Is my deposit protected? How do I check?
Run your details through all three schemes' free lookups; it takes about five minutes. In England and Wales, every deposit taken on an assured tenancy must be held under one of three authorised schemes: the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) and mydeposits. Each scheme's website has a search that checks by postcode, surname, tenancy start date or deposit amount. If none of the three finds your deposit, and your landlord can't show you a protection certificate, there's a fair chance it was never protected, and that has consequences that favour you.
Don't rely on the tenancy agreement saying the deposit 'will be protected'. The promise isn't the protection; the scheme record is.
What was my landlord legally required to do?
Two things, both within 30 days of receiving your deposit. First, deal with the deposit under an authorised scheme and comply with that scheme's initial requirements. Second, give you, and any relevant person (someone who paid the deposit for you, such as a parent), the prescribed information.
The prescribed information is the paperwork this article's original title referred to: a set of details the landlord must serve confirming which scheme holds the deposit, how the deposit is protected and how you can get it back, including how disputes are dealt with. Schemes supply template certificates and leaflets that cover the required contents, which is why you'd normally expect to receive a scheme certificate plus an information leaflet shortly after paying. If nothing of that kind ever arrived, the landlord may have missed the prescribed information duty even where the deposit itself sits in a scheme, and the compensation rules below apply to that failure too.
Deposits are also capped, at 5 weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000 (6 weeks at £50,000 or more), and no one may require a deposit in any form other than money.
What happens if my landlord didn't comply?
The court must penalise them; it has no discretion to let it go entirely. On a successful application under section 214 of the Housing Act 2004, the county court must order the deposit repaid to you or paid into a scheme, and must order the landlord to pay you a sum of not less than the deposit and not more than 3 times the deposit. Where you apply, gov.uk's guidance confirms the court may order payment within 14 days of the order.
Some details worth knowing:
- Prescribed information failures count. Since amendments made by the Localism Act 2011, the claim covers failures to give the prescribed information as well as failures to protect the money.
- Former tenants can claim. The application can be made after the tenancy has ended, and by a relevant person as well as the tenant.
- The clock is generous. Claims of this kind generally carry a 6-year limitation period, so a tenancy that ended two or three years ago may well still be in time.
- Renewals mostly don't multiply claims. Where the deposit was protected and the prescribed information given for an earlier tenancy of the same property, the law treats the requirements as complied with for the replacement tenancy.
Does an unprotected deposit affect eviction?
Yes, significantly. Since 1 May 2026, under the framework introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, a court generally can't make a possession order on an assured tenancy unless the deposit is held in an authorised scheme, the initial requirements were met and the required information was given. Government guidance puts it plainly: a landlord who can't show the court they gave the correct deposit information, or returned the deposit, won't be able to get an order to evict, except where the claim is on the anti-social behaviour grounds.
Landlords can usually cure the problem, by returning the deposit or belatedly protecting it, and the restriction doesn't erase your compensation claim for the original failure. But if you've received a possession notice and your deposit lookup comes back empty, that's a defence point worth raising immediately, ideally with advice.
What should I do if my deposit isn't protected?
Work through it in order:
- Confirm the position. Search all three schemes, and keep screenshots of the empty results with dates.
- Gather your documents. Tenancy agreement, proof of the deposit payment (bank transfer beats cash), and anything you did or didn't receive at the start of the tenancy.
- Write to the landlord. Ask which scheme holds the deposit and for a copy of the prescribed information. The reply, or the silence, becomes evidence.
- Take advice on a claim. A section 214 claim runs through the county court; money claims up to £10,000 are designed for the small claims track without a solicitor, and court fees scale with the amount claimed.
- Watch the possession angle. If any eviction notice arrives, tell your adviser about the deposit position straight away.
Most landlords settle these claims once the failure is undeniable, because the statutory penalty range of 1 to 3 times the deposit gives them little to argue about beyond the multiplier.
What if the deposit is protected but deductions are unfair?
Then the dispute route, not the penalty route, is yours. The deposit should be returned within 10 days of you and the landlord agreeing the amount, and while a dispute runs the money stays protected in the scheme. Every authorised scheme offers a free dispute resolution service: both parties must agree to use it, evidence decides it, and the outcome is final. Inventories, dated photos and receipts win those cases, so build the file before you hand back the keys.
If your deposit wasn't protected, or the prescribed information never arrived, you may be entitled to compensation of between 1 and 3 times your deposit. Our free deposit checker can help you find out in a couple of minutes.