Result: Your landlord does not have to protect your tenancy deposit

Your landlord does not have to protect a tenancy deposit if your tenancy is not an assured shorthold tenancy.

Rent deposits paid for other types of tenancy agreements are classed as unprotected rent deposits.

Find out how to get an unprotected rent deposit back.

If you are not sure what type of tenancy you have, find out using our tenancy checker.

Result: Your landlord has to protect your deposit

As you paid your tenancy deposit on or after 6 April 2012, by law, your landlord has to:

• protect your deposit with a government scheme within 30 days.
• provide you with certain required information within 30 days
• return your deposit within 10 days of your tenancy ending

Find out if your deposit is protected

What to do if your landlord hasn't protected your deposit

Result: Your landlord has to protect your tenancy deposit providing your tenancy hasn’t ended

For tenancy deposits paid before 6 April 2012, providing your tenancy still exists, by law, your landlord:

• had to protect your rent deposit with a government scheme by 6 May 2012
• by 6 May, had to provide you with certain information about the protection of your deposit
• return your deposit within 10 days of your tenancy ending.

Find out if your deposit is protected

Find out how to get a protected deposit back

Result: Your landlord is not required to protect your deposit after your tenancy has ended

If you had an assured shorthold tenancy before 6 April 2012 and your landlord did not protect your tenancy deposit with a government scheme before your tenancy ended, your rent deposit is classed as an unprotected rent deposit.

If your landlord has not returned your rent deposit, or you are in dispute with your landlord about how much of the deposit should be returned, you may have to go to court to get it back.

Find out more about the return of unprotected rent deposits.

Result: Your landlord is not required to protect your deposit

If your deposit was paid before 6th April 2007 and you have an assured shorthold tenancy agreement that started or was last renewed before April 2007, your rent deposit is classed as an unprotected rent deposit.

If your tenancy still exists, your landlord does not have to protect it with a government tenancy deposit scheme.

Find out how to get an unprotected rent deposit back if was not returned by your landlord at the end of your tenancy.

Result: Your landlord has to protect your rent deposit if your tenancy has been renewed on or after 6 April 2007

Your landlord has to protect your tenancy deposit if you paid your deposit before 6 April 2007, and your original tenancy agreement started before 6 April 2007 but has been renewed since this date with another assured shorthold tenancy agreement for a fixed term with the same landlord.

By law, if your tenancy was renewed before 6 April 2012, your landlord had to do the following by 6 May 2012:

• protect your rent deposit with a government scheme
• provide you with certain information about the protection of your deposit.

If your tenancy is renewed after 6 April 2012, within 30 days of receiving your deposit your landlord has to

• protect your rent deposit with a government scheme within 30 days
provide you with certain required information within 30 days.

Your landlord also has to return your deposit within 10 days of your tenancy ending.

Find out if your deposit is protected

Find out how to get a protected deposit back

Result: Check if you are an assured shorthold tenant

Most private rented tenants are assured shorthold tenants. You automatically have an assured shorthold tenancy if:

• you pay rent for a self contained accommodation to a private landlord
• you don’t share your accommodation with a resident landlord
• your tenancy started on or after 28 February 1997
• the accommodation is your only or main home.

You will also be an assured shorthold tenant if your tenancy started between 15 January 1989 and 27 February 1997 and – before your tenancy started – your landlord gave you a notice saying that you have an assured shorthold tenancy.

Some types of tenancy cannot be assured shorthold tenancies – including business lets and university or college accommodation.

Find out more about assured shorthold tenancies.

Find out how to get a protected deposit back