The Deposit Protection Service Custodial Terms and Conditions

In order to use our Custodial scheme, you will need to read and accept these terms

and conditions (the “Terms and Conditions”).

Please see below some denitions and explanations of the terms we use frequently

throughout this document.

1. Denitions and Explanations of commonly used terms

Adjudication

This is an evidence-based decision making process which results in a Decision about

how a Dispute should be resolved.

A Calendar Day is any day of the week.

Custodial Scheme (or Scheme)

A Custodial Scheme is a scheme for the protection of residential tenancy

deposits. Custodial Schemes were established in England and Wales under the

Housing Act 2004. They are open to any person or organisation taking Deposits

for a residential Tenancy. Under our Custodial Scheme, when a Landlord, Letting

Agent or Organisation receives a Deposit from a Tenant, they pass the money to

us for safekeeping.

Customer Service Centre

This is our telephone contact centre. You can contact the Customer Service Centre

Deposit

This is the money a Tenant gives to their Landlord under the Tenancy Agreement or

in connection with the tenancy, who then pays it to us for safe keeping. The Deposit

is used as a security against a breach of the Tenant’s obligations under the Tenancy

Agreement, for example, failure to keep the Property in good repair and failure to

pay the rent. Deposits in relation to Assured Shorthold Tenancies are limited to 5

weeks’ rent where the annual rent is less than £50,000, or 6 weeks’ rent where the

annual rent is £50,000 or over.

Deposit ID

This is the unique identifying reference number allocated to a Deposit following the

Disputes and is a free alternative to going to court. If you use our Dispute Resolution

Service, we will collate and summarise evidence provided by each person involved

in the Dispute and one of our Adjudicators will review the evidence and make a

Decision on how much of the Deposit should go to each Party.

Enhanced Authentication

This is an optional service for Landlords and Tenants which requires a 6 digit code to

be entered via the online service to enable specic changes or transactions.

Form(s)

These are all paper forms you must submit to us in order to use the Scheme and

include the Cheque Deposit Submission Form, the Deposit Return Request Form

• to give the Tenant a copy of the Prescribed Information.

Joint Tenancy

This is where more than one Tenant has entered into a Tenancy Agreement with

a Landlord.

Joint Tenants

The Tenants in a Joint Tenancy.

Landlord

This means a Landlord of a Tenancy. For the purposes of these Terms and Conditions,

the term Landlord includes a Letting Agent or Organisation, where applicable.

Landlord ID

Tenant. Alternatively, if there is a Joint Tenancy, the Nominated Tenant is the person

who conrms to us that they will act on behalf of all Joint Tenants in any dealings

with us, the Landlord or Letting Agent or Organisation. If a Relevant Person has

contributed to the Deposit, the Nominated Tenant also acts on their behalf.

Organisation

An Organisation is a company who lets or manages a property on the Landlord’s

behalf or on its own account including Housing Associations, the N.H.S. and student

property associations.

Parties

Means the Landlord and Tenant(s). A “Party” means one or the other.

Prescribed Information

This is the information which must be provided by the Landlord to the Tenant in

accordance with the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) Prescribed Information Order 2007.

Property

This is a property which is the subject of a Tenancy for which a Deposit is protected.

Relevant Person

This is someone who has paid a Deposit to a Landlord on behalf of a Tenant, and who

is a ‘relevant person’ as described in Sections 212 to 215 of the Housing Act 2004.

repayment of all or part of the Deposit when the other Party is uncontactable or not

responding to correspondence.

Statutory Declaration Notice

This is a notice we send to conrm we have received a Statutory Declaration and to

require additional information from the receiving Party.

Statutory Declaration Process

This is a process which may be used by a Party to claim the repayment of all or

part of the Deposit when the other Party is uncontactable or not responding to

correspondence as further detailed in section 19.

Tenancy

Tenancy of the Property.

Tenant

This is the Tenant of a Tenancy.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (‘DLUHC’)

This is the government Ministry that has authorised us to provide this service.

The Deposit Protection Service (‘The DPS’)

The DPS is a trade name of Computershare Investor Services PLC, a company

registered in England and Wales with company number 3498808. Its registered oce

is The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol BS13 8AE. Throughout this document, we

also refer to The DPS as ‘we’ or ‘us’.

Working Day

Working Days are days on which our oces are open for business. These are every

Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays in England and Wales. We keep our

website – www.depositprotection.com – up-to-date with our opening times. In these

Terms and Conditions the use of the words and phrases “other”, “including” and “in

particular” shall not restrict a general or wide interpretation of any words preceding

them where a wider interpretation is possible. Except where the context otherwise

requires, words using the singular shall include the plural and vice versa.

2. Information about the Scheme for you

a. These are our Terms and Conditions which govern how we provide the Scheme.

section 28 “Liability” for more details.

e. We are entitled to reject a Dispute from our Dispute Resolution Service or make

a payment of the Deposit to the other Party where one Party does not comply

with these Terms and Conditions, please see subsections 20(j) and 21(a) for

more details.

f. Subject to these Terms and Conditions the Landlord and Tenant are free to agree

to leave the Scheme at any time without penalty.

