Tenancy deposit schemes are designed to safeguard your money in case there is a dispute when you move out. Here, we guide you through how these schemes work and what your rights are as a renter.

These government-backed schemes operate across the whole of the UK. If you are renting privately (as opposed to for business purposes) your agreement is likely to be an assured shorthold tenancy (AST), in which case your landlord or letting agent must protect your money in one of these schemes for the duration of your tenancy. If they don’t, they’re breaking the law.

If you’re in England or Wales, your money must be kept in one of the following:

In Scotland:

In Northern Ireland:

You can check online where your money is being held. You’ll need to enter your surname, postcode, deposit amount and when you started your tenancy (you can find these last two on your tenancy agreement). If you have a joint tenancy and you can’t find your own name listed under any of the schemes, make sure to check your housemates’ surnames too.

If you find out your money hasn’t been put into a tenancy protection scheme when it should have been, you might be able to claim compensation. Citizens Advice has more information about taking your landlord or letting agent to court if they haven’t followed the rules.

Once you have paid your deposit, your landlord or letting agent has 30 days to put it in a deposit scheme. If they do not, you could claim compensation up to three times the value of your deposit. You can also claim compensation if they have failed to do one of the following:

Once your tenancy has ended, you will probably need to claim back your deposit. If you’re in England or Wales, you need to write to your landlord or letting agent at the end of your tenancy to request your deposit back (the quickest and easiest way to do this is by email). It’s important to write rather than phone so that you leave a paper trail in case of any dispute.

You can find a simple template on Shelter’s website. If your landlord does not reply to your request within a week, make sure you follow it up.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, you have the option to contact the scheme provider yourself and ask for your deposit. They will contact the landlord or letting agent to ask if they are happy for the full amount to be returned.

In any of these instances, landlords can only charge you a reasonable amount, for example, to cover the cost of damaged furniture, and cannot use this as an excuse to make more money out of you. If the amount charged does not seem reasonable you can dispute it. So, if they were trying to take out £100 for a broken toilet roll holder, for example.

If your landlord tries to deduct money from your deposit for any of the following you can raise a dispute with the tenancy deposit scheme:

It's a good idea to take photos of the property as soon as you move in, so you have a record in case you’re charged later for any pre-existing issues. Similarly, if any problems arise during your tenancy, make sure you keep a photographic record.

If you raise a dispute you may have to wait a lot longer to get your deposit back. Once your tenancy has ended (and if neither side is disputing the deposit) you should receive your money back within five to 10 working days (regardless of the scheme).

If you want to challenge the amount that will be taken you may have to wait much longer to get your money back, as it will be kept in the scheme until the issue is resolved. It’s important to consider this before committing to renting another property, as you may not be able to use your old deposit in time.