Deposits & Compliance | Protection, certificates, right to rent

Deposits & compliance

The law's requirements are our minimum

Deposit protection and property compliance are not value-adds; they are the floor. Here is exactly how we handle both.

Since 2007, every assured shorthold tenancy deposit in England must be protected with a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receipt, and the tenant must receive the prescribed information. Since 2020, that applies to every existing tenancy too. We treat the deadline as day zero, not day thirty: deposits are registered as part of move-in, not as an admin afterthought, and the confirmation sits in your document vault the same week.

At the end of a tenancy, any deduction proposal comes with evidence attached: the check-in inventory, mid-term inspection reports, checkout photos and invoices. If the tenant disputes a deduction, the scheme's free adjudication service decides, not us — and we propose only what we would win with documents in hand, which is the only test that matters.

Compliance is the other half of the same discipline: gas safety certificates every twelve months, EPC rated E or above before marketing, electrical installations inspected at least every five years, smoke alarms on every storey and carbon monoxide alarms where required, and right-to-rent checks documented with expiry reminders. Our compliance calendar tracks all of it, with reminders nobody is allowed to snooze.

Deposit registered with a government-approved scheme within 30 days — in practice, at move-in
Prescribed information issued to tenant and relevant person
Evidence-backed deduction proposals only: inventory, photos, invoices
Gas safety every 12 months, EICR every 5, EPC tracked to expiry
Right-to-rent checks documented, with expiry reminders diarised

The compliance calendar

What we track, so nothing lapses

Requirement	Frequency	How we handle it
Deposit protection	Within 30 days of receipt	Registered at move-in; confirmation and prescribed information in your vault same week.
Gas safety (CP12)	Every 12 months	Booked by the desk 60 days ahead by a Gas Safe engineer; certificate issued to tenant within 28 days.
EPC (energy certificate)	Valid 10 years; min band E to let	Tracked to expiry; renewal advised 90 days out with cost-effective improvement advice.
Electrical safety (EICR)	At least every 5 years	NICEIC-qualified inspection; any C1/C2 faults remedied and certified before tenancy continues.
Smoke & CO alarms	Every storey; near fixed combustion appliances	Checked and logged at every inspection; tenancies start with tested alarms, documented.
Right to rent	Before tenancy; at visa expiry	Documented checks with expiry reminders diarised — rechecks never left to chance.
Licensing (selective/additional)	Scheme-specific	Block-by-block map of local schemes; applications made before letting, fees with the landlord.

Penalties are real. Unprotected deposits can cost landlords up to three times the deposit in compensation, and civil penalties for safety lapses run to £30,000 per breach. Our compliance record exists precisely so our landlords never meet those numbers.

Deposit questions, answered

The end-of-tenancy conversation, de-fanged

When exactly do I get my deposit back?

Once the checkout inspection is done and any deduction is agreed, the scheme returns it within about ten working days. Disagreements go to the scheme's free adjudication, which adds a few weeks but costs nothing. We propose deductions within five days of checkout so nobody is left guessing.

What is fair wear and tear?

The deterioration any home shows from ordinary use over time: carpet worn along a hallway line, paint fading, a door that sticks in summer. Damage is different — burns, holes, stains, breakage. The test accounts for tenancy length, number of occupants and the age of the item at move-in. The inventory is the yardstick, which is why we photograph everything.

Can the deposit cover unpaid rent?

Yes — rent arrears are the most common legitimate deduction. It cannot cover disputes about “early break clause costs” invented at checkout, only sums the tenancy agreement and the law allow, evidenced the same as damage.

My deposit was protected late by a previous agent. What now?

Tenants can apply to court for up to three times the deposit in compensation if protection was late or never happened. That claim runs against the landlord. If you are a landlord inheriting that exposure from an old agent, talk to us about regularising everything before it becomes a claim.

The law's requirements are our minimum

What we track, so nothing lapses

The end-of-tenancy conversation, de-fanged

Compliance keeping you up at night?