3. How our Custodial Scheme works

Our Custodial Scheme is free to use (with some exceptions, explained later in these

Terms and Conditions) and is open to all Landlords. Below is an overview of how

send). The Landlord must also give the Prescribed Information to the Tenant.

Landlords can print a Prescribed Information form which is pre-populated

with the information they have entered into the Landlord’s online account at

www.depositprotection.com. The Landlord will need to provide additional

information to complete the Prescribed Information.

c. At the end of the Tenancy, the Landlord and Tenant should try to agree how much

of the Deposit should be paid to the Landlord, Tenant or the Relevant Person (if

there is one). If the Parties can agree, the Landlord and Tenant must conrm the

following on their repayment Forms or online submissions:

i. the amount of the Deposit that should be repaid to the Landlord with reasons; and

The Deposit Protection Service Custodial Terms and Conditions

ii. the amount of the Deposit that should be repaid to the Tenant with reasons.

d. If the Landlord and the Tenant agree, we will pay out the amount the Landlord

and Tenant agree should be repaid to each of them as detailed on the repayment

Form or online submission.

e. If there is a Dispute regarding the repayment of part or all of the Deposit, it will be

referred to our Dispute Resolution Service, unless we are instructed otherwise in writing.

f. If one Party instructs us that they do not wish to use the Dispute Resolution Service,

the Deposit will be suspended until we are notied that both Parties do wish to use

14 Calendar Days of the date of the notice.

4. Ways to contact us

a. The Online Service

i. Landlords can register online and anyone using our Service can complete

submissions online by visiting www.depositprotection.com.

ii. Parties can also communicate with us by visiting the ‘Contact’ section at

www.depositprotection.com.

iii. If a Dispute is being dealt with by the Dispute Resolution Service, we can be

contacted at [email protected].

iv. Except in the circumstances outlined in section 30 of these Terms and

iv. process requests for repayment and responses. We ask callers a series of

questions in order to identify them. If callers cannot give satisfactory answers

to the questions asked, we will not be able to help.

c. Paper Based Service

i. If you cannot access our online service you can request a Form, either by

phone or in writing. All letters and completed Forms should be sent to the

address at section 36 of these Terms and Conditions.

ii. Any Forms requested will be pre-printed with as much relevant information

about the transaction as we have and we will mail them to the address of the

requesting Party. We cannot accept photocopied or altered Forms.

i. the Landlord’s rst name, surname and title;

ii. the Landlord’s contact address including the town, country and postcode;

iii. at least one valid UK contact telephone number for the Landlord (including UK

mobile phone numbers); and

iv. a valid email address for the Landlord (if creating an account online).

c. Letting Agents and Organisations must provide the following mandatory pieces

of information:

i. the full name and title of the Letting Agent or Organisation’s primary contact;

ii. the full name or company name of the Letting Agent or Organisation;

iii. the contact address of the Letting Agent or Organisation;

Conditions including the Privacy Policy at section 32. Each time the Terms and

Conditions are updated Landlords must accept the new Terms and Conditions

to continue using the service. If Landlords do not accept the new Terms and

Conditions they will not be able to continue using the online service.

f. Landlords must supply a valid email address and select a password to use the

online service. Landlords must keep this password secure at all times and it should

not be disclosed to anyone.

g. Landlords will receive an email containing a link to activate their account. The

Landlord must click the link in the email and log in within 48 hours of the issue of

the link. After 48 hours the link will expire and the Landlord will need to request

j. Landlords must enter their registered email address and password for the following:

i. to log into their online account;

ii. to access all the information we store that relates to them;

iii. to update any such data;

iv. to pay a new Deposit to us;

v. to perform any actions during a Tenancy;

vi. to manage their Deposits; and

vii. to instigate the Deposit repayment process.

k. All Landlords who create an account through the Customer Service Centre will be

provided with a conrmation in writing of:

i. their unique Landlord ID. This will also be provided over the telephone; and

ii. The website address at which they can view the Terms and Conditions

online, which will be sent within 3 Working Days of registration. On receipt

of this conrmation Landlords will be deemed to have accepted these Terms

and Conditions unless we are notied otherwise in writing. If a Landlord

does not accept the Terms and Conditions they must not use the service. If

to the Landlord’s email address or mobile phone via SMS:

under section 13;

ii. Initiating a Landlord Repayment Request under section 16;

iii. Changing the Tenants in a Tenancy under section 13.II; and

iv. Changing the Landlord in a Tenancy under section 13. I.

II. Tenants

Tenant must click the link in the email and log in within 48 hours of the issue of

the link. After 48 hours, the link will expire and the Tenant will need to request a

d. When Tenants rst log into their account they must conrm that they have read

and acknowledged the Terms and Conditions including the Data Protection Notice

and Privacy Policy at section 32. Each time the Terms and Conditions are updated

If Tenants do not read and acknowledge the new Terms and Conditions they will

instructions from them.

e. Tenants must enter their registered email address and password for the following:

i. to log in to their online account;

ii. to access all the information we store that relates to them;

under section 13; and

ii. Initiating a Tenant Repayment Request under section 17.

6. Adding a Property

Landlords can add a Property or multiple Properties in their online account before

submitting any Deposits to us.

