Renting Homes Wales Act
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 came into force on 1st December 2022. We have had many questions from tenants, landlords and agents – please see our Renting Homes (Wales) page for the latest information.
TDS offers two methods of deposit protection: Insured and Custodial.
TDS Insured is an insurance backed scheme. This means the agent or landlord holds the deposit during the tenancy and the money is covered by our insurance. Deposits are only ever sent to us when we are asked to adjudicate in a dispute.
TDS Custodial is a free scheme where we hold the deposit during the tenancy. Both parties tell us how they wish the deposit to be repaid between the parties at the end of the tenancy.
Use of both schemes include access to our Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service if the landlord/agent and tenant cannot reach an agreement on how the deposit should be repaid.
If all the parties agree to TDS resolving the dispute, TDS will appoint an impartial adjudicator to make a legally binding decision, normally within 28 days of receiving the parties’ consent and evidence. If one of the parties does not reply to our notification, they are treated as consenting. In all these cases, the adjudicator will normally make a decision based on the evidence received within 28 days after the deadline for giving evidence.
In TDS Insured, the disputed amount must be paid to TDS to hold during the dispute resolution process, and any undisputed amount repaid to the tenant. When adjudication is complete, TDS will pay the money to the parties according to the decision of the adjudicator.
In TDS Custodial, TDS already holds the deposit. We will pay the undisputed amounts to the parties in accordance with the landlord/agent and tenant’s instructions, and hold on to the disputed amount until a decision has been made by the adjudicator.
The law requires that you comply with the initial requirements of your tenancy deposit protection scheme. At TDS our initial requirements are:
No-fault notice (periodic standard contracts only) – six months minimum for new occupation contracts and can’t be served in first six months of occupation. Breaches: No notice period for anti-social behaviour (you can apply to the court straight after giving the notice); 14 days for serious rent arrears (arrears of 8 weeks / 2 months); one month’s notice for most other breaches.
Because of the bespoke nature of your business, corporate landlords are individually priced in consultation with our insurers. You can join by completing our online application form here.
Once all deadlines have passed, the case is placed in a queue for one of our Resolution Executives to review. Some of their checks include:
Once the review is complete, the case is then progressed to an adjudicator, and we aim to issue the decision in approximately 28 days.
The statutory declaration form is a legislative requirement and is required if one party requests for the deposit to be returned to them, but the other party does not respond to this request. This only applies to our custodial scheme where we hold the deposit funds for the duration of the tenancy.
If successful, payment of the deposit can be made to the requesting party without the other party having to respond. This is a legal document in which a statement is confirmed to be true and the requirement for this document has been set by legislation. The document will need be signed and witnessed by a solicitor, Commissioner of Oath, Notary or Justice of the Peace in order to make it a statutory declaration.
When one of the parties requests the deposit to be returned to them, the other party has up to 30 working days to agree or disagree to the request. If the party has not responded after the first 15 working days, we contact both parties via email to let them know that the responding party has not yet answered.
At this point, the party who raised the repayment request is sent an empty template of the statutory declaration form to fill in and subsequently return to us. The document cannot be processed until after the deadline has surpassed for the response to the repayment request.
Once received, our processing team will check the form and if it has been completed in line with the legislation requirements, it will be accepted. We will then send a copy of your completed application and exhibits to the other party and ask them to respond within 14 calendar days. This timeframe has also been set by legislation. If they do not respond, we will make payment according to the original repayment request. If they do respond, the statutory declaration form will no longer be applicable, and the case will move forward as per the standard repayment process, becoming a potential dispute should the party not agree.
If we reject the form, we will contact you to advise as to the reasons why, and you will be required to send us a new form.
The party submitting the statutory declaration will firstly have to fill in their details (i.e. name, tenancy address, deposit amount, etc.), and then state when the tenancy ended and how much of the deposit they wish to claim back according to the repayment request already raised.
Next, they will have one of two options to choose from:
Following this, they must confirm if they have had any contact/correspondence with the other party after the tenancy ended (the date being the same as stated in the repayment request). If they have had contact, it should be attached as Exhibit 2. However, please note that Exhibits are not compulsory for an application to be successful.
Lastly, they will need a witness (solicitor, etc) to sign the form and declare the address where this was done. They will require the witness’s signature, and stamp if available. Please note that there is sometimes a cost associated to this, but shouldn’t cost more than £9.00
Statutory Declarations can either be sent to us by post or a copy of this document can be emailed to us. If you chose to email in, we recommend that the original document is kept on file for future reference.
TDS is here to deal with situations where there is a clear disagreement about how the deposit should be returned. If the tenant has yet to indicate that they disagree with the proposals, we take the view that there is currently no dispute. The procedure is further set out in full in TDS’ Rules for the Independent Resolution of Tenancy Deposit Disputes.
TDS are only able to adjudicate up to the deposit value. If the tenants have agreed for this to be retained for any claim, the deposit has been exhausted, and TDS will not accept any further claims for adjudication.
The agent or landlord will then be required to seek independent legal advice for any further claims.
In order to help the adjudicator locate your evidence and speed up your claim, please make sure that you document the exact pages you’re referring to when submitting your information. We sometimes receive claims for a single dispute and need to check through a 100-page document to locate the evidence, which is a time-consuming process that will cause a delay to your claim. In order for us to help you in the fastest way possible, please be as specific as you can with your evidence. Our guide on How to present your case to a TDS adjudicator will help!
Deposits on assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) must be protected with a government approved scheme.
The landlord or agent must protect the deposit and issue prescribed information and scheme leaflet to the tenant/s and any relevant persons/guarantors within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
If there is disagreement over how the deposit is divided at the end of the tenancy, a dispute can be raised with the scheme and an impartial adjudicator will decide how the deposit should be divided based on the evidence provided.
Tenancy deposit protection is a requirement of the Housing Act 2004.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is a government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme in England and Wales operated by The Dispute Service Ltd. The Dispute Service is an industry owned, not for profit company.
A tenancy deposit is a sum of money which a landlord requires a tenant to pay at the start of the tenancy or which the landlord holds over from a previous tenancy with the same tenant. The money is security, in case the tenant does not meet their obligations in connection with the tenancy agreement.
All deposits taken by landlords in relation to assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales must be protected. This includes ‘pet’ deposits (not applicable in England) and ‘garage’ deposits, but does not include holding deposits.
The landlord or agent must provide the tenant(s) and any one who paid the deposits on behalf of the tenant (classed as ‘relevant persons’) with specific details of the deposit protection and a leaflet explaining how TDS works. This is called prescribed information. It must be issued within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
Click here for a prescribed information template and scheme leaflet.
A ‘material change’ is an important change to the obligations in the agreement. Most commonly this is a change to the rent or the deposit value. A material change could also be a change of tenant or landlord during the term of the tenancy. Please call our customer contact team if you are unsure.
No. A holding deposit is not a tenancy deposit for the purposes of section 212 of the Housing Act 2004 and does not need to be protected.
