# Do I have to protect my tenant’s deposit?

Source: https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/faqs/do-i-have-to-protect-my-tenants-deposit
By TenancyVaults (Run by a landlord in England) · Last checked 19 October 2026

## The short answer

Yes, for almost every private letting. In England, a deposit taken for an assured tenancy must be protected with TDS, DPS or mydeposits within 30 days of receiving it, under section 213 of the Housing Act 2004. Wales has the same duty for occupation contracts.

### Key points

- Since 1 May 2026, most private tenancies in England are assured periodic tenancies, and money taken as a deposit for one must be protected.
- England and Wales have three authorised schemes: the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), mydeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS).
- Lettings that can’t be assured tenancies fall outside the duty, such as most lodgers in your home, company lets and rent over £100,000 a year.
- If a deposit isn’t protected, a court must order the landlord to pay the tenant between one and three times the deposit (Housing Act 2004, section 214).
- In Wales, section 45 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 sets the same 30-day duty for deposits on occupation contracts.

## Do I have to protect my tenant’s deposit in England?

Yes, if the tenancy is an assured tenancy and the deposit is money. [Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/213) says a tenancy deposit must be dealt with under an authorised scheme from the moment it’s received. Since **1 May 2026**, assured periodic tenancies have replaced assured shorthold tenancies, so the duty covers almost every private letting in England ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection)).

The duty has two parts, and both are due within **30 days** of receiving the deposit. You meet the scheme’s initial requirements, which means registering the deposit and, for a custodial scheme, paying the money in. You also give your tenant the prescribed information.

When the 30 days start, how they’re counted, and what happens with top-ups, renewals and a missed deadline, is on its own page: [How long do I have to protect a deposit?](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/faqs/how-long-do-i-have-to-protect-a-deposit)

## Which deposit schemes can I use?

Any of the three schemes authorised for England and Wales ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/deposit-protection-schemes-and-landlords)):

- the **Deposit Protection Service (DPS)**
- **mydeposits**
- the **Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)**

Each offers two types. With custodial protection, the scheme holds the money free of charge. With insured protection, you or your agent hold it and pay the scheme to insure it ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/deposit-protection-schemes-and-landlords)). Any of the six meets the legal duty. How they differ is on [Which deposit scheme is best for a small landlord?](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/faqs/which-deposit-scheme-is-best-for-a-small-landlord)

## What counts as a tenancy deposit?

Any money held as security for the tenant meeting their obligations, or paying what they owe, under the tenancy ([section 212(8)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/212)). What the payment is called doesn’t matter. These are the cases landlords ask about most:

- **Cash.** Cash is money, so it needs protecting in the same way as a bank transfer.
- **Paid by someone else.** A parent, employer or council who paid the deposit for the tenant is a “relevant person”. They’re named in the prescribed information and get their own copy ([section 213](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/213)).
- **A holding deposit.** Money taken only to reserve the property isn’t protected while it’s a holding deposit. Once the person becomes your tenant and it becomes the deposit, it must be protected ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/deposit-protection-schemes-and-landlords)).
- **Items instead of money.** For an assured tenancy, no one may require a deposit of property other than money, such as a car or a watch ([section 213(7)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/213)).

## Which lettings don’t need deposit protection?

The duty follows the type of tenancy. A letting that can’t be an assured tenancy falls outside it. [Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/1) lists them. The ones a private landlord meets most often are:

- **A resident landlord.** You live in another part of the same building, other than a purpose-built block of flats, as your only or principal home ([paragraph 10](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/1/paragraph/10)). This covers most lodgers: see [Do I have to protect a lodger’s deposit?](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/faqs/do-i-have-to-protect-a-lodgers-deposit)
- **High rent.** Rent of more than **£100,000** a year.
- **No rent or low rent.** Rent of **£250** a year or less, or **£1,000** or less in Greater London.
- **Holiday lets and business tenancies.**
- **Student lettings by specified educational institutions**, such as university halls.
- **Company lets.** DPS lists these as exempt ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/learning-centre/more-information-about-deposit-protection/)), because the tenant of an assured tenancy has to be an individual.

DPS’s list of exemptions also includes resident landlords, rent over £100,000 a year and accommodation let directly by universities or colleges ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/learning-centre/more-information-about-deposit-protection/)). mydeposits gives a similar list ([mydeposits](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/law/)).

One small group keeps the old rules. It’s an existing tenancy that was assured, but not shorthold, immediately before 1 May 2026. The 2026 deposit amendments don’t apply to it ([Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Schedule 6, paragraph 11](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/schedule/6)). These are mostly older lettings, and the old rules covered shorthold tenancies only.

## What did the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 change about deposits?

The duty itself is the same. From 1 May 2026, the Act replaced “shorthold” with “assured” in the deposit sections of the Housing Act 2004 ([section 26](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/section/26)). The 30-day limit, the prescribed information and the three schemes didn’t change.

Existing tenancies carried on. Under [section 146](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/section/146), an assured tenancy entered into before 1 May 2026 continues on and after that date under the new rules. A deposit protected properly at the start stays protected.