7. Creating a Tenancy

a. Landlords can create a Tenancy in their online account before submitting

any Deposits.

b. To create a Tenancy, a Landlord must provide a name together with a contact

the return of the Deposit. That Tenant will be the Nominated Tenant, and will be

responsible for representing the interests of all Joint Tenants (and any Relevant

Person). The Nominated Tenant will act on behalf of all Joint Tenants specically

in connection with:

i. the Deposit repayment process;

ii. any Statutory Declaration;

iii. the provision of Tenant’s evidence; or

iv. any other relevant Form or submission.

b. It is the Nominated Tenant’s responsibility to try and agree with the Landlord how

the Deposit should be distributed at the end of the Joint Tenancy.

Nominated Tenant’s account information when using the online service, or by

answering security questions when using the Customer Service Centre or their

signature when using the paper process.

e. The Landlord is responsible for managing the Tenants’ (and Relevant Person’s)

relationship in a Joint Tenancy. The Landlord must:

i. complete the Deposit Submission Form;

ii. ensure that the responsibilities of the Joint Tenants are fully understood by all

Joint Tenants, and any Relevant Person; and

The Deposit Protection Service Custodial Terms and Conditions

iii. explain to the Joint Tenants that the Nominated Tenant process will come

into eect at the repayment stage and that the Nominated Tenant will act on

behalf of all Joint Tenants and any Relevant Person.

f. The Joint Tenants must ensure that Joint Tenancy information is kept up-to-date.

g. We are entitled to deal with and take instructions from the rst Joint Tenant who

comes to us with a valid instruction and conrms that they act on behalf of all Joint

Tenants (the Nominated Tenant).

h. If no Joint Tenant conrms that they act on behalf of all Joint Tenants we will not

for protection either online through their account at www.depositprotection.com

or with a Cheque Deposit Submission Form sent to us by post.

b. It is the Landlord’s responsibility to submit Deposits for protection within 30

Calendar Days of receipt from the Tenant.

c. Landlords will not be able to submit a Deposit unless all mandatory information

has been provided.

d. Landlords can increase the amount of an existing Deposit at any time during the

Tenancy, subject to the limitations as dened in the ‘Deposit’ denition within

Section 1 of these terms and conditions.

e. If Landlords create a Tenancy prole but do not submit a Deposit for protection

Deposit does not comply with the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

11. Payment options

a. The Landlord must ensure that they pay the correct amount of Deposit to us.

b. Deposits can be paid to us by bank transfer, debit card or cheque.

I. Bank Transfers

a. Bank transfer payments can only be used for online custodial Deposit submissions

and must be made using our 6 digit sort code and the Landlord’s unique 8 digit

account number which will be displayed when a Landlord opts to pay by Bank transfer

in their online account. Landlords must add a reference number to the payment.

b. Payments we receive can be allocated to custodial Deposits manually or

and manually allocate the submitted funds to the relevant custodial Deposit. It is

the Landlord’s sole responsibility to manually allocate funds in order to ensure

that the Deposit is protected.

d. Bank Transfers are non-reversible. If you think that an over-payment has been

made, then you must contact us on 0330 303 0033 or by visiting the ‘Contact’

section at www.depositprotection.com.

II. Debit card payments

a. Debit card payments can only be used for online custodial Deposit submissions.

b. If a Landlord wishes to pay by debit card, they must select this option on the

payment page following creation of the Deposit in the online system.

g. We will provide conrmation to the Landlord when the payment clears, by email

within 5 Calendar Days of processing the debit card payment.

III. Cheque payments

a. Cheque payments must be submitted to us by post with the Cheque Deposit

Submission Form to the address in section 36 of these Terms and Conditions.

b. Cheque Deposit Submission Forms can be requested by telephone from our

Customer Service Centre.

c. All cheques must be made payable to The Deposit Protection Service, be dated

within the past 3 months of the date of processing, be signed by an authorised

signatory of the account and be drawn in pounds Sterling on a UK bank account.

e. Accepted cheques will be banked within 1 Working Day of receipt. We will issue

a conrmation that the Deposit has been protected within 5 Calendar Days of a

cleared cheque.

f. In the event that cheques are returned unpaid, we reserve the right to charge a fee

of £25.89 which the Landlord must pay. Until this fee is paid, we won’t accept any

Deposits from that Landlord for that Tenancy.

12. What happens after the Deposit has been protected?

a. We will send an email conrming protection of the Deposit to:

i. the Landlord’s registered address or the Landlord’s registered email address;

ii. all Tenants’ registered email addresses. We will also send a link to Tenants

to activate their online account if they have not done so already. If we do

not know the Tenants’ email addresses, we will send conrmation by post

to the Property. If we do not know the Tenants’ email addresses and the

Deposit has been paid more than 14 Calendar Days before the start date

of the Tenancy, we will send conrmation to the Property in time for the

Tenancy start date; and

iii. the email address of any Relevant Person registered on the Deposit. We

will also send the Relevant Person a certificate confirming protection of

Deposit and treat it as if it had been received in respect of the statutory periodic

tenancy or new xed term tenancy.