You should check your tenancy agreement as this will tell you what will happen to the interest. When a disputed deposit is paid to TDS on our Insured scheme, no interest is paid. On the Custodial scheme, where the deposit is held with us, we retain the interest as a not-for-profit organisation.
If all the parties agree to TDS resolving the dispute, TDS will appoint an impartial adjudicator to make a legally binding decision, normally within 28 days of receiving the parties’ consent and evidence. In all these cases, the adjudicator will normally make a decision based on the evidence received within 28 days after the deadline for giving evidence. When adjudication is complete, TDS will pay the money to the parties according to the decision of the adjudicator.
For TDS Insured, you can look up your deposit using either the certificate code or the tenancy information here.
You will be able to raise a dispute from the tenancy summary page.
After you have raised a dispute the other party will be invited to respond, and be given 10 working days in which to do so.
For TDS Custodial, you should raise a request for repayment by logging into your online account. If you do not agree with the landlord/agent’s repayment request, the deposit will enter our dispute resolution process.
In TDS Insured, to respond to a dispute you must complete a Dispute Response Form. The quickest and easiest way to do this is online. Once you have been invited to give your response you have 10 working days in which to provide your evidence. If you are unable to respond to a dispute online, please call our customer contact centre for further guidance.
In TDS Custodial, you will be invited to submit evidence after the landlord/agent has submitted theirs. You can view the other party’s evidence and submit your own through your online account.
For TDS Insured, you can look up your deposit using either the certificate code or the tenancy information here.
You will be able to raise a dispute from the tenancy summary page.
After you have raised a dispute the other party will be invited to respond, and be given 10 working days in which to do so.
For TDS Custodial, you should raise a request for repayment by logging into your online account. If you do not agree with the landlord/agent’s repayment request, the deposit will enter our dispute resolution process.
You should only raise a dispute if negotiations are not possible, as it can take up to 16 weeks for the dispute to be resolved with TDS.
We can only award money up to the value of the deposit registered. There is no minimum dispute amount required, however, if it is a small amount the parties should consider whether it is enough to justify the effort of using the dispute process.
In TDS Insured, any lettings agent, housing association or corporate landlord with tenancies in England and Wales may apply for Membership. A landlord who is not a Corporate Landlord should join using TDS for Landlords membership.
In TDS Custodial, any landlord, lettings agent, housing association or corporate landlord may join instantly here.
For detailed information read our guide ‘How to present your case to the TDS adjudicator’. This can be found under the heading Help Centre on our website. Click on ‘Guides’
The adjudicator works on the basis that the deposit is the tenant’s money, and will only award money to landlords and agents if the evidence provided justifies that claim.
Documentary evidence is usually essential to prove a case, such as:
Do not submit documents if they don’t relate to the dispute. Adjudicators will only consider evidence which is relevant to your case and you should focus your submission on documents that support your position.
All documents you give to TDS in support of your claim will be made available for the parties to the dispute to see via our Online Evidence Portal. It is your responsibility to make sure that you do not send us evidence which you do not want the other parties to the dispute to see. It is not possible to show evidence to the adjudicator only.
Either party may go to court if they prefer. We can only deal with a dispute if both tenant and landlord agree they want us to. Most people prefer to come to us because they feel it will be quicker, cheaper and less stressful. Like the courts, we are independent, authoritative and our decision is binding. However, while we can deal with proposed deductions from a deposit, we cannot consider counterclaims or matters unrelated to the deposit.
No. TDS is not able to consider ‘set-offs’ or ‘counterclaims’ brought by either party. If there are other matters than how the deposit is divided, we will not be able to form a judgment about these and you should take independent legal advice on the best way to resolve them.
In the first instance, does your complaint relate to the progress of a specific case before we have made an adjudication decision? If so, we will have sent you updates that show the name and contact details of the person responsible for progress. Please contact them first.
If your complaint does not relate to a specific case, please contact our Contact Centre on 0300 037 1000 for insured protections where you have a certificate code. Or 0300 037 1001 for a custodial protection, with deposit account numbers beginning with EW.
The Contact Centre will help with your question or escalate it to a TDS member of staff, who will contact you directly. If you remain unhappy, please send us your complaint within 28 calendar days of the problem arising. Please do this by email or letter using the addresses on the front of this leaflet. What leaflet?
Putting your complaint in writing will help us understand it better and respond fully. Our email address for complaints is: complaints@tenancydepositscheme.com
We make our adjudication decisions after considering the evidence we receive in a careful and unbiased way. By referring the dispute to TDS you agree to be bound by the adjudicator’s decision. We are not able to reverse a decision made by an adjudicator because the disputed deposit will have been paid to the parties and we have no legal authority for retrieval or redistribution.
The complaints procedure allows us to consider any concerns you may have about the way TDS handled your dispute. We can only accept a complaint if:
The Renting Homes Wales Act (RHWA) applies to almost all rented properties in the private and social sectors. It will affect any property rented on Assured Shorthold Tenancies (”ASTs”) and will also affect properties let on residential licences. It also picks up all other tenancy types under the Housing Act 1988 such as Assured Tenancies and Assured Agricultural Occupancies. The RHWA does not have high or low rent exceptions so will pick up tenancies that currently fall outside the Housing Act 1988. It will not affect very old rentals, which are subject to the Rent Act 1977 or lettings to companies. The legislation affects tenancies immediately. So all ASTs and other tenancies or licences that are within its scope will automatically convert on 1 December 2022 to become contracts under RHWA. These are called converted contracts within the RHWA. However, the law applying to converted contracts will change considerably on 1 December 2022. There are transitional provisions in place to allow for changes to be made over time, but many of these only apply for a limited period and once that period is ended, landlords will be in breach of the RHWA. New tenancies and residential licences granted after 1 December 2022 will fall within the scope of the RHWA and will need to comply with it from the outset.
In a sense, there is no substantive change to the deposit system in Wales under the RHWA. The existing system of deposit schemes has been retained under that legislation. However, the scope of deposit protection is considerably widened as all occupation contracts, both standard and secure must have their deposits protected. Therefore almost all residential occupiers in Wales will ultimately be entitled to rely on deposit protection and all landlords will need to ensure that RHWA contracts created after 1 December 2022 have their deposits protected. As with the existing provisions, the key date is the taking of the deposit and within 30 days of that date the deposit must be protected with a scheme, its rules must be complied with, and the relevant information (which is largely the same as existing prescribed information) given to the contract holder. As with the existing regime if this is not done then the contract holder can seek a financial penalty. In addition, it is much harder to obtain possession if the deposit is not properly protected. It is important to note that a financial penalty can be sought not just for a failure to protect but also if the deposit is not with a scheme that the contract holder has been told it is with. So if the deposit is moved or the paperwork is incorrectly completed such that the contract holder is misinformed as to which scheme applies then a landlord will have a liability under the RHWA. Where converted contracts are created from ASTs, then deposits which were already correctly protected under the existing regime will remain properly protected. If converted contracts are created from other tenancies or licences that do not currently require deposit protection then they will not require any protection to be entered into on conversion. Therefore the full weight of the new deposit provisions will mainly be felt in wholly new contracts.
