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Deposits and rent in advance for student houses

Updated

If you rent a student house from a private landlord in England, you're likely to have an assured periodic tenancy, the type that replaced assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026. These are the limits on what a landlord or letting agent can ask you to pay, and what has to happen to your deposit.

Holding deposit: up to 1 week's rent

A landlord or agent can ask for a holding deposit to reserve a property while they carry out checks. It can be up to one week's rent.

A holding deposit doesn't have to go into a protection scheme. Once you become a tenant it becomes your deposit, and that does.

Tenancy deposit: up to 5 weeks' rent

The most a landlord or agent can ask for as a tenancy deposit is:

  • 5 weeks' rent, if the rent for the year is less than £50,000
  • 6 weeks' rent, if the rent for the year is £50,000 or more

If you paid more than the maximum, ask for the extra back. If they refuse, report them to the local council: Bristol City Council in Bristol, or South Gloucestershire Council in Filton. You can also apply to the First-tier Tribunal if you rent from a landlord directly, or to the agent's redress scheme if you rent through a letting agent.

Rent in advance: no more than a month before you move in

A landlord or agent must not ask for, encourage or accept any rent before you have both signed the tenancy agreement.

Between signing and the day the tenancy starts, they can usually ask for at most:

  • one month's rent, if you pay monthly
  • 28 days' rent, if you pay weekly

Once the tenancy starts, rent is due weekly or monthly on the day in your agreement, and the agreement usually can't make you pay before it's due. You can choose to pay early, but the landlord or agent can't make you. So you can't be required to pay a term or a year up front, for example in place of a UK guarantor.

If you're asked for more, complain to the local council for the property. Keep any evidence, such as messages, emails and payment records, with dates. If the council finds you were illegally asked for rent in advance, it can ask the landlord to repay you. You can also complain to the letting agent, then to their redress scheme: The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme.

Your deposit must be protected within 30 days

Your landlord or agent must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme within 30 days of getting it. This applies even if someone else, such as a parent, paid it. In England there are three schemes:

Within the same 30 days they must tell you:

  • the address of the property and how much deposit you paid
  • how it's protected, and the name and contact details of the scheme and its dispute service
  • their name and contact details, or the letting agent's
  • the name and contact details of anyone else who paid the deposit
  • why they might keep some or all of it
  • how to get it back, what to do if you can't reach them at the end of the tenancy, and what to do if you disagree

How to check your deposit is protected

If you haven't been told which scheme holds your deposit, ask the schemes. Each one can check for you:

If it isn't protected, write to the landlord first. It can be quicker and cheaper than going to court. If that doesn't work, you can apply to the county court. The court can order the landlord to repay the deposit or protect it, and to pay you up to 3 times the deposit. The court fee is £387, which you can claim back from the landlord if you win. Get legal advice before you apply; you don't need a solicitor.

Getting it back

Your landlord must return your deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you'll get back. They can keep some of it for unpaid rent or bills, damage, or other breaks of your tenancy agreement.

If you disagree about how much you get back, your scheme has a free dispute resolution service. You and the landlord both have to agree to use it, you both give evidence, and the decision is final. If you can't contact your landlord at all, you can raise a dispute with the scheme to get your deposit back. Do it soon, as there may be a time limit.

Dated photos of every room on the day you move in, and a checked inventory, are the evidence you'll need if there's a dispute.

Sources

Checked against these pages on 21 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. For free advice on your situation, contact Citizens Advice.

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