13. Making changes to your account

a. Tenants can update their own contact details, at any time. This can be done on our

website, on the phone, or in writing. Tenants must keep all forwarding addresses,

and all other contact details up-to-date.

b. Landlords can change their own contact details, or notify us of a change of Landlord

or request a change of Tenant. Landlords must ensure that all information we

hold in relation to Tenancies, and Deposits for which they are responsible are up-

to-date and factually correct.

i. the incoming Landlord has an account with us with a valid Landlord ID; and

ii. the outgoing Landlord has the incoming Landlord’s Landlord ID.

b. If we have had no contact from the outgoing Landlord and a Tenant tells us that

the Landlord of the Tenancy has changed, we will inform the Tenant that the

incoming Landlord should contact us with reasonable supporting evidence to

conrm this.

c. If an incoming Landlord contacts us with reasonable supporting evidence which

suggests that the Landlord of the Tenancy has changed, we will contact the outgoing

Landlord to conrm this, giving them 7 Calendar Days to respond. If the outgoing

Landlord does not call us at the Customer Service Centre on 0330 303 0033 within 7

e. In the event of a change of Landlord, we will send conrmation and details of the

change including the new Deposit ID to:

iii. the outgoing Landlord, Letting Agent or Organisation as applicable;

iv. the incoming Landlord, Letting Agent or Organisation as applicable; and

v. all Tenants at the Property.

II. Changing Tenants in a Tenancy

a. A change of Tenant process should only be used:

i. when a Tenant is leaving a Joint Tenancy and the Landlord has no claim

against the Deposit for the Tenant leaving the Joint Tenancy:

ii. when a Tenant is leaving a Joint Tenancy and a new Tenant is being added

c. If a Landlord has opted for Enhanced Authentication they will have to enter a 6

digit code in order to add or remove Tenants from a Tenancy. We will provide that

code to the Landlord or Tenant’s email address or mobile phone via SMS.

d. When a landlord seeks to add or remove either a Joint Tenant or a Sole Tenant

from a Tenancy via their online account or via a phone call to our Customer

Service Centre, we will send conrmation of that change by email, SMS or post to;

i. the Landlord, Letting Agent or Organisation in respect of the Property;

ii. the Tenants who will continue to reside in the Property;

iii. any incoming Tenants; and

iv. any outgoing Tenants.

g. Where a Tenant is removed from a Joint Tenancy it is the remaining Tenants’

responsibility to arrange any payments to an outgoing Tenant or Relevant Person.

III. Scheme Transfers

a. If a Landlord wants to transfer a Deposit we are protecting to another Scheme,

they can email their request to [email protected]. They will need to

send a list of all the Deposits they want to transfer. They also need to send us the

details of the Scheme to which we should transfer the Deposits.

b. If we are satised that we have received all the required information, as soon as

is reasonably practical, we will:

i. transfer the relevant Deposit monies directly to the other Scheme;

The Deposit Protection Service Custodial Terms and Conditions

ii. send the other Scheme a list of all details of the Deposits we have transferred; and

iii. close the relevant Deposits and Tenancies on the Landlord’s online account.

c. We reserve the right to make further enquiries of any Landlord on receipt of a

request to transfer Deposits to another Scheme.

14. Deposit repayment - General

a. We will not release any part of the Deposit unless:

i. all Parties have agreed to us doing so; or

ii. there is an undisputed Statutory Declaration claim; or

want to start the Deposit Repayment process before this time, please contact us,

either online or by calling the Customer Service Centre.

c. Landlords and Tenants must attempt to agree the fair distribution of the Deposit

before entering the Dispute Resolution Service at the end of the Tenancy.

d. If one Party claims all or part of a Deposit, we will notify the other Party by e-mail

or post.

e. Repayments can be either:

i. wholly agreed (all Parties agree on who should receive the Deposit at end of

the Tenancy and no disputed amount exists);

ii. partially agreed (the Parties agree on the repayment of part only of the

i. direct BACS transfer to the Landlord’s and/or Tenant(s)’ accounts;

ii. Sterling cheque; or

iii. a combination of the two methods in accordance with the Parties’ direction.

h. Cheques can be made payable to either the Landlord or Agent, the named

Tenant(s) or a nominated third party, where authorised.

i. Direct SWIFT payments can also be made to overseas bank accounts for a fee of £25.89.

j. We will provide conrmation of the amount of the repayment paid to each Party to:

i. the Landlord; and

ii. all the Tenants.

k. Repayments will only be made on the satisfactory completion of additional checks,

start or respond to a claim.

15. Deposit Repayment - Requests

Either Party can start the repayment process by completing one of the following steps:

i. submitting a Deposit repayment request through an online account;

ii. submitting a Deposit repayment request by telephone with the Customer

Service Centre; or

iii. submitting a Deposit Return Request Form (Tenants) or Deposit Repayment

Request Form (Landlords) by post. These Forms can be requested by calling

the Customer Service Centre).