Occupation Contracts to Replace Existing Tenancies and Licences
All existing tenancies and licences will on 1 December 2022automatically convert to occupation contracts as standard, with the tenant becoming known as the ‘contract holder’.
For example, a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy that commenced before 1 December will become a fixed-term standard occupation contract. For all new occupation contracts landlords and/or agents will need to provide the contract holder with a written statement of occupation contract confirmation within 14 days of the occupation date, or by 31 May 2023 for any agreements that were in place before 1 December 2022, and that converted to an occupation contract on that date. Learn more here.
In a tenancy with multiple occupiers, there are changes within the new system; contract-holders can be added or removed from a joint contract, without the need to end the contract for all; the consent of the landlord is required.
With the new legislation, landlords and agents are unable to serve a ’no-fault’ notice to end the contract, unless the contract has become periodic, and the notice must be for at least 6 months. Details of the new notices with new rules, can be found here.
There is a supplementary provision within the legislation that will require an inventory to be provided in all circumstances. The provision advises “the inventory must set out the dwelling’s contents”. If the property is unfurnished, the inventory should reflect his and is likely to refer only to fixtures. Inventories are there to protect the interests of both parties and are essential evidence in any deposit disputes.
Occupation contracts can start verbally, but you must issue a written statement of the contract to all contract-holders (this replaces the current tenancy or licence agreement).
The TDS API connects your lettings software/CRM tool (the software letting agents use to manage their tenancies/property portfolios) with the TDS database to transfer the tenancy deposit registration details at the click of a button.
With API integration, letting agents no longer need to spend their time inputting this data manually. TDS API is designed to make life easier for agents when they register deposits.
The API solution helps letting agents reduce time, duplication, and errors when transferring tenancy deposit registration information to TDS.
The TDS API is available for customers using both the TDS Insured scheme and TDS Custodial scheme.
There are a number of software providers we are already working with. To find out if your lettings software provider already offer this feature, you can contact the TDS API team at api_enquiries@tenancydepositscheme.com to let us know which software provider/ CRM you are using and we can confirm if the integration is already in place.
Yes, we encourage our customers to let their provider know that you would like to use the integration feature. If you are sending an email, don’t forget to include our API team (api_enquiries@tenancydepositscheme.com) into the correspondence and we can communicate with the provider from there, on your behalf.
TDS Scheme rules confirm that before an Agent/Landlord make an application to TDS, they must ensure that they have exhausted negotiations with the tenant(s) and the applicant is able to provide evidence that the tenant(s) have disputed the deductions. If an application is received where this is unclear or it is clear the deductions have not been disputed, the application will be rejected. This also extends to scenarios where the tenant is simply unresponsive.
TDS advise the Stakeholder to follow their internal procedures regarding the deposit in these scenarios, further guidance can also be found here.
To become a Member of TDS Insured, applicants must:
To become a member of TDS Custodial, applicants must:
In TDS Insured, we offer preferential rates to customers who are Corporate members of the following approved bodies and have their CMP [Client Money Protection] in place with the approved body:
Housing Associations registered with the Regulator of Social Housing can join here.
Letting agents who are not members of the above bodies can arrange their CMP via MoneyShield and join TDS Insured once that cover is in place.
If you already hold annual membership of TDS Insured, we will calculate your subscription for the next membership year by taking an annual snapshot of the data in your account.
It is based on the number of deposits you are protecting, and discounts will be applied according to your performance in the previous year.
The snapshot for the 2023-24 membership year will take place on 22 January 2023.
Members should ensure their accounts are up to date in preparation for the snapshot. Guidance is available in this document: Prepare for the snapshot
There is no snapshot taken in TDS Custodial.
In TDS Insured, we offer preferential rates to letting agents who hold approved body membership, but we also offer an ‘unaffiliated’ route into membership, join here.
We will carry out an individual assessment to establish your suitability for TDS membership.
In TDS Custodial, all letting agents, housing associations and landlords can become members, regardless of approved body membership, and can join in just a few minutes here.
The law requires that you comply with the initial requirements of your tenancy deposit protection scheme. At TDS our initial requirements are:
Because of the bespoke nature of your business, corporate landlords are individually priced in consultation with our insurers. You can join by completing our online application form here.
Deposits on assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) must be protected with a government approved scheme.
The landlord or agent must protect the deposit and issue prescribed information and scheme leaflet to the tenant/s and any relevant persons/guarantors within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
If there is disagreement over how the deposit is divided at the end of the tenancy, a dispute can be raised with the scheme and an impartial adjudicator will decide how the deposit should be divided based on the evidence provided.
Tenancy deposit protection is a requirement of the Housing Act 2004.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is a government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme in England and Wales operated by The Dispute Service Ltd. The Dispute Service is an industry owned, not for profit company.
A tenancy deposit is a sum of money which a landlord requires a tenant to pay at the start of the tenancy or which the landlord holds over from a previous tenancy with the same tenant. The money is security, in case the tenant does not meet their obligations in connection with the tenancy agreement.
All deposits taken by landlords in relation to assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales must be protected. This includes ‘pet’ deposits (not applicable in England) and ‘garage’ deposits, but does not include holding deposits.
The landlord or agent must provide the tenant(s) and any one who paid the deposits on behalf of the tenant (classed as ‘relevant persons’) with specific details of the deposit protection and a leaflet explaining how TDS works. This is called prescribed information. It must be issued within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
Click here for a prescribed information template and scheme leaflet.
No. A holding deposit is not a tenancy deposit for the purposes of section 212 of the Housing Act 2004 and does not need to be protected.
TDS members should protect the deposit, even if it’s paid to them in instalments.
In TDS Insured, you should protect the deposit on the basis of the total amount of the deposit you expect to receive for the tenancy over its life and ensure that the instalments are detailed in the tenancy agreement. If an instalment isn’t paid and this will affect the sum registered – please contact us so we can adjust the certificate.
In TDS Custodial, you should give the ‘amount stated on the tenancy agreement’ as the total amount of the deposit you expect to receive for the tenancy over its life, and the ‘amount to protect’ as the total amount you have already received. You can then top up the deposit with each instalment once received by you. We will issue a new deposit protection certificate to the landlord/agent and tenant(s) each time.
The person paying the deposit on the tenant’s behalf will be considered a “relevant person”. This is a person, company or organisation who, in accordance with arrangements made with the tenant, paid the deposit on behalf of the tenant e.g. a local authority, employer, parent or guarantor.
In TDS Insured, this relationship does not need to be entered on to the TDS tenancy database.
In TDS Custodial, this relationship does need to be entered against the deposit protection.
