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England's Tenant Fees Act caps: 5 weeks' rent where annual rent is under GBP 50,000 (6 weeks above). Weekly rent = monthly x 12 / 52. The deposit must go into a government-approved scheme (DPS, MyDeposits or TDS) within 30 days, with the prescribed information served: miss either and the landlord owes 1-3x the deposit and loses Section 21. Scotland caps at 2 months via its own schemes; Wales has its own regime.
What The Tenancy Deposit Calculator Works Out
- Maximum tenancy deposit: under England's Tenant Fees Act 2019 the cap is 5 weeks' rent where the annual rent is under GBP 50,000 and 6 weeks above, with weekly rent defined as monthly rent x 12 / 52. A GBP 1,200 a month flat caps at GBP 1,384.62.
- Maximum holding deposit: the sum that reserves a property is capped at one week's rent and must be returned or credited against the first rent or deposit, not quietly absorbed. Reference, inventory and admin fees are banned.
- Protection deadline: within 30 days of receipt the deposit must be lodged with DPS, MyDeposits or TDS and the prescribed information served. Custodial schemes hold the money; insured schemes bond the landlord's holding of it.
- Where the property is (advanced): Scotland caps deposits at 2 months' rent and bans holding deposits, with 30 working days to lodge the money. Wales caps the holding deposit at a week but not the tenancy deposit; Northern Ireland has no cap but a 28-day deadline for the prescribed information.
- Rent frequency (advanced): weekly and four-weekly rents are converted to annual (x 52 or x 13) before the caps are worked out, so the figures match the Act's definitions.
- Over the cap by (advanced): enter the deposit you were asked for and the card shows any excess. Anything above the cap is a prohibited payment that must be refunded, enforceable through the council's trading standards team or the First-tier Tribunal.
- Days left to protect (advanced): counts down the protection window from the day the deposit was paid. Any tenant can check protection in a minute on the three scheme websites; do it in month one, not at checkout.
- Penalty if not protected (advanced): a county court can order the landlord to pay one to three times the deposit, and Section 21 no-fault possession is blocked until the failure is put right. That sanction is what made compliance universal.
- Deductions at the end: must be evidenced against the inventory and fair wear and tear, with the burden of proof on the landlord. A dated photo and video inventory at move-in and move-out is worth more than any argument afterwards, and the schemes' free adjudication settles disputes on paper.
Official guidance: GOV.UK: tenancy deposit protection.