16. Landlord Repayment Requests

or mobile phone via SMS;

iii. conrm that you wish to make a full repayment of the Deposit to the Tenant.

b. We will notify all Tenants of the Landlord’s full repayment request.

c. If you are a Tenant responding to a Landlord’s full repayment request you must:

i. log into your online account;

ii. conrm that you act on behalf of all Joint Tenants with respect to the

Repayment Process in accordance with section 8 if applicable;

iii. provide details of the repayment method including sort code, account number

(and reference if applicable) or cheque payment you would like us to use for

each Tenant or Relevant Person; and

must: The Deposit Protection Service Custodial Terms and Conditions

i. log into your account;

ii. if you have opted for Enhanced Authentication you will have to enter a 6 digit

code in order to instruct this. We will provide that code to your email address

or mobile phone via SMS;

iii. tell us the amount of each deduction you wish to make from the Deposit; and

iv. give us details of the repayment method, bank sort code, account number

(and reference if applicable) you would like us to use.

b. When we receive a repayment request from the Landlord with claims for

deductions, we will email or write to the Tenants notifying them of a claim for

deductions against the Deposit which they can view and respond to through their

online account.

c. If you are a Tenant, responding to a Landlord repayment request with deductions

you must:

i. log into your online account;

ii. conrm that you act on behalf of all Joint Tenants with respect to the

Repayment Process in accordance with section 8 if applicable;

(and reference if applicable) or cheque payment you would like us to use for

each Tenant or Relevant Person.

d. If you are a Landlord, and your claim is rejected and you still wish to make

deductions from the Deposit you must:

i. log into your account;

ii. tell us the amount of each deduction you wish to make from the Deposit, and

the reason why you are making the claim. If you have multiple reasons for

requesting deductions, you will need to list all of them; and

iii. give us details of the repayment method, bank sort code, account number

(and reference if applicable) you would like us to use.

i. log into your online account;

ii. conrm that you act on behalf of all Joint Tenants with respect to the

Repayment Process in accordance with section 8 if applicable;

iii. agree or disagree with each claim for deductions made by the Landlord;

iv. conrm any amounts you agree to pay to the Landlord with regard to their

deductions (if any);

v. if you do not agree to pay any sums from the Deposit to the Landlord you

must enter £0 against the deduction claims and state your reasons;

vi. provide details of the repayment method, bank sort code, account number

(and reference if applicable) or cheque payment you would like us to use for

within 5 Working Days after conrmation of the repayment method has been

made by the Nominated Tenant.

h. Once the Nominated Tenant has responded we will send a notication for the

Landlord to review the Nominated Tenant’s response and invite the Landlord to

accept or reject the Nominated Tenant’s response.

i. If the Nominated Tenant has agreed to any or all of the claims for deductions made

by the Landlord we will pay the agreed sums to the Landlord in accordance with

their direction within 5 Working Days of the Landlord conrming their acceptance

of the Nominated Tenant’s response.

j. If the Nominated Tenant has responded to our notication conrming that they

k. If the Nominated Tenant has responded to our notication conrming that

they do not agree to use our Dispute Resolution Service, but the Landlord

does, the Deposit will be placed on hold until either the Tenant agrees to

use our Dispute Resolution Service, or until the Parties reach agreement and

communicate that agreement to us or until we receive a court order. Please

see section 24 for more details.

17. Tenant’s repayment request

a. A Tenant can submit a Deposit return request. If you are a Tenant you must:

i. log into your online account;

ii. If you have opted for Enhanced Authentication you will have to enter a 6 digit

vi. provide any reasons for each deduction to be paid to the Landlord;

vii. provide details of the repayment method, bank sort code, account number

(and reference if applicable) you would like us to use for each Tenant or

Relevant Person; and

viii. accept or reject the use of the Dispute Resolution Service if necessary to

resolve any Dispute and agree to be bound by any Decision.

b. Upon receipt of a Tenant’s Deposit return request, we will notify the Landlord of

the Deposit return request, by email or by post.

c. If you are the Landlord responding to a Tenant’s Deposit return request you must:

The Deposit Protection Service Custodial Terms and Conditions

i. log into your online account; and

ii. agree or disagree with the repayment claim made by the Nominated Tenant;

iii. conrm the amount you believe is due to the Landlord with reasons;

iv. provide details of the repayment method, bank sort code, account number

(and reference if applicable) or cheque payment you would like us to use for

payment; and

v. accept or reject the use of the Dispute Resolution Service if necessary to

resolve any Dispute and agree to be bound by any Decision.

18. Repayment requests on paper or by the Customer Service Centre

a. The Landlord can complete a Deposit Repayment Request Form in order to make

deductions from a Deposit.

b. The Tenant can complete a Deposit Return Request Form in order to reclaim the

whole or part of a Deposit.

c. On receipt of either form the DPS will invite the other Party to respond to the claim

by way of a response Form.

d. If there is a Dispute, the Landlord and the Tenant must conrm a breakdown of

the total amount in dispute and the Parties should conrm that:

i. they each agree that the Dispute be referred to our Dispute Resolution Service

I. When can it be used?

a. The Statutory Declaration Process is a method of repayment. It is used when:

i. the Landlord has no current address for the Tenant; or

ii. the other Party has failed to respond to the claiming Party’s written notice

in relation to the distribution of the Deposit within 14 Calendar Days. In this

case a copy of the written notice sent to the other Party must be attached. If a

evidence of which does not need to be attached;

iii. the Tenant has no current address for the Landlord; or

iv. the Landlord fails to respond to the Tenant’s written notice requiring that

i. at least 14 Calendar Days must have passed since the end of the Tenancy (i.e.