What changed more is possession. Section 21 has gone, so landlords use section 8 and its grounds ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/renters-rights-act-an-overview-for-landlords)). [Section 215](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/215) stops a court making a possession order on an assured tenancy while the deposit rules haven’t been met, except on Ground 7A or 14. The bar lifts once one of these happens:

1. The deposit is held in a scheme and the prescribed information has been given.
2. The deposit is returned in full, or with agreed deductions.
3. A tenant’s court claim about the deposit is decided, withdrawn or settled.

## What happens if I don’t protect the deposit?

Your tenant, or anyone who paid the deposit for them, can apply to the county court, during the tenancy or after it ends ([section 214](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/214)). If the court finds the rules weren’t met, it must order the landlord to pay between **one and three times** the deposit, within **14 days**. It can also order the deposit repaid, or paid into a custodial scheme.

The duty stays with you if a letting agent takes the deposit. The Act treats an agent as acting on the landlord’s behalf ([section 212(9)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/212)). If an agent protected it, ask for the deposit protection certificate and a copy of the prescribed information, and check the scheme, amount and dates match your tenancy.

## Does the same rule apply in Wales?

Yes, under different law. In Wales, tenancies are occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. [Section 45](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/section/45) requires a deposit to be held in an authorised scheme. The landlord must meet the scheme’s initial requirements and give the required information within **30 days**. TDS, DPS and mydeposits all cover Wales.

If the rules aren’t met, a court must order the landlord to pay one to three times the deposit ([Schedule 5](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/schedule/5)). The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changes above apply to England.

## Where next?

The timing is on [How long do I have to protect a deposit?](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/faqs/how-long-do-i-have-to-protect-a-deposit), and what to send your tenant is on [What is the prescribed information, and when do I have to give it?](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/faqs/what-is-the-prescribed-information-and-when-do-i-have-to-give-it) If a disagreement follows at the end of the tenancy, the [guide to disputing a deposit deduction](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/guides/landlord-deposit-dispute) sets out each step, and the [deadline calculator](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/deadline-calculator) works out when your evidence is due. A [deposit dispute pack](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/dispute-packs) puts that evidence in your scheme’s order, ready for you to submit.

## Common questions

### Does my landlord have to protect my deposit?

Yes, if you rent on an assured periodic tenancy in England, or an occupation contract in Wales, and paid the deposit as money. It must be protected with TDS, DPS or mydeposits within 30 days of being paid. The prescribed information your landlord gave you names the scheme, and each scheme can check its own records.

### Do I have to take a deposit at all?

No. Nothing in the Housing Act 2004 requires one. If you take a deposit in England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps it at five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks’ rent where it’s £50,000 or more. Once taken, it must be protected.

### Does a deposit for a family member or friend need protecting?

Yes, if the letting is an assured tenancy. The Housing Act 2004 has no exception for family or friends. What can take a letting outside the rules is its terms, such as no rent, rent of £250 a year or less (£1,000 in Greater London), or you living in the same building.

### My letting agent took the deposit. Who is responsible for protecting it?

The agent can protect it for you, and often does. The Housing Act 2004 treats an agent as acting on the landlord’s behalf, and a court’s order to pay one to three times the deposit is made against the landlord. Ask the agent for the deposit protection certificate and the prescribed information they gave.

### Did the 1 May 2026 changes mean I had to protect the deposit again?

Not on their own. Under section 146 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, an existing assured tenancy continued as the same tenancy, now an assured periodic tenancy. Top-ups, new tenants and replacement tenancies are different, and are covered on the page about how long you have to protect a deposit.

## Sources

The facts on this page come from these official sources, checked on 19 October 2026.

1. [Housing Act 2004, section 212](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/212)
2. [Housing Act 2004, section 213](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/213)
3. [Housing Act 2004, section 214](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/214)
4. [Housing Act 2004, section 215](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/section/215)
5. [Housing Act 1988, Schedule 1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/1)
6. [Housing Act 1988, Schedule 1, paragraph 10 (resident landlords)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/1/paragraph/10)
7. [Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 26](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/section/26)
8. [Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 146](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/section/146)
9. [Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Schedule 6](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/schedule/6)
10. [Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/4/schedule/1)
11. [Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, section 45](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/section/45)
12. [Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, Schedule 5](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/1/schedule/5)
13. [GOV.UK: Tenancy deposit protection](https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection)
14. [GOV.UK: Deposit protection schemes and landlords](https://www.gov.uk/deposit-protection-schemes-and-landlords)
15. [GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act, an overview for landlords](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/renters-rights-act-an-overview-for-landlords)
16. [DPS: More information about deposit protection](https://www.depositprotection.com/learning-centre/more-information-about-deposit-protection/)
17. [DPS custodial terms and conditions (v35, May 2026)](https://www.depositprotection.com/documents/custodial_terms_and_conditions.pdf)
18. [mydeposits: Deposit protection scheme rules (the law)](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/law/)