How long do I have to protect a deposit?

How long do I have to protect a tenant’s deposit?

30 days. Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 gives you 30 days, beginning with the date the deposit is received, to do two things:

1. Meet the scheme’s initial requirements. That means registering the deposit with TDS, DPS or mydeposits and, for a custodial scheme, paying the money in.
2. Give the prescribed information to your tenant, and to anyone who paid the deposit for them.

Both share the one deadline. Protecting the deposit on day 25 leaves five days for the prescribed information, not another 30.

Whether a letting needs protecting at all, and the lettings that don’t, is on its own page: Do I have to protect my tenant’s deposit?

When do the 30 days start?

On the day the money is received. That’s not the day the tenancy starts, the agreement is signed or the keys change hands. TDS counts the period “from and including” the day the deposit was received (TDS).

If a letting agent takes the deposit, the clock starts when the agent receives it, whether or not the funds have cleared (TDS). The Act treats an agent as acting on the landlord’s behalf (section 212(9)).

So a deposit paid three weeks before move-in day may have only nine days left when your tenant arrives.

Is it 30 calendar days or 30 working days?

Calendar days. The Act says 30 days, with no mention of working days, and DPS describes the limit as 30 calendar days (DPS custodial terms, DPS). Weekends and bank holidays count.

The period begins with the day of receipt, so that day is day one:

• Received on 1 June: protect it and give the prescribed information by 30 June.
• Received on 15 October: by 13 November.
• Received on 20 December: by 18 January, with Christmas and New Year counted.

Aim to finish well before the last day. The prescribed information has to be given within the same period, so leave time for it to reach your tenant.

What if the deposit is paid in instalments or topped up later?

Each payment is deposit money, so each one needs protecting within 30 days of receiving it (section 213). The schemes record this in different ways:

• DPS: add later payments to the existing deposit with “Pay additional deposit”, and give your tenant updated prescribed information (DPS).
• TDS Custodial: register every instalment under the same deposit, and top it up within 30 days of receiving each one (TDS Custodial Scheme Rules, rules 5.13 and 5.14).
• mydeposits custodial: only the amount lodged is protected, and each new instalment restarts the 30 days (mydeposits).
• mydeposits insured: protect the full amount you expect, and keep proof of what you’ve received (mydeposits).

A top-up later in the tenancy, for example after a rent increase, works the same way. TDS Custodial uses the same top-up steps when a tenancy continues as an assured periodic tenancy (rule 5.15). In England, the total must stay within the cap of five weeks’ rent, or six weeks’ rent where the annual rent is £50,000 or more (Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1).

Does a holding deposit change when the 30 days start?

A holding deposit isn’t protected while it only reserves the property. Once the person becomes your tenant and it becomes the deposit, it must be protected (GOV.UK).

No official guidance found says which day starts the 30 days for a converted holding deposit. Protecting it as soon as the tenancy is agreed leaves no doubt about the date.

Do I need to protect the deposit again when a tenancy renews or becomes periodic?

Not because of the 1 May 2026 change. Under section 146 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, an assured tenancy that existed before that date continued on and after it, under the new rules. Since then, tenancies in England are periodic, with no end date, so fixed-term renewals no longer arise (GOV.UK).

Where a new tenancy does replace an earlier one, section 215B treats the protection and prescribed information as done if all four of these hold:

1. The deposit was protected, and the prescribed information given, for the earlier tenancy.
2. The landlord and tenant are the same.
3. The property is the same or substantially the same.
4. The deposit is still held in the same scheme.

A new tenant joining, a move to a different property and a switch of scheme are the usual cases it doesn’t cover. TDS’s rules say landlords and agents should give fresh prescribed information within the statutory time limit when the tenant, landlord, property, deposit amount or scheme changes (TDS Custodial Scheme Rules, rule 15.3).

What happens if I miss the 30 days?

The duty to protect doesn’t end, and a scheme may still accept the deposit. DPS’s custodial terms say it will accept deposits submitted after 30 calendar days (DPS custodial terms). Protecting late doesn’t undo the breach, though. Two rules apply in England:

• A penalty claim. Your tenant, or anyone who paid the deposit, can apply to the county court during or after the tenancy. 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 (section 214).
• Possession. A court can’t make most possession orders on an assured tenancy until the deposit is held in a scheme and the prescribed information has been given, even if late. Returning the deposit, or a tenant’s claim being decided, withdrawn or settled, also lifts the bar (section 215).

If you’ve found a missed deadline, a solicitor can advise on your own position.

Is it the same in Wales?

Yes, 30 days. Under section 45 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, the landlord must meet the scheme’s initial requirements and give the required information within 30 days of the deposit being paid.

A substitute occupation contract with the same landlord, contract-holder and home, starting straight after the last one, is treated as compliant if the deposit stays in the same scheme (Schedule 5, paragraph 4). If the rules aren’t met, a court must order one to three times the deposit.

Where next?

What to send your tenant within the 30 days is on What is the prescribed information, and when do I have to give it?, and which lettings are covered is on Do I have to protect my tenant’s deposit? The scheme’s evidence deadline at the end of the tenancy is a separate, much shorter clock, and the deadline calculator works it out. A deposit dispute pack sets out your evidence in your scheme’s order, ready for you to submit.