the contractual end of the Tenancy or where notice has been given and has

expired); and

ii. agreement has not been reached between the Landlord and Tenant about the

Deposit repayment; and

iii. one of the relevant conditions set out in (a)(i) to (a)(v) above have been

met; and

iv. the claiming Party believes they should be repaid some or all of the Deposit; and

v. any amount claimed by the Landlord must be referable to:

1. an amount of unpaid rent or any other sum due under the terms of the

a. The Party who wishes to use the Statutory Declaration Process must provide us

with a Statutory Declaration making a claim for all or part of the Deposit. This must

be at least 14 Calendar Days after the Tenancy has ended.

b. Parties can get a Statutory Declaration through their online account or by calling

0330 303 0033. If the Party requests a Statutory Declaration online it will be

modied by the Party and printed in order to be completed.

c. The Statutory Declaration must be sworn or armed in the presence of a solicitor,

a commissioner for oaths, or a magistrate.

d. The Statutory Declaration must contain the following information:

iv. conrmation of whether the Statutory Declaration is being made on the

basis that:

1. the Party making the claim has no current address for, or other means of

2. the other Party has failed to respond to the claiming Party’s written notice

v. any information the claiming Party has as to the whereabouts of the

other person;

vi. conrmation that the claiming Party gives their consent for the Dispute to be

resolved through our Dispute Resolution Service (in the event of the other Party

disputing that the claiming Party should be paid all or part of the Deposit):

a. Once we have received a properly completed Statutory Declaration which

meets the above requirements, we will issue a Statutory Declaration Notice and

a summary of the claim to the other Party’s registered address, asking them to

indicate within 14 Calendar Days of receipt:

i. whether they accept that the claiming Party should be paid the whole of the

amount claimed;

ii. whether they accept that the claiming Party should be paid part of the amount

claimed and if so, how much; and

iii. if they do not accept that the claiming Party should be paid the whole of the

or by calling our Customer Service Contact Centre by the Statutory Declaration

Notice deadline. They must indicate their responses to a. (i) – (iii) above. If we do

not receive the completed Statutory Declaration Notice by post, via the online

service or via a call to the Customer Service Contact Centre within the Statutory

Declaration Notice deadline, we will release the full amount claimed to the claiming

Party within 10 Calendar Days of the Statutory Declaration Notice deadline.

c. If the receiving Party completes and returns or responds to the Statutory

Declaration Notice so that we receive it or their response within the Statutory

Declaration Notice deadline and conrming that they agree that the whole or part

of the amount claimed should be paid to the claiming Party, we will pay any agreed

Party that their claim has been rejected wholly or in part and will request evidence

from both the other Party and the claiming Party in relation to the dispute. Where

users do not have an online account we will provide a summary of the other

Party’s Statutory Declaration Notice.

e. Details of the other Party’s rejection reason(s) can be viewed via the claiming

Party’s online account. Once we have issued the request for evidence both Parties

will have 14 Calendar Days from the date of issue to respond.

f. If the other Party completes and returns or responds to the Statutory Declaration

Notice so that we receive it or their response within 14 Calendar Days, but does

Adjudicator will not be considered by the Adjudicator if a Decision has already

been made. We reserve the right to refuse to pass any evidence to the Adjudicator

after the cut-o date for submission of evidence has passed.

20.The Dispute Resolution Service — General rules for using our Dispute

Resolution Service

a. To use our Dispute Resolution Service, Landlords and Tenants must have

completed a repayment Form or online repayment request with notication of

a Dispute or completed the Statutory Declaration Process. They must consent or

be deemed to have consented to our Dispute Resolution Service and conrm that

they will be bound by the Decision.

c. If you agree to use our Dispute Resolution Service, you may not withdraw your

agreement in the future.

d. If either Party does not agree to use our Dispute Resolution Service to resolve

the Dispute, they must resolve the matter by agreement or through the courts.

The Party refusing to use our service must start the required court proceedings

within 6 months of notifying us of their refusal. If they do not, we may award the

disputed amount to the other Party.

e. We will only send Disputes to our Dispute Resolution Service if both the Landlord

and Tenants comply with these Terms and Conditions.

f. Use of our Dispute Resolution Service does not remove the duty of one Party to

The Deposit Protection Service Custodial Terms and Conditions

pay the other any other amounts which are due and not subject to a Dispute.

g. Use of our Dispute Resolution Service is free of charge except in circumstances set

out in subsection p and section 25 below and except as to the Parties’ own costs.

Each Party must bear any costs they incur through participating in the Dispute

Resolution Service. We will not make any award to cover these costs.

h. The Landlord and Tenant are free to settle the Dispute between themselves at

any point during the Adjudication. They must notify us of their agreement to do

so by providing an instruction signed by both Parties. We will return the Deposit in

Terms and Conditions and is eligible to participate or continue to participate in the

Dispute Resolution process.

l. A Dispute must not be the subject of an existing court action.

m. The Adjudicator will not make an award in relation to damage caused by fair wear

n. We will not deal with Disputes through the Dispute Resolution Service where, in

our reasonable opinion:

i. they relate to matters other than the return of the Deposit; and/or

ii. either Party has indicated their intention to issue legal proceedings in respect

of any of the issues raised in the Dispute; and/or

i. are being pursued in an unreasonable manner;

ii. are frivolous;

iii. are vexatious; and/or

iv. seek to raise matters which were previously decided by a similar dispute

resolution process, or matters which, in the opinion of the Adjudicator,

exceeds their jurisdiction.

p. Landlords and Tenants can only make evidence submissions when requested

to the Dispute Resolution Team by post to the address set out in section 36, or

by emailing [email protected]. We cannot receive evidence in

external cloud storage. We must receive evidence submissions before 11:59:59

Deposit amount, whichever is the greater for the administration of the Dispute.