The landlord will need to provide this person with prescribed information and the scheme leaflet within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
The Deregulation Act 2015 resolves and clarifies issues in the law following the Superstrike v Rodrigues and Charalambous v Ng court rulings.
Click here to read our guidance on the Deregulation Act 2015.
If all the parties agree to TDS resolving the dispute, TDS will appoint an impartial adjudicator to make a legally binding decision, normally within 28 days of receiving the parties’ consent and evidence. In all these cases, the adjudicator will normally make a decision based on the evidence received within 28 days after the deadline for giving evidence. When adjudication is complete, TDS will pay the money to the parties according to the decision of the adjudicator.
In the Insured scheme, if you remain the managing agent and the deposit stays in your client account, contact TDS and we will update the protection with details of the new landlord. There is no additional cost or break in protection. The Agent should end the tenancy & re-register under new Landlord. This means there is still a certificate, for the original Landlord, on file. If TDS changes the Landlord, the original Landlord is over-written.
If you hold the deposit and it’s protected on a ‘let only’ basis you must protect the deposit as new, under the new landlord.
In the Custodial scheme, you can initiate a ‘deposit transfer’ into the new landlord’s TDS Custodial account or update the landlord’s details through your account.
In both situations you must serve new prescribed information and the scheme leaflet within 30 days of the change of landlord.
If you need to release the deposit to be protected elsewhere, act with caution. You are responsible to both parties for its safety. So some key advice:
For TDS Insured, you can look up your deposit using either the certificate code or the tenancy information here.
You will be able to raise a dispute from the tenancy summary page.
After you have raised a dispute the other party will be invited to respond, and be given 10 working days in which to do so.
For TDS Custodial, you should raise a request for repayment by logging into your online account. If you do not agree with the landlord/agent’s repayment request, the deposit will enter our dispute resolution process.
For letting agents, housing associations, and corporate landlords we offer an annual subscription (from 1 April to 31 March) based on an agreed number of deposits.
After one year of membership and subject to low disputes usage, generous discounts on our headline rates are available.
Find our headline rates for letting agents and housing associations here.
TDS Insured for landlords works on a pay as you go basis, starting from £18.50 per deposit for the life of the tenancy agreement.
Find our rates for landlords here.
Members of the National Residential Landlords Association receive lower rates by choosing our Insured scheme. Visit www.nrla.org.uk/services/deposit-protection/depositguard for more details.
TDS Custodial (where we hold the deposit for the duration of the tenancy) is free to use.
In TDS Insured, to respond to a dispute you must complete a Dispute Response Form. The quickest and easiest way to do this is online. Once you have been invited to give your response you have 10 working days in which to provide your evidence. If you are unable to respond to a dispute online, please call our customer contact centre for further guidance.
In TDS Custodial, you will be invited to submit evidence after the landlord/agent has submitted theirs. You can view the other party’s evidence and submit your own through your online account.
For TDS Insured, you can look up your deposit using either the certificate code or the tenancy information here.
You will be able to raise a dispute from the tenancy summary page.
After you have raised a dispute the other party will be invited to respond, and be given 10 working days in which to do so.
For TDS Custodial, you should raise a request for repayment by logging into your online account. If you do not agree with the landlord/agent’s repayment request, the deposit will enter our dispute resolution process.
You should only raise a dispute if negotiations are not possible, as it can take up to 16 weeks for the dispute to be resolved with TDS.
We can only award money up to the value of the deposit registered. There is no minimum dispute amount required, however, if it is a small amount the parties should consider whether it is enough to justify the effort of using the dispute process.
In TDS Insured, any lettings agent, housing association or corporate landlord with tenancies in England and Wales may apply for Membership. A landlord who is not a Corporate Landlord should join using TDS for Landlords membership.
In TDS Custodial, any landlord, lettings agent, housing association or corporate landlord may join instantly here.
For detailed information read our guide ‘How to present your case to the TDS adjudicator’. This can be found under the heading Help Centre on our website. Click on ‘Guides’
The adjudicator works on the basis that the deposit is the tenant’s money, and will only award money to landlords and agents if the evidence provided justifies that claim.
Documentary evidence is usually essential to prove a case, such as:
Do not submit documents if they don’t relate to the dispute. Adjudicators will only consider evidence which is relevant to your case and you should focus your submission on documents that support your position.
All documents you give to TDS in support of your claim will be made available for the parties to the dispute to see via our Online Evidence Portal. It is your responsibility to make sure that you do not send us evidence which you do not want the other parties to the dispute to see. It is not possible to show evidence to the adjudicator only.
Either party may go to court if they prefer. We can only deal with a dispute if both tenant and landlord agree they want us to. Most people prefer to come to us because they feel it will be quicker, cheaper and less stressful. Like the courts, we are independent, authoritative and our decision is binding. However, while we can deal with proposed deductions from a deposit, we cannot consider counterclaims or matters unrelated to the deposit.
No. TDS is not able to consider ‘set-offs’ or ‘counterclaims’ brought by either party. If there are other matters than how the deposit is divided, we will not be able to form a judgment about these and you should take independent legal advice on the best way to resolve them.
In the first instance, does your complaint relate to the progress of a specific case before we have made an adjudication decision? If so, we will have sent you updates that show the name and contact details of the person responsible for progress. Please contact them first.
If your complaint does not relate to a specific case, please contact our Contact Centre on 0300 037 1000 for insured protections where you have a certificate code. Or 0300 037 1001 for a custodial protection, with deposit account numbers beginning with EW.
The Contact Centre will help with your question or escalate it to a TDS member of staff, who will contact you directly. If you remain unhappy, please send us your complaint within 28 calendar days of the problem arising. Please do this by email or letter using the addresses on the front of this leaflet. What leaflet?
Putting your complaint in writing will help us understand it better and respond fully. Our email address for complaints is: complaints@tenancydepositscheme.com
We make our adjudication decisions after considering the evidence we receive in a careful and unbiased way. By referring the dispute to TDS you agree to be bound by the adjudicator’s decision. We are not able to reverse a decision made by an adjudicator because the disputed deposit will have been paid to the parties and we have no legal authority for retrieval or redistribution.
The complaints procedure allows us to consider any concerns you may have about the way TDS handled your dispute. We can only accept a complaint if:
The Let Only scheme is available to TDS Insured letting agent customers who do not fully manage the rented property but is responsible for registering the deposit with a tenancy deposit protection scheme and offering other services to the landlord such as:
The Let Only scheme offers TDS Insured agent customers deposit protection for the life of the fixed term tenancy agreement, in return for a flat fee, with no impact on a customer’s annual subscription if a tenancy ends in a dispute at the end of the fixed term.
Click here to read the full guide to the TDS Insured Let Only Scheme.
Click here to request a call back to discuss having the Let Only option added to your TDS Insured account.
No. Using the Let Only scheme is entirely optional and TDS Insured agent customers are not obligated to use it in anyway.
