Your deposit: protected within 30 days, capped at five weeks, and the 1 to 3 times rule
A private landlord in England must protect your deposit in a government scheme within 30 days and tell you where it is. If they did not, you can claim up to three times the deposit, and some possession grounds are blocked. How to check for free.
England. Checked against the law on 27 September 2026. Information, not legal advice.
What the landlord must do
Within 30 days of you paying the deposit, the landlord (or their agent) must:
- Protect it in one of three government-approved schemes: mydeposits, TDS or DPS. The money is either held by the scheme (custodial) or the landlord keeps it and pays for insurance (insured). Either is fine, as long as it is registered.
- Give you the prescribed information: which scheme holds it, the reference, how you get it back, and what happens if you disagree about deductions.
The deposit itself can be no more than five weeks' rent (six weeks if the yearly rent is £50,000 or more). A holding deposit while you apply is capped at one week's rent and must be returned or put towards the tenancy.
How to check, free, in two minutes
Each scheme has a public "is my deposit protected?" page. You need your surname, the postcode, the tenancy start date and the amount. Check all three if you do not know which one the landlord used. If none of them shows your deposit, write to the landlord and ask which scheme it is in and for the certificate. Keep the reply.
What it means if they did not
- You can apply to the county court for between one and three times the deposit as a penalty, plus the deposit back if the tenancy has ended. The court decides the multiple; a landlord who protected late but before you claimed usually pays less.
- The landlord cannot use some possession grounds until the deposit is protected or returned. A notice served while the deposit is unprotected can fail on that point.
- Get free advice before you claim. Shelter, Citizens Advice and law centres will look at the facts. A solicitor can act on a no-win-no-fee basis; MyLandlordPA does not refer you for a fee and does not take a share.
At the end of the tenancy
Deductions must be agreed. If you do not agree, the scheme's free dispute service decides on the evidence: the inventory, photos, receipts. That is why the check-in inventory and dated photos matter from day one.
What MyLandlordPA does
The tenant check compares what you were given with the law and tells you what is missing and what to do. If your landlord is on MyLandlordPA, the deposit certificate and prescribed information are served to you through the portal with a dated record, so both of you can prove it.
Questions tenants ask
My landlord protected the deposit but late. Can I still claim?
Yes. Protecting it after 30 days is still a breach. Courts usually award a lower multiple when it was protected before you claimed, but the claim still exists. Get free advice first.
How much can my deposit be?
No more than five weeks' rent, or six weeks if the yearly rent is £50,000 or more. Anything above that is a banned payment you can ask for back.
Does an unprotected deposit stop my landlord evicting me?
It blocks some possession grounds until the deposit is protected or returned. It does not stop every ground, so get advice on any notice you receive.
More guides
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Since 1 May 2026 there is no "no-fault" section 21 eviction in England. Your tenancy is periodic, you give two months' notice, and the landlord needs a legal ground, a proper notice and a court order. What a section 8 notice means, the notice periods, and what to do.
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