Deposit Protection Service (DPS)
The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) is one of the three government-authorised tenancy deposit protection schemes for England and Wales. It is the largest scheme, holding around 40% of protected deposits.
If you pay a tenancy deposit under an assured shorthold tenancy and, under the Renters’ Rights Act reforms, under the new standard periodic tenancies, your landlord or agent must protect it in an approved scheme such as the DPS within 30 days and give you “prescribed information” about where it is held. Failure to do this can affect the landlord’s ability to regain possession and can lead to financial penalties.
The DPS offers two types of protection. In a custodial scheme, the DPS holds the deposit for free and releases it at the end of the tenancy once both sides agree, or after its adjudication process. In an insured scheme, the landlord keeps the money but pays a fee for DPS protection. If there is a dispute, the deposit can be paid into the scheme until it is resolved.
