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Protect tenant deposits within 30 days
Legal requirement to protect tenant deposits with government-approved scheme within 30 days. Covers deposit protection deadlines, deposit amount limits, and geographic differences across the UK.
UK-wide
Guide summary
You must protect your tenant's deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days (28 in Northern Ireland, 30 working days in Scotland). Give the tenant proof of protection and key information by the same deadline. Failing to do this can lead to fines and losing eviction rights.
- Protect deposit within 30 days (England/Wales)
- Protect within 28 days (Northern Ireland)
- Protect within 30 working days (Scotland)
- Give tenant proof and information by same deadline
- Use approved schemes like DPS, MyDeposits or TDS
- Fines can be 1-3 times the deposit value
- Cannot evict with Section 21 until deposit protected
- England deposit cap: 5 weeks' rent (<£50k/year)
- Scotland deposit cap: 2 months' rent
- Wales/Northern Ireland: no deposit cap
On this page
UK-wide
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Protecting tenant deposits is a legal requirement for all landlords and letting agents. You must protect deposits with a government-approved scheme and provide prescribed information to tenants within strict deadlines. Failure to comply results in court penalties and loss of eviction rights.
Deposit amount limits
The maximum deposit you can charge is capped by law in England only under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. Wales has no security deposit cap. Scotland caps deposits at 2 months' rent. Northern Ireland has no specific deposit cap legislation.