Information for tenants – Custodial protection
Understanding tenant's rights:
A free comprehensive guide to deposit protection
Are you a tenant and have you paid a security deposit? It’s very important that you understand the rules on rental deposits. This guide will walk you through the ins and outs of deposit protection and what you can do if your landlord, or their agent, does not comply with the law and protect your deposit.
Penalties for non-compliant landlords
As a tenant, you have legal rights if your landlord does not follow the correct procedure to protect your deposit. Penalties for landlords can be as high as three times the deposit amount.
Introduction to mydeposits custodial with Total Property
mydeposits are a reliable and government-authorised scheme licensed to protect tenancy deposits.
Our custodial model allows landlords to join and protect your deposit by sending it to us for safe keeping for the length of your tenancy. You will have access to your own personal online account right from the start.
Total Property represents our commitment to improving tenancy deposit protection, the platform will help to make managing deposits, compliance and communication straightforward and hassle-free.
mydeposits and the law
Since 6 April 2007, all landlords who collect a deposit from their tenants in England and Wales under an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) and in Wales, since 1 December 2022, (Renting Home (Wales) Act 2016, with an occupation contract agreement, must follow deposit protection law. This involves either the landlord, or their agent:
- protecting the deposit: the deposit must be protected in a government-authorised scheme within 30 days of receiving it, and
- providing the prescribed information: tenants should receive this together with proof of deposit protection (known as prescribed information) within the same 30-day period and should be provided to you in a signed document.
The law is in place to make sure your deposit is safe and guarantees that you’ll receive it back when the tenancy ends, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.
Information for tenants also forms part of the prescribed information and explains more about how we work.
Your landlord is legally responsible for providing this essential information about your deposit, as well as guidance for resolving any end of tenancy deposit-related issues.
Reclaiming your deposit at tenancy end
When the tenancy ends, both parties should log into their account to organise the deposit release and if there are any disagreements, mydeposits offers a free and impartial alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service to help reach a settlement.
Once one party has proposed a settlement or started the release process the other party must respond within 14 days.
If your landlord proposes settlements at the end of the tenancy, try negotiating and reaching a resolution first. If this is unsuccessful, you can start our free resolution process by logging into your account. All parties will need to provide evidence, which can be used for our early resolution process, and if necessary, our formal adjudication. This formal decision is binding and final, and we will distribute the deposit in line with the decision.
If you are the one that begins the deposit release and your landlord or agent does not respond, you will be able to use our single release process online.
If your landlord begins the deposit release and you provide no response, your landlord can use our single release process to claim the deposit.
Staying connected with mydeposits
Make sure your contact details are kept updated, especially as the tenancy ends. Your account is easy to manage online, and you will be able to deal with any end of tenancy issues in the same way.
Your deposit should be protected by law and understanding how, and where, it’s protected is important. We are here to make sure things are done correctly and fairly.
To check if your deposit is protected, visit the tenant section of our website.