Where possible, we will deduct this from any amount awarded to the Landlord

as a result of the Decision. If there is no award to the Landlord, or the amount

awarded does not cover the fee, the Landlord must pay us within 14 Calendar

Days of our request for payment.

r. We reserve the right to reject a request to use our Dispute Resolution Service if

the tenancy is not an Assured Shorthold Tenancy or when the Deposit is £5,000

or more in amount.

21. Repayment Request – Collection of evidence

a. Upon receipt of a duly completed online Deposit repayment submission notifying

support of their claim, the Landlord or Tenant must notify us in writing conrming

that they will not be submitting any additional evidence, within the 14 Calendar

Days of our invitation being issued.

c. If, within 14 Calendar Days of the invitation being issued by us, the Landlord or

Tenant fails to submit any evidence, or in the alternative conrm in writing that

they have no additional evidence to submit, we will release the disputed amount to

the other Party within 10 Calendar Days of the deadline for the Parties’ response.

d. In the event that neither Party complies with the requirement of section c above,

we will repay any disputed sum to the Tenant.

22. Dispute Evidence – the details

v. a signed and legally-compliant written Tenancy Agreement;

vi. a schedule of the cost of any works sought to be deducted from the Deposit

together with estimates, invoices and receipts (produced by an independent

or third party) and photographs if available;

vii. a statement of the rent account, if relevant;

viii. if housing benet has been paid, a letter from the Housing Benet Department

stating when it will stop, or that it has stopped;

ix. any other relevant information including photographs, DVDs, correspondence

or receipts; and

x. conrmation that they have contacted the Tenant and provide a copy of any

correspondence between them, or details of their discussions.

b. The Tenant’s evidence should include, but is not limited to the following:

i. the reasons why the Tenant denies that the Landlord is entitled to the

disputed amount; and

ii. any other relevant information including photographs, DVDs, correspondence

or receipts.

c. Any photographs or digital evidence should be signed or a statement should be

attached signed by the Party providing them and showing the date on which they

f. Following receipt of each Party’s evidence, we may request extra information

or clarication.

g. It is the Landlord’s sole responsibility to send us a signed, valid Tenancy Agreement

before we pass the case to the Adjudicator. If we do not receive a copy of the

Tenancy Agreement, we will still pass the Dispute papers to the Adjudicator.

Claims from Landlords who do not provide a valid Tenancy Agreement are likely

to fail.

23. The Adjudication

a. Once the deadline has passed for evidence submission, we will provide the

following to the Adjudicator:

evidence and Forms submitted. You should submit any evidence you feel supports

your case when we ask you to. If you do not submit evidence when requested, the

Adjudicator will not be able to consider it when making their Decision.

d. The Adjudicator may:

i. make any necessary enquiries with the Parties if issues or queries arise when

reviewing the evidence;

ii. carry on with the Adjudication even if either Party does not comply with these

Terms and Conditions, or any instruction from the Adjudicator or us;

iii. stop the Adjudication if it appears that the Dispute cannot be settled this way,

or if the Parties settle their Dispute before a Decision is made.

g. The Decision cannot be appealed through the Dispute Resolution Service although

nothing prevents either Party from pursuing the other through the courts if they

disagree with the decision.

h. We will make any payment to either Party within 10 Calendar Days of the Decision.

i. We will make payments according to the method specied by the relevant Parties

j. The Adjudicator may take the initiative in ascertaining the facts and the law.

k. The Adjudicator may apply their discretion and judgement to the interpretation of

the Tenancy Agreement and the application of the facts.

l. The Adjudicator may correct accidental slips or omissions in Decisions within 30

days of the Decision.

release the Deposit. In this case, the order must be amended, or a third party debt

order must be obtained or the matter may be referred to our Dispute Resolution

Service in accordance with Section 20 of these terms and conditions for a Decision,

before we can release the Deposit.

25. Costs

All aspects of our Custodial Scheme are free to use, except in the following

circumstances where fees are charged:

i. for processing a payment to an overseas bank account we charge £25.89; and

ii. where we are adjudicating a Dispute relating to a Tenancy which is not an Assured

Shorthold Tenancy we reserve the right to charge a fee of £500 plus VAT.

27. Keeping your data safe

The following are data security Terms and Conditions which are specic to our

Custodial Scheme:

a. if a Landlord requests a Form, we will ask for their Landlord ID and Deposit ID so

we can process their query.

b. if a Tenant request a Form, we will ask for their Deposit ID so we can process

their query.

c. in order to meet data protection obligations, we need callers to provide proof of

their identity. This means callers will need to answer some questions about their

account. If callers can’t give us the right answers, we will have to end the call.

