Deposit penalties: 1× to 3×, and how prescribed information trips landlords who protected on time

· 6 min read

Sections 213 to 215 of the Housing Act 2004 impose two duties within 30 days of receiving a tenancy deposit:

  1. Protect it in a government-approved scheme.
  2. Serve the prescribed information on the tenant and on anyone who paid on their behalf.

Almost every landlord does the first. A great many miss the second, and the sanction is identical either way — which is why the majority of deposit claims are brought against landlords whose money was safely protected the whole time.

What the prescribed information is

Not the scheme's certificate. A defined set of particulars: the scheme's contact details, the scheme leaflet, the deposit amount and property address, the landlord's and tenant's contact details, the circumstances in which deductions may be made, and confirmation the information is accurate — signed.

Handing over the certificate and nothing else does not discharge it.

The penalty

The tenant applies to the county court. Where the court finds a breach it must order the landlord to pay the tenant between one and three times the deposit. The award is mandatory; only the multiplier is discretionary.

The multiplier turns on culpability: an experienced landlord or agent who should have known sits at the top, a genuine first-time slip promptly corrected at the bottom. Late compliance does not remove the breach; it affects the multiple.

The deposit itself is also repayable to the tenant, on top.

The possession consequence, and what changed

An unprotected deposit or unserved prescribed information barred a valid section 21 notice. Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026, so that specific bar has less to bite on — see what Section 8 requires.

The financial penalty is entirely unaffected. If anything the deposit rules now matter more relative to possession, because the penalty is the whole consequence rather than an adjunct to a blocked notice.

The traps

  • A deposit increase. Take more deposit and you have received a new deposit — protect the additional sum and re-serve.
  • A change of landlord. On a sale or transfer, the new landlord's duties run from their acquisition.
  • A replacement tenant. A new tenancy with a different party generally needs the information served again.
  • Agent assumptions. If the agent protected but nobody served the information, the landlord is liable. Ask for proof of service, not proof of protection.
  • No proof of service. The duty is provable or it is not discharged. Keep the dated email.

Caps, unchanged

Five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000; six weeks at or above it, under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. Holding deposit one week. The Renters' Rights Act did not change any of this — see what the Act did not change. There is no pet deposit.

Wales

The 2004 Act deposit provisions apply in Wales too, alongside occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. The protection and information duties are materially the same.

Check the document as well as the money. The tenancy agreement checker flags missing deposit terms and prohibited payments, cited to the Act.

Information tool, not legal advice.

Common questions

What is the penalty for not protecting a deposit?

The court must order the landlord to pay the tenant between one and three times the deposit, and the deposit itself is repayable on top. The award is mandatory once a breach is found; only the multiplier is discretionary and it turns on culpability.

I protected the deposit on time — can I still be penalised?

Yes. Protection and serving the prescribed information are two separate duties, both within 30 days, and the sanction is the same for either. Most deposit claims are brought against landlords whose money was correctly protected the whole time.

What counts as the prescribed information?

A defined set of particulars: the scheme's contact details and leaflet, the deposit amount and property address, both parties' contact details, the circumstances for deductions, and a signed confirmation of accuracy. The scheme's certificate alone does not discharge it.

Did the Renters' Rights Act change deposit rules?

No. The caps are unchanged — five weeks' rent under £50,000 annual rent, six weeks at or above, holding deposit one week — and the protection and prescribed information duties are unchanged. What changed is that the old section 21 bar has less to bite on, since section 21 no longer exists.

Sources

Figures about our own council records are computed when this page is built, so they cannot drift from the database. Information tool, not legal advice.

Read next

Section 21 is gone: what Section 8 possession actually requires now8 min readWhat the Renters' Rights Act did NOT change8 min readThe written statement of terms and the information sheet: what must be given and when6 min readThe £30,000 civil penalty: how councils actually use s.249A7 min read

Check a specific property. Look up your council's licensing position across all 318 councils, run the free compliance check — five questions, no sign-up — or check a document with the tenancy agreement checker.