However, where a member chooses to designate a registered deposit as Let Only, the deposit is protected by TDS for the life of the fixed term tenancy detailed in the original tenancy agreement.
Click here to read the full guide to the TDS Insured Let Only Scheme.
Click here to request a call back to discuss having the Let Only option added to your TDS Insured account.
The Let Only scheme is not immediately available within your account. If you would like to start using the Let Only scheme, please click here and a member of the team will contact you to discuss adding this option to your TDS Insured account. You will only be able to use the Let Only scheme if you are an Insured agent customer who is a member of one of our recognised regulatory bodies.
Click here to read the full guide to the TDS Insured Let Only Scheme.
Click here to request a call back to discuss having the Let Only option added to your TDS Insured account.
If you are a TDS Insured agent customer and have activated the Let Only scheme in your account, you can register a tenancy as Let Only by ticking the ‘non-managed’ box within your dashboard when you register a deposit. You can change a managed deposit to Let Only deposit within two months of registering the deposit by opening the deposit in your TDS account and selecting ‘Let Only’.
Click here to read the full guide to the TDS Insured Let Only Scheme.
Click here to request a call back to discuss having the Let Only option added to your TDS Insured account.
Yes. Customers can make changes to the TDS tenancy database to show that a tenancy has changed from a Let Only.
Where this happens, TDS is unable to refund any Deposit Protection Charge already paid to the scheme and the tenancy will be included in future snapshots.
Click here to read the full guide to the TDS Insured Let Only Scheme.
Click here to request a call back to discuss having the Let Only option added to your TDS Insured account.
You can download the free guide in the Information Lounge: A Guide to the Let-Only Scheme.
Click here to request a call back to discuss having the Let Only option added to your TDS Insured account.
Any change to a Let Only deposit after it has been registered will generate a new Insurance fee. It is important that you enter the correct details and if an error is spotted, please contact TDS by clicking here.
Click here to read the full guide to the TDS Insured Let Only Scheme.
Click here to request a call back to discuss having the Let Only option added to your TDS Insured account.
As the deposit is still protected in your account, we will still communicate with you as the agent customer at the end of a tenancy. However, the landlord(s) will be able to submit evidence for the dispute themselves.
Click here to read the full guide to the TDS Insured Let Only Scheme.
Click here to request a call back to discuss having the Let Only option added to your TDS Insured account.
TDS Scheme rules confirm that before an Agent/Landlord make an application to TDS, they must ensure that they have exhausted negotiations with the tenant(s) and the applicant is able to provide evidence that the tenant(s) have disputed the deductions. If an application is received where this is unclear or it is clear the deductions have not been disputed, the application will be rejected. This also extends to scenarios where the tenant is simply unresponsive.
TDS advise the Stakeholder to follow their internal procedures regarding the deposit in these scenarios, further guidance can also be found here.
Because of the bespoke nature of your business, corporate landlords are individually priced in consultation with our insurers. You can join by completing our online application form here.
No, this is not required in Custodial. Once a deposit has been registered and paid, TDS will continue to hold and protect it until we are notified that the tenancy has ended. If the tenancy is extended, or you sign a new fixed term with the tenant, you do not need to amend the deposit registration.
Deposits on assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) must be protected with a government approved scheme.
The landlord or agent must protect the deposit and issue prescribed information and scheme leaflet to the tenant/s and any relevant persons/guarantors within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
If there is disagreement over how the deposit is divided at the end of the tenancy, a dispute can be raised with the scheme and an impartial adjudicator will decide how the deposit should be divided based on the evidence provided.
Tenancy deposit protection is a requirement of the Housing Act 2004.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is a government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme in England and Wales operated by The Dispute Service Ltd. The Dispute Service is an industry owned, not for profit company.
A tenancy deposit is a sum of money which a landlord requires a tenant to pay at the start of the tenancy or which the landlord holds over from a previous tenancy with the same tenant. The money is security, in case the tenant does not meet their obligations in connection with the tenancy agreement.
All deposits taken by landlords in relation to assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales must be protected. This includes ‘pet’ deposits (not applicable in England) and ‘garage’ deposits, but does not include holding deposits.
The landlord or agent must provide the tenant(s) and any one who paid the deposits on behalf of the tenant (classed as ‘relevant persons’) with specific details of the deposit protection and a leaflet explaining how TDS works. This is called prescribed information. It must be issued within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
Click here for a prescribed information template and scheme leaflet.
In TDS Insured scheme, we will send you an email reminder when the fixed term tenancy ends. When the tenancy ends without a dispute you must login to your TDS account and end protection of the deposit.
Download the website user guide for instructions on ending a tenancy.
In TDS Custodial, you should speak to the tenant in the first instance about any deductions you are seeking from the deposit and then enter a repayment request through your online account.
In TDS Insured,
You do not need to protect the deposit again if:
You do need to protect the deposit again if:
It is a requirement of TDS for Landlords Rules of Membership that you protect the deposit again in the circumstances listed above. Unless you notify us otherwise we will assume the tenancy is continuing as a statutory periodic tenancy on exactly the same terms and continue protection on this basis.
In TDS Custodial, you do not need to do anything as the deposit remains protected until a repayment request is made by either party.
A ‘material change’ is an important change to the obligations in the agreement. Most commonly this is a change to the rent or the deposit value. A material change could also be a change of tenant or landlord during the term of the tenancy. Please call our customer contact team if you are unsure.
No. A holding deposit is not a tenancy deposit for the purposes of section 212 of the Housing Act 2004 and does not need to be protected.
TDS members should protect the deposit, even if it’s paid to them in instalments.
In TDS Insured, you should protect the deposit on the basis of the total amount of the deposit you expect to receive for the tenancy over its life and ensure that the instalments are detailed in the tenancy agreement. If an instalment isn’t paid and this will affect the sum registered – please contact us so we can adjust the certificate.
In TDS Custodial, you should give the ‘amount stated on the tenancy agreement’ as the total amount of the deposit you expect to receive for the tenancy over its life, and the ‘amount to protect’ as the total amount you have already received. You can then top up the deposit with each instalment once received by you. We will issue a new deposit protection certificate to the landlord/agent and tenant(s) each time.
The person paying the deposit on the tenant’s behalf will be considered a “relevant person”. This is a person, company or organisation who, in accordance with arrangements made with the tenant, paid the deposit on behalf of the tenant e.g. a local authority, employer, parent or guarantor.
In TDS Insured, this relationship does not need to be entered on to the TDS tenancy database.
In TDS Custodial, this relationship does need to be entered against the deposit protection.
The landlord will need to provide this person with prescribed information and the scheme leaflet within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
You should check your tenancy agreement as this will tell you what will happen to the interest. When a disputed deposit is paid to TDS on our Insured scheme, no interest is paid. On the Custodial scheme, where the deposit is held with us, we retain the interest as a not-for-profit organisation.
The Deregulation Act 2015 resolves and clarifies issues in the law following the Superstrike v Rodrigues and Charalambous v Ng court rulings.
