Tenancy deposit protection (TDP) schemes guarantee that tenants will get their deposits back at the end of the tenancy, if they meet the terms of the tenancy agreement and do not damage the property. TDP is designed to encourage landlords and tenants to draw up clear tenancy agreements and will provide an impartial adjudication process in the event of any dispute.
Landlords must protect their tenants' deposits using a TDP scheme if they have let the property on an assured shorthold tenancy (AST).
It is important that landlords give their tenants information on where the tenants' deposits have been protected. Landlords should receive a unique reference number for each deposit and this can be forwarded to their tenants, along with a certificate of protection.
Students who have not received any notification on the whereabouts of their deposit should ask their landlord the simple question:
How is My Deposit Protected?
If the landlord is unable to provide a reference number students can check directly with the scheme to ensure their deposit is protected, however if details of the protection cannot be verified students should seek advice from their Student Union or Unipol. Please use the links below to check your protection status:
The schemes:
CUSTODIAL SCHEME
DEPOSIT PROTECTION SERVICE (DPS)
TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME (TDS)
MYDEPOSITS
INSURANCE BASED SCHEMES
MYDEPOSITS
TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME (TDS)
DEPOSIT PROTECTION SERVICE (DPS)
Tenancy Deposits, Disputes and Damages
TDS has produced a leaflet to give guidance to landlords, agents and tenants on how deposit disputes work for all three schemes.
A Guide to Tenancy Deposits, Disputes and Damages
Unipol and the TDS Deposit Protection Scheme
Unipol runs a bespoke student TDP scheme with TDS which is one of the insurance based schemes (see above). This scheme is designed especially with the needs of student landlords in mind and is available exclusively to Unipol Code landlords.
The scheme is administered online using the TDS website, which is accessed through their Dashboard.