How to Partially Repay a Tenancy Deposit and Return Amounts in Excess of Five Week Cap

Step-by-Step Guides for All Three Deposit Schemes

The Tenant Fees Acts (2019) brought in a cap for tenancy deposits. The rules apply to new tenancies from 1st June 2019 and cap tenancy deposits to a maximum of five times the weekly rent for the property.

The cap will also apply to renewals of tenancies which began before 1st June 2019. If renewing such a tenancy, it is important that landlords return any money in excess of five weeks’.

This is a guide on how to return excess deposit amounts for all three government approved deposit protection schemes in England:

• DPS (insured and custodial)
• MyDeposits (insured and custodial)
• TDS (insured and custodial)

(Click here for the difference between insured and custodial)

It includes step by step instructions on how to make a partial deposit return for each scheme. 

First Calculate the Deposit Amount You Must Repay to the Tenant

Before you begin, you will need to know the amount you must repay in order for your deposit to come down below five weeks’ rent. 

Here is how to calculate how much to repay:

1. Use our deposit calculator to find how much five weeks’ rent is for your tenancy.
2. Subtract the result from the total value of the deposit currently protected.
3. The resulting figure is the amount you must repay.

Here is an example. My monthly rent is £100. My tenancy deposit is £200, i.e. two months’ rent. I enter £100 as my monthly rent into the OpenRent deposit calculator. It tells me my maximum deposit (five weeks’ rent) is £115. I subtract £115 (five weeks’ rent) from £200 (two months’ rent) to get £85.

£85 is therefore the amount I must repay to reduce my two month deposit to a five week deposit and remain compliant with the Tenant Fees Act.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to repay the excess deposit value for each of the three English deposit protection schemes (DPS, MyDeposits and TDS) including the differences between insured and custodial schemes. 

How to Initiate a Partial Deposit Return for Deposits Registered with DPS

1. Go to this page on the DPS site.
2. If you’re on an insured scheme, download the insured scheme Deposit Cap Calculator. If you’re on a custodial scheme, download the custodial scheme Deposit Cap Calculator. You do this by pressing the relevant blue button.
3. The calculator is just a spreadsheet. Open the spreadsheet once it has downloaded.
4. Fill out the form. It will ask you for: landlord ID, registered email address, deposit ID, property address current deposit value, current rental payment amount, rental period and amount you want to repay.
5. Save the document.
6. Attach the document to an email and sent the email to depositcap@depositprotection.com.

If you have an insured scheme then you will need to do the above and then return the paid amount manually. DPS will update their system assuming that you make the payment as soon as they receive and process the email you send them.

If you have a custodial scheme then DPS will make the repayment on your behalf once you complete the above steps.

For support, call: 0330 303 0030.

How to Initiate a Partial Deposit Return for Deposits Registered with MyDeposits

MyDeposit Insured Scheme

1. Log into your MyDeposits account here.
2. Select the tenancy for which you wish to return the excess deposit.
3. Press the renew button.
4. Enter the monthly rent and new deposit value.
5. Then, directly repay the tenant the excess deposit amount, e.g. via bank transfer, retaining the remaining deposit amount.
6. Take a receipt of repayment if required.

MyDeposit Custodial Scheme

1. Open a new email draft to depositcap@mydeposits.co.uk.
2. Include your MyDeposit username and the tenancy ID (this can be found by logging into your MyDeposits account, here).
3. Instruct MyDeposits how much of the deposit needs to be returned to the tenant.
4. Send the email.
5. MyDeposits will repay the excess deposit amount to the tenant directly.

For support, call: 0333 321 9401.

How to Initiate a Partial Deposit Return for Deposits Registered with TDS

TDS Insured Scheme

Insured TDS deposits cannot be ‘edited’ mid-tenancy, so you will need to do the following.

1. Log into the TDS Insured site here.
2. Select the deposit protection in question.
3. ‘End’ the protection, stating there has been no dispute and you will be returning the entire deposit
4. Then, directly repay the tenant the excess deposit amount, e.g. via bank transfer, retaining the remaining deposit amount.
5. Take a receipt of payment if required. 
6. Re-protect the deposit by registering a new deposit certificate TDS, just as if it was a new tenancy. You will have to pay the insurance fee again.

TDS Custodial Scheme

1. Log into the TDS Custodial site here,
2. Select the deposit protection in question.
3. Initial a partial repayment of the excess deposit amount.
4. The tenant will then be contacted by TDS, who will invite the tenant to log in, accept the repayment and provide their bank details to make the repayment.
5. The TDS will then make the payment and update the certificate to reflect the new deposit amount.

For support, call: 0300 037 1000.

For more guidance, see this guide.

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