Click here to read our guidance on the Deregulation Act 2015.
If all the parties agree to TDS resolving the dispute, TDS will appoint an impartial adjudicator to make a legally binding decision, normally within 28 days of receiving the parties’ consent and evidence. In all these cases, the adjudicator will normally make a decision based on the evidence received within 28 days after the deadline for giving evidence. When adjudication is complete, TDS will pay the money to the parties according to the decision of the adjudicator.
In the Insured scheme, if you remain the managing agent and the deposit stays in your client account, contact TDS and we will update the protection with details of the new landlord. There is no additional cost or break in protection. The Agent should end the tenancy & re-register under new Landlord. This means there is still a certificate, for the original Landlord, on file. If TDS changes the Landlord, the original Landlord is over-written.
If you hold the deposit and it’s protected on a ‘let only’ basis you must protect the deposit as new, under the new landlord.
In the Custodial scheme, you can initiate a ‘deposit transfer’ into the new landlord’s TDS Custodial account or update the landlord’s details through your account.
In both situations you must serve new prescribed information and the scheme leaflet within 30 days of the change of landlord.
If you need to release the deposit to be protected elsewhere, act with caution. You are responsible to both parties for its safety. So some key advice:
For TDS Insured, you can look up your deposit using either the certificate code or the tenancy information here.
You will be able to raise a dispute from the tenancy summary page.
After you have raised a dispute the other party will be invited to respond, and be given 10 working days in which to do so.
For TDS Custodial, you should raise a request for repayment by logging into your online account. If you do not agree with the landlord/agent’s repayment request, the deposit will enter our dispute resolution process.
For letting agents, housing associations, and corporate landlords we offer an annual subscription (from 1 April to 31 March) based on an agreed number of deposits.
After one year of membership and subject to low disputes usage, generous discounts on our headline rates are available.
Find our headline rates for letting agents and housing associations here.
TDS Insured for landlords works on a pay as you go basis, starting from £18.50 per deposit for the life of the tenancy agreement.
Find our rates for landlords here.
Members of the National Residential Landlords Association receive lower rates by choosing our Insured scheme. Visit www.nrla.org.uk/services/deposit-protection/depositguard for more details.
TDS Custodial (where we hold the deposit for the duration of the tenancy) is free to use.
In TDS Insured, to respond to a dispute you must complete a Dispute Response Form. The quickest and easiest way to do this is online. Once you have been invited to give your response you have 10 working days in which to provide your evidence. If you are unable to respond to a dispute online, please call our customer contact centre for further guidance.
In TDS Custodial, you will be invited to submit evidence after the landlord/agent has submitted theirs. You can view the other party’s evidence and submit your own through your online account.
For TDS Insured, you can look up your deposit using either the certificate code or the tenancy information here.
You will be able to raise a dispute from the tenancy summary page.
After you have raised a dispute the other party will be invited to respond, and be given 10 working days in which to do so.
For TDS Custodial, you should raise a request for repayment by logging into your online account. If you do not agree with the landlord/agent’s repayment request, the deposit will enter our dispute resolution process.
You should only raise a dispute if negotiations are not possible, as it can take up to 16 weeks for the dispute to be resolved with TDS.
In TDS Insured, if you are a landlord, you need to create your free TDS for Landlords account.
Protecting the deposit is an easy online process. In your account you simply need to enter the details of the tenancy, the tenants, and the deposit being protected, and pay a small deposit protection fee.
In TDS Custodial, you can create your free TDS Custodial account here. In your account you simply need to enter the details of the tenancy, the tenants, and the deposit being protected, and pay the deposit to us.
We can only award money up to the value of the deposit registered. There is no minimum dispute amount required, however, if it is a small amount the parties should consider whether it is enough to justify the effort of using the dispute process.
In TDS Insured, any lettings agent, housing association or corporate landlord with tenancies in England and Wales may apply for Membership. A landlord who is not a Corporate Landlord should join using TDS for Landlords membership.
In TDS Custodial, any landlord, lettings agent, housing association or corporate landlord may join instantly here.
For detailed information read our guide ‘How to present your case to the TDS adjudicator’. This can be found under the heading Help Centre on our website. Click on ‘Guides’
The adjudicator works on the basis that the deposit is the tenant’s money, and will only award money to landlords and agents if the evidence provided justifies that claim.
Documentary evidence is usually essential to prove a case, such as:
It is extremely important that you only protect deposits for properties which you own. Private Insured Landlord members who protect deposits where they do not own the property or are not named as the landlord on the tenancy agreement risk termination of their membership.
If you do not own the property, you can join either TDS Insured or TDS Custodial as a letting agent.
Do not submit documents if they don’t relate to the dispute. Adjudicators will only consider evidence which is relevant to your case and you should focus your submission on documents that support your position.
You can protect up to £25,000 of deposits using your TDS Insured for Landlords account. To protect over this amount we will need to see evidence of ownership; please contact compliance@tenancydepositscheme.com
There are no restrictions to membership of TDS Custodial and you can join in just a few minutes here.
All documents you give to TDS in support of your claim will be made available for the parties to the dispute to see via our Online Evidence Portal. It is your responsibility to make sure that you do not send us evidence which you do not want the other parties to the dispute to see. It is not possible to show evidence to the adjudicator only.
Either party may go to court if they prefer. We can only deal with a dispute if both tenant and landlord agree they want us to. Most people prefer to come to us because they feel it will be quicker, cheaper and less stressful. Like the courts, we are independent, authoritative and our decision is binding. However, while we can deal with proposed deductions from a deposit, we cannot consider counterclaims or matters unrelated to the deposit.
Any private landlord with tenancies in England and Wales can join TDS Insured for Landlords, or TDS Custodial.
To protect a deposit with TDS Insured for landlords:
You must also agree to abide by the rules of the scheme and the rules of adjudication.
To protect a deposit with TDS Custodial:
No. TDS is not able to consider ‘set-offs’ or ‘counterclaims’ brought by either party. If there are other matters than how the deposit is divided, we will not be able to form a judgment about these and you should take independent legal advice on the best way to resolve them.
In the first instance, does your complaint relate to the progress of a specific case before we have made an adjudication decision? If so, we will have sent you updates that show the name and contact details of the person responsible for progress. Please contact them first.
If your complaint does not relate to a specific case, please contact our Contact Centre on 0300 037 1000 for insured protections where you have a certificate code. Or 0300 037 1001 for a custodial protection, with deposit account numbers beginning with EW.
The Contact Centre will help with your question or escalate it to a TDS member of staff, who will contact you directly. If you remain unhappy, please send us your complaint within 28 calendar days of the problem arising. Please do this by email or letter using the addresses on the front of this leaflet. What leaflet?
