How much can a landlord charge for a tenancy deposit in England?

Full answer

The tenancy deposit cap was introduced by the Tenant Fees Act 2019 to stop landlords and agents charging excessive upfront deposits, and it works alongside the long-standing requirement to protect deposits in an approved scheme. **The cap itself** For most assured shorthold tenancies in England where the total annual rent is below £50,000, the maximum deposit a landlord can lawfully take is five weeks' rent. Where the annual rent is £50,000 or higher (relevant mainly to higher-value lettings), the cap rises to six weeks' rent. **How to calculate five weeks' rent** Because months vary in length, the standard formula converts monthly rent to a weekly figure first: multiply the monthly rent by 12 to get the annual rent, divide by 52 to get the weekly rent, then multiply by five. This avoids simply multiplying the monthly rent by 1.15, which would not correctly reflect five weeks in most months. **Worked example** A property lets for £1,300 a calendar month. Annual rent is £1,300 x 12 = £15,600. Weekly rent is £15,600 / 52 = £300. Five weeks' rent is therefore £300 x 5 = £1,500 -- this is the maximum lawful deposit the landlord can request, even though five weeks might loosely seem close to £1,495 (1,300 x 1.15) using an approximate method; the precise annual-then-weekly calculation is the one enforceable under the Act. **Protecting the deposit** Any deposit taken (up to the cap) must be placed in one of the government-approved tenancy deposit protection schemes within 30 days of receipt, and the tenant must be given prescribed information about which scheme is being used, how to apply for its return, and how to resolve disputes -- failure to protect a deposit correctly can prevent a landlord from serving a valid Section 21 notice and can lead to a court ordering compensation of one to three times the deposit amount. **What happens if a landlord overcharges** A deposit taken above the statutory cap is treated as a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act, and the excess (or the whole deposit, depending on the circumstances) must be repaid to the tenant -- a landlord who has taken an excessive deposit is also blocked from serving a valid Section 21 notice to end the tenancy until the unlawful amount is repaid. **Pet deposits and holding deposits are separate** The five/six week cap applies to the tenancy deposit itself; a separate, much smaller holding deposit (capped at one week's rent) can be taken to reserve a property before the tenancy starts, and it must be credited against the first month's rent or deposit, or refunded, within set timescales -- landlords cannot simply add an extra deposit on top of the cap for pets or other reasons. **Practical tip** Always calculate the maximum deposit using the annual-rent-divided-by-52-times-five method rather than a rough monthly conversion, protect the deposit within 30 days in an approved scheme, and give the tenant the required prescribed information promptly to avoid jeopardising your ability to regain possession later.

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