FAQs - Submissions

If you have registered online, you can submit deposits by logging into your account and selecting Submit a new deposit. From here simply follow the on screen prompts. If you do not have an online account, you need to complete a Deposit Submission Form and send it to The DPS with a cheque for the deposit amount. If you do not have a Deposit Submission Form, you may order one by contacting us on 0844 4727 000.

Deposit Submission Forms must be signed by the registered agent/landlord (at the bottom of the reverse of the form) and details of the sole/lead tenant must be entered in Section 4 of the form. Also, if the tenancy start date is 14 days or more from the date when the deposit submission is registered, an interim contact address must be entered for the sole/lead tenant.

All cheques must be signed and must be made payable to The Deposit Protection Service. Please note that multiple cheques in respect of one deposit are not acceptable.

Payments can be made by cheque, debit card or direct bank transfer; The DPS does not accept credit cards or cash. If you wish to submit deposits by direct bank transfer, you will need to have registered online. When logged into your account, a bank transfer user guide is available from the Bank Transfers drop down menu.

Cheques can be from the tenant or an associated account of the agent/landlord. Cheques must be made payable to The Deposit Protection Service and must be for the full amount of the deposit; The DPS does not accept multiple cheques to cover one deposit.

Please note that there is an administration fee of £25.89 incurred for cheques that are returned unpaid. It is therefore advisable for agents/landlords to wait for a tenant’s cheque to clear and then secure the deposit. It is possible to do this and still secure the deposit within the required 14 days.

The DPS will only accept deposit submission cheques in pounds sterling, drawn on a UK bank.

The DPS allows up to five days for payments to clear. As soon as a deposit submission payment has cleared, confirmation is issued to both agent/landlord and sole/lead tenant. If an email address is registered, the confirmation will be sent via email. However, it can take banks up to ten days to notify us of dishonoured payments, so there may be instances where we have issued confirmations without being in receipt of cleared funds. In these cases we will notify both parties seeking further payment immediately.

A deposit ID number is the unique identification number created for each individual deposit submitted for safekeeping to The DPS.

The lead tenant is the individual tenant that acts on behalf of all the other tenants when dealing with The DPS. The lead tenant can make enquiries and initiate deposit repayments. They can also authorise or validate a deposit repayment that has been initiated by the agent/landlord. The lead tenant must ensure that all tenants and any third party receive the appropriate share of any deposit that is to be repaid to them.

Each deposit must be treated as a single submission; we do not accept summary documents. If the deposit has been submitted online and payment is to be made by cheque, each cheque must have an Online Cheque Submission Form attached to it when it is received by The DPS. If a postal submission is being made, a Deposit Submission Form must be completed in respect of each deposit and sent to The DPS with cheques for each deposit amount.

It is possible to secure multiple deposits against the same property address. You may wish to distinguish between each deposit by adding, for example, "Room 1", "Room 2", etc.

If you are submitting a deposit online against an address you have already registered, simply select Submit a new deposit and then select the property address by scrolling through your property portfolio and clicking on the one you wish to update. You will then be able to continue through the deposit submission.

If a deposit payment is received where the details are the same as a previously submitted deposit, The DPS will not necessarily recognise this as a duplicate payment. This is because in many instances, agents/landlords intend to set up more than one deposit with the same details. If this is a mistake, you should contact The DPS for advice. Essentially, both the agent/landlord and tenant will need to complete the Joint Deposit Repayment process in order to claim back one of the deposits.

If you have underpaid a deposit, you can secure the further amount as a separate deposit submission. Please note however that if you do this, it will be necessary to complete two separate Joint Deposit Repayment claims with the tenant at the end of the tenancy. Alternatively, you can reclaim the secured deposit by completing the Joint Deposit Repayment claim with the tenant and then submit a new deposit for the correct amount.

If you have overpaid a deposit, you will need to complete a Joint Deposit Repayment claim with the tenant and then submit a new deposit for the correct amount.

Yes, there is a template that can be downloaded from our Document Library or by clicking here. Please complete all mandatory fields and then forward the completed spreadsheet to bulkuploads@depositprotection.com. We will upload the deposit submissions to your account and then contact you with regard to payment.

No, If deposits are being secured with The DPS they must be for the full amount as stated in the contract (AST). If you are accepting the deposit in instalments from the tenant, then you should either submit the entire deposit yourself and recover it from the tenant over the course of the tenancy or use one of the insurance schemes.