Putting your complaint in writing will help us understand it better and respond fully. Our email address for complaints is: complaints@tenancydepositscheme.com
We make our adjudication decisions after considering the evidence we receive in a careful and unbiased way. By referring the dispute to TDS you agree to be bound by the adjudicator’s decision. We are not able to reverse a decision made by an adjudicator because the disputed deposit will have been paid to the parties and we have no legal authority for retrieval or redistribution.
The complaints procedure allows us to consider any concerns you may have about the way TDS handled your dispute. We can only accept a complaint if:
If you have been through the repayment and/or dispute process and are due some or all of the deposit back, we will repay this to you within 5 working days of notifying you that the process has concluded. We can only repay it to you if you have added your bank details in your account. If you have received your share and other tenants have not, please ask them to add their bank details.
When renting a property, you may be asked to pay a tenancy deposit. This is usually after you have viewed the property and decided you’d like to enter into a tenancy agreement.
Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, the deposit should be capped at 5 weeks’ rent where the annual rent is up to £50,000, or 6 weeks’ rent where the annual rent is £50,000 or more. You’ll be asked to pay the deposit to the letting agent/landlord, and they must protect the deposit with one of the three government-approved tenancy deposit protection schemes in the UK.
The letting agent/landlord has 30 days to protect the deposit and can protect it within two types of scheme – Insured and Custodial. The Custodial scheme requires the agent/landlord to send the deposit to TDS, and the Insured scheme allows them to retain the funds in a ring-fenced client account.
In both schemes, your funds are protected giving you peace of mind for the duration of the tenancy. At the end of tenancy, you will need to reach out to your letting agent/landlord to reach an agreement over repayment of the funds. TDS are available to support and offer a free adjudication service, should you and your landlord fail to reach an agreement.
To avoid phishing scams or fraudulent property advertisements, we recommend that you always meet your letting agent/landlord before paying any monies. We also recommend that you view the property to ensure the advert is legitimate and that the property meets your needs.
Your deposit must be paid to the letting agent/landlord, who is then obligated to protect the funds under the legislation.
If you are ever told to pay the deposit to an account which belongs to one of the three Tenancy Deposit Protection Schemes, it’s likely that the advert for the property is fraudulent, and we would strongly recommend that you do not transfer any money.
We will only contact you from 0300 037 1000, or 0300 037 1001 or from info@tenancydepositscheme.com or deposits@tenancydepositscheme.com.
Our adjudication service is free to use, and we’ll never ask for any form of payment towards the service.
When contacting TDS, we will ask you to pass security on your account. This consists of asking questions such as your full property address including the postcode, the deposit amount, the month and year which the tenancy started, and the name of your letting agent and/or landlord.
We will never ask you how much your monthly or annual rent is, your date of birth, or when your tenancy is due to end.
If you think you have been contacted as part of a phishing scam, do not provide details. Your deposit is either held by one of the three deposit schemes or your letting agent/landlord, and you do not need to do anything but wait until your tenancy has ended. You can then discuss the matter with your agent/landlord, or your scheme.
At TDS we require all tenants to provide their payment instructions individually. Even if the joint tenant would like their share of the award to be paid to the payment details provided by the applicant tenant, TDS still require the joint tenant to confirm this to us directly.
Yes – within the TDS Custodial App for Tenants there is an overview of the deductions your landlord is seeking from the deposit, for example, whether deductions have been made for cleaning.
Yes – there are a host of guidance documents available to you within the app, including:
When logged in to the TDS Custodial App, any tenant will be able to see who is listed as the lead tenant. This information can also be found on the welcome email that you received when the deposit was first protected, and is also detailed on the deposit protection certificate which is available in your account.
Once your landlord or agent has submitted a request for deposit repayment you will be able to see any deductions your landlord is seeking from the deposit and any funds due to be returned to you. This information can be found in the ‘repayment request summary’ section of the TDS Custodial App for Tenants.
Yes, you can respond to the repayment request that the landlord or agent has made, via the TDS Custodial App for Tenants. You should speak to the landlord/agent in the first instance, to try to come to an agreement directly about how your deposit will be repaid. If, after doing this, you still do not agree with some or all of the deductions, you can submit your response via the app. You will need to access your account on the website, not the app, to view and submit evidence during the dispute resolution process. The app will clearly signpost how to access your web account in order to raise a dispute.
Click here to search the TDS database for your deposit.
If you have a Tenancy Deposit Protection Certificate, enter the code shown on the certificate.
Alternatively you can enter your surname, the deposit amount, the tenancy postcode, and the date the tenancy started.
You should also have details of your deposit protection written in your tenancy agreement and in paperwork you received at the start of the tenancy called ‘prescribed information’.
Deposits need to be protected on the standard type of tenancy with private landlords, called an ‘assured shorthold tenancy’.
Other types of tenancy do exist, so check the paperwork if you’re not sure. If you are a lodger (living with the landlord and renting a room) it is not an AST and the deposit doesn’t need to be protected.
There are three deposit protection schemes so if you cannot find it with TDS click here to use the Shelter Deposit Checker.
If your landlord hasn’t protected your deposit please seek legal advice. Landlords who don’t protect deposits are subject to a fine of between one and three times the deposit, must return the deposit in full and face restrictions on evicting the tenant.
A tenancy deposit is a sum of money which a landlord requires a tenant to pay at the start of the tenancy or which the landlord holds over from a previous tenancy with the same tenant. The money is security, in case the tenant does not meet their obligations in connection with the tenancy agreement.
An assured shorthold tenancy is the normal tenancy for renting from a private landlord. The key features of an AST are:
This is defined by the Housing Act 1988 (as amended).
The landlord or agent must provide the tenant(s) and any one who paid the deposits on behalf of the tenant (classed as ‘relevant persons’) with specific details of the deposit protection and a leaflet explaining how TDS works. This is called prescribed information. It must be issued within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
Click here for a prescribed information template and scheme leaflet.
No. A holding deposit is not a tenancy deposit for the purposes of section 212 of the Housing Act 2004 and does not need to be protected.
The person paying the deposit on the tenant’s behalf is called a “relevant person”, e.g. a local authority, employer, parent or guarantor. They don’t need to be entered into the TDS database but should be given the prescribed information to tell them how the money is protected.
If your deposit is protected with TDS Insured, your landlord or agent holds your deposit. You should contact them requesting the deposit as soon as possible after your tenancy ends. You only need to contact TDS if you have a dispute with your landlord over deductions from your deposit.
If your deposit is protected with TDS Custodial, TDS will hold your deposit and you must enter a repayment request through your online account after the end of the tenancy.
If you are not sure who holds the deposit, check the tenancy agreement and the prescribed information you received at the start of the tenancy.
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At the end of your tenancy, your landlord/letting agent will likely do a check-out inspection of the property to determine if they are looking to retain any of your deposit. They will also check that your rental payments are up-to-date. These actions take time, so you should approach your landlord or letting agent in the first instance to enquire about the return of your deposit and when you can expect this.