The Deposit Protection Service Custodial Terms and Conditions

28. Liability

a. We will take reasonable care in operating our service, and we will be responsible

to you for any losses or expenses suered or incurred by you as a direct result of

our negligence, wilful default or fraud. The DPS’s liability in relation to any claim

shall not exceed the total amount of the Deposit to which the claim relates and in

any event will not exceed £5,000 in aggregate including costs and interest.

b. We do not accept liability for any indirect or consequential loss suered by

anybody or for any loss that does not arise as a result of our negligence, wilful

d. In the event that you do not comply with these Terms and Conditions and this

results in loss or damage to The DPS, you shall be liable to compensate us for any

such loss or damage.

e. Any limitation or exclusion of liability under these Terms and Conditions shall only

operate to the extent permitted by law.

f. You must contact us immediately if you suspect that your password, Landlord ID,

Deposit ID, log in details or 6 digit code for Enhanced Authentication have been

that their integrity is threatened. Until you notify us that it has been compromised,

we will assume that any instructions received in any form, which have been

h. You are responsible for ensuring that any bank account details entered online

for repayment are correct. Once payment has been made we are not obliged to

recover funds that have been paid out incorrectly due to incorrect account details

being entered online.

i. We do not accept liability for the actions of any third parties including Letting Agents.

29. Complaints

a. We hope that you are always satised with our service, however, if you are

unhappy with our service, we have a complaints handling procedure. We can

provide you with a copy upon request.

b. If you ever feel that we have fallen short of the standards we set ourselves and you

a. The online service will usually be available for use 24 hours a day, every day of

the year subject to scheduled down time that will be advertised on the site to

users prior to any down time being implemented. However, the service may

be temporarily unavailable for a number of reasons, including routine and

emergency maintenance, excess demand for the service, failure of the internet

and other circumstances beyond our control.

b. We shall not have any liability to you for any non-availability or interruption in

the operation of the service (wholly or part of) or for any failure or delay of a

sent insucient time to be received within any deadlines.

such interception, redirection, corruption, copying, reading, tampering or loss of

condentiality.

b. We take reasonable care to ensure that electronic communications generated by

the online service are free of viruses or other corruption of data. Before opening

or using any documents or attachments, you must check them for viruses and

defects. Our liability in this respect is limited to re-supplying any aected

documents or attachments.

c. You are responsible for ensuring all electronic communications sent by you to us

are free from viruses or defects. If a communication from you is found to contain a

virus, we shall not be obliged to receive or act upon such communication.

megabytes. Any e-mails received larger than 20 megabytes may not be received.

f. Any information supplied on our website, by email, in our printed documentation,

on the telephone or by post is for guidance only. Independent advice should be

sought regarding the interpretation of any applicable legislation.

g. You are responsible for keeping any passwords in relation to us secure. We accept

no liability for any loss incurred as a result of you not ensuring your passwords are

kept as secure as possible.

h. Whilst your connection to the online service is encrypted you should note that

email messages may be intercepted or tampered with. By registering for and

using this service, you acknowledge that these risks exist and that condentiality

cannot always be assured.

i. Any bank details which are stored on the online system will be encrypted.

32. Privacy Policy

The DPS’s Data Privacy Policy can be viewed by visiting

for the purpose of or in connection with its provision of the Scheme and all other

Intellectual Property Rights created by or on behalf of The DPS in connection with

the Scheme.

34. General

a. Unless otherwise detailed in these Terms and Conditions, all Forms will be

processed within 4 Working Days of receipt.

b. Unless otherwise detailed in these Terms and Conditions, all time limits will be

calculated, as applicable:

i. excluding the day we receive Forms or documents; and

ii. from the day that we issue Forms or documents, regardless of the date they

instructions, you should telephone us immediately on 0330 303 0033.

e. We may determine in our absolute discretion whether anyone has complied with

these Terms and Conditions.

f. All Deposits will be held in a designated bank account which we maintain for all

parties using the Scheme.

g. From time to time we may change these Terms and Conditions. We will keep you

informed about changes when you log in to use the online service. You can always

nd our current Terms and Conditions on our website too. If you would like a

paper copy, call or email us. All Forms or online submissions will be processed and

all Disputes dealt with in accordance with the Terms and Conditions in force at the

i. If we relax any part of these Terms and Conditions once or more than once, each

instance would be considered a one-o , or a temporary decision. It will not aect

our right to enforce the term strictly again when we wish to.

j. We reserve the right to delay taking action on any particular instruction if we

consider that we need to obtain further information or to comply with any legal or

regulatory requirement binding on us (including obtaining evidence of identity to

have about the validity or any other matter relating to the instruction.

k. We won’t do, or refrain from doing, anything which would, or might in our judgment,

break any relevant laws, rules, regulations or codes or risk exposing us to criticism

n. Registration with The DPS and use of the Custodial Scheme cannot be taken as

indication as to the credibility of the Party.

35. Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by and will be interpreted under the laws of

England and Wales. In the event of a Dispute the English courts will have jurisdiction.

36. Contact details

The Deposit Protection Service, The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol, BS99 6AA.

To speak to us, call: 0330 303 0033. To send us an email message, visit the ‘Contact’