Tenancy deposit protection has a 30-day deadline for landlords. If you take a cash deposit on a private assured tenancy in England, you must put it in a government-approved scheme and give the tenant the prescribed information within 30 days, counting the day it arrives as day one. Miss that and, if the tenant applies, the county court must order you to pay between one and three times the deposit, and for most possession grounds you will not get an order unless the deposit is protected and the information given, the deposit is returned, or the claim is over.
The short version
- Deadline: 30 days beginning with the day you receive the deposit, for the scheme and the information.
- Cap: five weeks’ rent, or six weeks’ where annual rent is £50,000 or more.
- Penalty: a court order for one to three times the deposit.
- Possession: since 1 May 2026, an unprotected deposit blocks most possession orders.
What does tenancy deposit protection require within 30 days?
Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 sets two duties: meet the scheme’s initial requirements, and give the tenant (and anyone who paid the deposit for them) the prescribed information, both within “the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which” the deposit is received. Since 1 May 2026 these duties cover assured tenancies, where before they covered shorthold tenancies.
GOV.UK lists the three schemes. Each offers a custodial option, where the scheme holds the money, and an insured option, where you or your agent hold it and pay the scheme to insure it. A deposit paid by a parent must be protected too.
Article 2 of the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007 lists the information, including the scheme’s procedures, the deposit amount, when you may keep part of it and a landlord’s signed certificate that it is accurate.
How much deposit can a landlord take?
Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 sets the cap, measured on the annual rent immediately after the tenancy is granted, renewed or continued.
| Annual rent | Maximum deposit |
|---|---|
| Under £50,000 | 5 weeks’ rent |
| £50,000 or more | 6 weeks’ rent |
One week’s rent is the annual rent divided by 52. GOV.UK’s council guidance says the cap is per tenancy: three joint tenants paying £240 a week in total can be asked for at most £1,200 between them. Any excess is a prohibited payment, which a council can penalise by up to £5,000 under section 8 of the Act. A deposit in any form other than money is unlawful on an assured tenancy, and a court cannot order possession on any ground until the item is returned (sections 213(7) and 215(6)).
What happens if a landlord does not protect a deposit?
Under section 214, the tenant or the person who paid the deposit can apply to the county court if section 213(3) or (6) was not complied with, or if the scheme will not confirm the deposit is held.
Where the court is satisfied, it must order the landlord to pay “not less than the amount of the deposit and not more than three times” it, within 14 days. If the tenancy has not ended, it must also order the deposit repaid to the tenant or paid into a custodial scheme within 14 days. GOV.UK says “up to” three times, but the statute sets a floor of one times the deposit.
What changed in 2026: section 26 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 extended these remedies from shorthold to assured tenancies. For a tenancy that was shorthold before 1 May 2026, a claim covers deposits paid on or after 6 April 2007.
Does an unprotected deposit affect possession?
Yes. With section 21 gone, section 215 applies to possession orders themselves. A court may make an order only if the deposit is held in an authorised scheme, the scheme’s requirements were met, and section 213(5) and (6)(a) (the information and its form) were complied with.
The test does not apply on Ground 7A or 14, or if the deposit was returned in full or with agreed deductions, or if the tenant’s section 214 claim has been decided, withdrawn or settled. Subsection (2) counts the scheme’s requirements “whether or not within the period” of 30 days. Late protection and late information can therefore satisfy the possession test, and the Act’s Explanatory Notes say the same. The tenant’s separate section 214 claim remains. See also serving a Section 8 notice.
Did a deposit need protecting again on 1 May 2026?
Most shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. Section 146(1) of the Renters’ Rights Act says this does not affect the continuation of an existing tenancy, and no deposit was received on 1 May. Section 215B also treats the section 213 duties as met where a replacement assured tenancy has the same landlord and tenant, the same or substantially the same premises, and the deposit stays in the same scheme, and the earlier duties had been met, ignoring the 30-day limit.
On our reading, a deposit protected under a shorthold tenancy stayed protected. Shelter’s professional guidance, updated 1 May 2026, says a landlord who protected the deposit during the shorthold tenancy does not have to re-protect it. Schedule 6, paragraph 11 leaves tenancies that were assured but not shorthold outside the new deposit rules.
