check in the first month costs a minute and changes your position for the whole tenancy.
Assuming the agent dealt with it — The obligation rests on the landlord, and agent failures are common. The lookup is the only way to know.

If it doesn't work

The lookup finds nothing

Cause: Not protected, or protected under a different name or address format — Fix: Try variations of the postcode and surname, and check every scheme for your nation. Then ask the landlord in writing which scheme holds it. If there is no answer, take advice — you may have a claim.

It was protected late

Cause: Outside the statutory deadline — Fix: Late protection is still a breach and can support a claim in England and Wales. Keep the certificate showing the protection date and the tenancy start date, and get advice before the tenancy ends.

The landlord will not agree deductions

Cause: A dispute about condition or cleaning — Fix: Use the scheme's free adjudication rather than arguing. Submit the inventory, dated photographs from both ends of the tenancy, and any correspondence. Evidence wins these; assertions do not.

Questions people ask

What if my landlord took cash and gave no paperwork?

Take a written note of the amount, the date and how it was paid, and check all the schemes for your nation. If nothing shows, you have a claim. Ask in writing which scheme it is in — the reply, or the absence of one, is useful evidence.

Does a deposit taken before the rules came in have to be protected?

Protection has been compulsory for many years in each nation, but the start dates differ and there are transitional rules for long-running tenancies. Take advice from your nation's Shelter service rather than assuming a very old tenancy is exempt.

Can the landlord keep the deposit for cleaning?

Only for cleaning beyond fair wear and tear, evidenced against the check-in inventory. Adjudicators are strict about this: without a signed inventory and dated photographs, a deduction very often fails.

Does a deposit replacement scheme count?

Products where you pay a non-refundable fee instead of a deposit are not deposits and are not protected. You usually remain liable for damage at the end, and there is no scheme adjudication. Read what you are buying before agreeing to one.