What are your rights regarding your tenancy deposit in England and Wales?
Your landlord must protect your deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it and provide you with prescribed information about the scheme. Failure to do so gives you the right to claim up to three times the deposit amount.
Which deposit protection schemes exist in England and Wales?
The three government-approved schemes are the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits, and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Your landlord must use one of these and provide you with details within 30 days.
What do I do when my landlord refuses to return my deposit?
Contact the deposit protection scheme directly. Each scheme has a free Alternative Dispute Resolution service where an independent adjudicator reviews the evidence and decides how the deposit is split.
How do I raise a dispute through the deposit scheme?
Log in to the scheme your deposit is held with, submit your evidence including move-in and move-out photographs, inventory reports, and written communications, and the adjudicator makes a binding decision.
What if my landlord never protected my deposit in a scheme?
Apply to your local county court for a court order requiring the landlord to repay your deposit plus a penalty of one to three times the deposit amount. Use form N208 to make this application.
How much does it cost to dispute a deposit through the scheme?
The Alternative Dispute Resolution process through any approved scheme is completely free to both parties. County court applications carry a small filing fee based on the claim amount.
What evidence is most important for winning a deposit dispute?
Dated photographs taken at move-in and move-out, a signed inventory, written repair requests you sent during the tenancy, and the check-out report are the most powerful pieces of evidence.
Does any part of this process require a solicitor or notary?
No. The dispute resolution process is entirely administrative. Court applications for unprotected deposits use standard court forms and do not require a solicitor or notarisation.
What can and cannot be done without a solicitor?
The entire deposit dispute process including scheme adjudication and county court applications is fully self service. We help you prepare every document and every submission.
How does uplaw.ai help you recover your deposit?
Tell us which scheme your deposit is in, when you moved out, and what your landlord is claiming in the chat. We walk you through every step of the dispute process.
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