A dated example
This is an illustration with invented dates. A landlord with rent of £1,500 a month receives a deposit on 6 January 2027.
| Step | Working |
|---|---|
| Cap | £1,500 × 12 = £18,000, divided by 52 is £346.15 a week. Five weeks is £1,730.77, so a £1,730 deposit is within the cap. |
| Day 1 | 6 January 2027, deposit received. |
| Day 30 | 4 February 2027, last day for the scheme and the information. |
| Protected late | 20 February 2027 is day 46, 16 days late. |
If the tenant claims, the court must order between £1,730 and £5,190 (three times £1,730). Under section 215, the late protection would not by itself have blocked a possession order, provided the information was also given.
What about repayment, disputes and joint tenants?
GOV.UK says the deposit must go back within 10 days of both sides agreeing the amount. The schemes run a free dispute service, but both sides must agree to use it and its decision is final.
The Act refers to “the tenant”, so on our reading give the information to each named joint tenant. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme lists a change of tenant, landlord, scheme or address as occasions to reissue it (its 2019 guidance). For a landlord change, see selling a house with a tenant in situ.
What the sources do not settle
- No GOV.UK page we read says what a landlord must do for a deposit held through the 1 May 2026 conversion. Our answer above is a reading of the Act.
- GOV.UK’s landlord deposit page still refers to shorthold tenancies and to a court letting tenants stay, which is section 21 wording. The Act is the better guide.
- GOV.UK says a holding deposit must be protected once the tenant becomes a tenant, but not when the 30 days start. To be safe, count from the day the agreement is signed. A tenancy deposit can also be requested before signing (GOV.UK’s guide to rent in advance and deposits), so the 30 days can start before the tenancy does: diarise the day the money arrives, not the move-in date.
- A draft Housing (Tenancy Deposit Schemes) Order 2026 would come into force on 1 March 2027 if made. It lets custodial scheme arrangements pass part of the interest earned to the Secretary of State and does not change landlords’ duties. It is a draft affirmative order laid before Parliament on 8 September 2026. The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments considered it on 14 October 2026 and raised no point, and both Houses must still approve it.
If you would like help with the paperwork for a new let, talk to our lettings team or ask for a free lettings valuation. Our landlord legislation guide lists the other duties, and tenants can read deposits and moving in.
Questions readers ask
What happens if a landlord does not protect a deposit?
The tenant can apply to the county court. Under section 214 of the Housing Act 2004 the court must order the landlord to pay the tenant not less than the deposit and not more than three times it. If the tenancy has not ended, it must also order the deposit to be repaid or paid into a custodial scheme within 14 days.
Can a landlord protect the deposit after the 30 days?
Yes, and it still matters. For possession, section 215 asks whether the scheme's requirements were met, whether or not within the 30 days. A tenant's claim under section 214 is separate, because the 30-day duty in section 213 has still been broken. Protect it as soon as you notice, and take advice.
How much deposit can a landlord ask for in 2026?
Five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, and six weeks' rent where it is £50,000 or more. One week's rent is the annual rent divided by 52. The cap applies per tenancy, so joint tenants share one limit. Any excess is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
Did my deposit need protecting again when the tenancy became periodic on 1 May 2026?
Probably not, if it was already protected and the landlord, tenant and property are unchanged. The Renters' Rights Act says an existing tenancy continues, and section 215B treats the duties as met for a replacement tenancy in the same scheme. No GOV.UK page we read says so expressly, so ask your scheme.
Does an unprotected deposit stop a landlord evicting for rent arrears?
For most grounds it can. A court may make a possession order only if the deposit is protected in a scheme and the information was given, or the deposit has been returned, or the tenant's court claim has ended. Grounds 7A and 14, for antisocial behaviour, are exempt. New section 21 notices are no longer possible.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk, Housing Act 2004, sections 212 to 215, 215B and Schedule 10 (for the draft Order), read on 17 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 26, section 146 and Schedule 6, read on 17 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Prescribed Information Order 2007, Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1 and section 8, and the draft Tenancy Deposit Schemes Order 2026, read on 17 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Deposit protection schemes and landlords, Tenancy deposit protection and Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026, read on 17 October 2026 (the repossession page was last updated 13 July 2026).
- GOV.UK, Tenant Fees Act 2019: statutory guidance for enforcement authorities, updated 1 May 2026.
- Shelter, Tenancy deposit protection, updated 1 May 2026.
- Explanatory Notes to the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 26, read on 17 October 2026.