If your deposit is protected with our Insured scheme (which means that your landlord or letting agent holds your deposit) and you have requested it back from them and 10 days have passed, you are able to raise a dispute via TDS. We will notify your landlord/letting agent of your claim and invite them to state what they are claiming for and give evidence to support it.
If your deposit is protected with our Custodial scheme (which means that TDS holds your deposit), you can log in to your TDS account and request repayment of your deposit. We will notify your landlord/letting agent of your request and invite them to respond with any proposed deductions.
Your landlord can only deduct money from your deposit if you have broken terms of your tenancy agreement leaving the landlord worse off. Common reasons for deductions are:
The landlord can only charge to restore themselves to the position they would have been had you met your agreement. The normal decline in condition of the property and its contents (“fair wear and tear”) cannot be charged to the tenant, and must be factored in to the amount charged for repairs, redecoration, or replacements.
For example, if you have broken a five year old sofa you should be charged the value of the five year old sofa and not the value of a brand new one.
If the landlord wishes to withhold some or all of the deposit, they should tell you as soon as possible after the tenancy has ended. The parties should discuss the matter to reach agreement on how the deposit is to be split. Most disputes are resolved informally in this way. If the deposit is protected with TDS Insured and the deposit has not been returned to the tenant within 10 days of the tenant asking for it , any of the parties can ask TDS to resolve the dispute.
Once TDS has been asked to resolve a deposit dispute, the landlord or the agent must send the disputed deposit amount to TDS. This is required by law and failure to do so within 10 calendar days of TDS requesting it be paid into the scheme, may result in TDS membership being terminated. The landlord or letting agent should release any undisputed amount accordingly.
You should check your tenancy agreement as this will tell you what will happen to the interest. When a disputed deposit is paid to TDS on our Insured scheme, no interest is paid. On the Custodial scheme, where the deposit is held with us, we retain the interest as a not-for-profit organisation.
At the end of your tenancy, your landlord/letting agent will likely do a check-out inspection of the property to determine if they are looking to retain any of your deposit. They will also check that your rental payments are up-to-date. These actions take time, so you should approach your landlord or letting agent in the first instance to enquire about the return of your deposit and when you can expect this.
If your landlord/letting agent does not inform you of any deductions, nothing will happen automatically and there is no fixed timescale within which they need to do so. However, there are steps you can take.
If your deposit is protected with our Insured scheme (which means that your landlord or letting agent holds your deposit) and you have requested it back from them and 10 days have passed, you are able to raise a dispute via TDS. We will notify your landlord/letting agent of your claim and invite them to state what they are claiming for and give evidence to support it.
If your deposit is protected with our Custodial scheme (which means that TDS holds your deposit), you can log in to your TDS account and request repayment of your deposit. We will notify your landlord/letting agent of your request and invite them to respond with any proposed deductions.
If all the parties agree to TDS resolving the dispute, TDS will appoint an impartial adjudicator to make a legally binding decision, normally within 28 days of receiving the parties’ consent and evidence. In all these cases, the adjudicator will normally make a decision based on the evidence received within 28 days after the deadline for giving evidence. When adjudication is complete, TDS will pay the money to the parties according to the decision of the adjudicator.
For TDS Insured, you can look up your deposit using either the certificate code or the tenancy information here.
You will be able to raise a dispute from the tenancy summary page.
After you have raised a dispute the other party will be invited to respond, and be given 10 working days in which to do so.
For TDS Custodial, you should raise a request for repayment by logging into your online account. If you do not agree with the landlord/agent’s repayment request, the deposit will enter our dispute resolution process.
In TDS Insured, to respond to a dispute you must complete a Dispute Response Form. The quickest and easiest way to do this is online. Once you have been invited to give your response you have 10 working days in which to provide your evidence. If you are unable to respond to a dispute online, please call our customer contact centre for further guidance.
In TDS Custodial, you will be invited to submit evidence after the landlord/agent has submitted theirs. You can view the other party’s evidence and submit your own through your online account.
For TDS Insured, you can look up your deposit using either the certificate code or the tenancy information here.
You will be able to raise a dispute from the tenancy summary page.
After you have raised a dispute the other party will be invited to respond, and be given 10 working days in which to do so.
For TDS Custodial, you should raise a request for repayment by logging into your online account. If you do not agree with the landlord/agent’s repayment request, the deposit will enter our dispute resolution process.
You should only raise a dispute if negotiations are not possible, as it can take up to 16 weeks for the dispute to be resolved with TDS.
We can only award money up to the value of the deposit registered. There is no minimum dispute amount required, however, if it is a small amount the parties should consider whether it is enough to justify the effort of using the dispute process.
For detailed information read our guide ‘How to present your case to the TDS adjudicator’. This can be found under the heading Help Centre on our website. Click on ‘Guides’
The adjudicator works on the basis that the deposit is the tenant’s money, and will only award money to landlords and agents if the evidence provided justifies that claim.
Documentary evidence is usually essential to prove a case, such as:
Do not submit documents if they don’t relate to the dispute. Adjudicators will only consider evidence which is relevant to your case and you should focus your submission on documents that support your position.
All documents you give to TDS in support of your claim will be made available for the parties to the dispute to see via our Online Evidence Portal. It is your responsibility to make sure that you do not send us evidence which you do not want the other parties to the dispute to see. It is not possible to show evidence to the adjudicator only.
Either party may go to court if they prefer. We can only deal with a dispute if both tenant and landlord agree they want us to. Most people prefer to come to us because they feel it will be quicker, cheaper and less stressful. Like the courts, we are independent, authoritative and our decision is binding. However, while we can deal with proposed deductions from a deposit, we cannot consider counterclaims or matters unrelated to the deposit.
No. TDS is not able to consider ‘set-offs’ or ‘counterclaims’ brought by either party. If there are other matters than how the deposit is divided, we will not be able to form a judgment about these and you should take independent legal advice on the best way to resolve them.
In the first instance, does your complaint relate to the progress of a specific case before we have made an adjudication decision? If so, we will have sent you updates that show the name and contact details of the person responsible for progress. Please contact them first.
If your complaint does not relate to a specific case, please contact our Contact Centre on 0300 037 1000 for insured protections where you have a certificate code. Or 0300 037 1001 for a custodial protection, with deposit account numbers beginning with EW.
The Contact Centre will help with your question or escalate it to a TDS member of staff, who will contact you directly. If you remain unhappy, please send us your complaint within 28 calendar days of the problem arising. Please do this by email or letter using the addresses on the front of this leaflet. What leaflet?
Putting your complaint in writing will help us understand it better and respond fully. Our email address for complaints is: complaints@tenancydepositscheme.com
We make our adjudication decisions after considering the evidence we receive in a careful and unbiased way. By referring the dispute to TDS you agree to be bound by the adjudicator’s decision. We are not able to reverse a decision made by an adjudicator because the disputed deposit will have been paid to the parties and we have no legal authority for retrieval or redistribution.
The complaints procedure allows us to consider any concerns you may have about the way TDS handled your dispute. We can only accept a complaint if: