''Deposit Rules, and Guidance for Landlords''

Landlord must put the tenant's deposit in the government-backed tenancy deposit scheme (TDP), if you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007, in England and Wales, your deposit can be registered with:

• Deposit Protection Service (Custodial and Insured)
• MyDeposits, if Capita held your deposit.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme
Your landlord can accept valuable items (e.g. a car or watch) as a deposit instead of money, but they won’t be protected by a scheme.
There are separate TDP schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

They should make sure that you’ll get your deposit back if you:
Meet the terms of your tenancy agreement
Don’t damage the property
Pay your rent and bills
The landlord or letting agent must put the deposit in the scheme within 30 days of getting it.
At the end of your tenancy, the landlord/agent must return the deposit within 10 days after agreeing how much tenant will get back.
If tenant has dispute with the landlord, then their deposit will remain protected in the TDP scheme until the issue is sorted out.

Holding deposits
The landlord doesn’t have to protect a holding deposit (money you pay to ‘hold’ a property before an agreement is signed). Once the tenancy signed, the holding deposit becomes a deposit, which they must protect.

Deposits made by a third party
Your landlord must use a TDP scheme even if someone pays your deposit else, i.e. a rent deposit scheme by relocation / council or your parents, partners.

Information landlords must give to the tenants
Once the landlord/agent has received the deposit, they have 30 days to provide a tenant's:

• A prescribe information, which is to be signed by the tenants and landlords, exchange one copy each.
• The address of the rented property, tenant's name and contact details must be mentioned in Deposit Certificate.

While dealing with the deposit you need to know some important details:
How much is the deposit paid?
How the deposit is going to be protected (Custodial and Insured Scheme)?
The name and contact details of the tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme and its dispute resolution service their (or the letting agency’s) name and contact details the name and contact details of any third party that’s paid the deposit.
It should also be stating, why would they keep some or all the deposit, how to apply to get the deposit back, what to do if you can’t get hold of the landlord at the end of the tenancy, what to do if there’s a dispute over the deposit.

If your landlord doesn't protect your deposit
Contact a tenancy deposit scheme (TDP) if you’re not sure whether your deposit has been protected.
Deposit Protection Service (Custodial and Insured)
Telephone: 0330 303 0030

MyDeposits
Telephone: 0844 980 0290
Tenancy Deposit Scheme//deposits@tds.gb.com//Telephone: 0845 226 7837
Contact MyDeposits if Capita held your deposit.
For getting your deposit back, you can apply to your local county court if you think your landlord hasn’t used a TDP scheme when they should have.
Get legal advice before applying to court.

If the court finds your landlord hasn’t protected your deposit, it can order the person holding the deposit to either:

• Repay it to you
• Pay it into a custodial TDP scheme’s bank account within 14 days
• The court may also order the landlord to pay you up to 3 times the deposit within 14 days of making the order.
• Deposit by third party, Information to be given by landlord

Any queries, feel free to contact 99home.