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We hold the deposit,
your deposit reference is in the format NI1234567

Your agent/landlord holds the deposit,
your deposit reference is in the format NI1234567

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Protecting Deposits

  • Visit the 'Is my deposit protected?' page and enter the Deposit Account Number (DAN) shown on your Deposit Protection Certificate. 

    You should have received documents about your deposit protection at the start of the tenancy, called Prescribed Information. If you do not have this paperwork you can search the database using details of the tenancy. 

    Is my deposit protected? ​​​​​​​

  • Insured protection: The agent or landlord holds the deposit and we have insurance covering it. If the agent or landlord fails to pay the money that they owe, we can refund the tenant and claim it from our insurance. We pursue them separately to recover the money that they owe. 

    Custodial protection: We hold the deposit in a designated account. We only release the funds when both parties agree or following a decision by a TDS Northern Ireland adjudicator. 

    Both forms of protection include free dispute resolution, whereby the tenant can refer a disagreement over the repayment of the deposit to us for impartial adjudication. Adjudication is mandatory when requested by the tenant. 

  • Your deposit can be held either by your agent/landlord or by TDS Northern Ireland:
    • Custodial protection: TDS Northern Ireland holds your deposit. 
    • Insured protection: Your agent/landlord holds your deposit.
    Please login to your TDS Northern Ireland account to find out where your deposit is held.

    Alternatively, refer to the Prescribed Information documents given to you by your agent/landlord at the start of the tenancy.

  • Your deposit does not need to be protected if:
    • It was paid before 1 April 2013.
    • It is a fee farm grant;
    • It is on a tenancy for a term certainly exceeding 99 years, unless that tenancy is, or may become, terminable before the end of that term by notice given to the tenant;
    • A tenancy the purpose of which is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy a dwelling-house for a holiday;
    • It is a tenancy under which the estate of the landlord belongs to -
    (i) the Crown (whether in right of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom or in Northern Ireland);
    (ii) a government department;
    (iii) the Executive;
    (iv) a registered housing association;
    (v) or is held in trust for His Majesty for the purposes of a government department.

  • Any deposit on a private tenancy received on or after 1 April 2013 must be protected in a government approved scheme.

  • Your agent or landlord should protect your deposit. The legal responsibility is with the landlord, but if you are using an agent, the agent will normally do it on the landlord's behalf. 
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