When tenancies come to an end there are sometimes disagreements over who receives the deposit.
If the deposit is protected by TDS, the dispute can be referred to us and resolved by a professional, impartial adjudicator. We will decide how much should be awarded to each party based on the evidence you send us.
There are different processes depending on whether the deposit is protected with our Custodial scheme (TDS holds the money) or our Insured scheme (the landlord or letting agent holds the money).
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| In our Insured scheme, you should: | In our Custodial scheme, you should: |
| Open your tenancy deposit protection record here by entering your certificate code. Follow the link at the bottom of the page to raise a dispute or respond to a dispute. | Login to your account. Start or respond to a repayment request. |
| Are you the tenant? If you start the dispute we then contact your landlord or agent and request the disputed money be paid to us. | If the deductions are disputed we will invite the landlord/agent to submit evidence to support their claim and then invite the tenant to respond. |
| Are you the landlord? If you start the dispute you must pay the disputed money to us straight away. |
We hold the money securely during the dispute and repay it according to the adjudicator’s decision. With TDS Insured, we can only accept disputes up to three months after the end of the tenancy. With TDS Custodial there is no deadline within which to start the repayment process.
Our adjudicators make their decisions based on the evidence you provide. To better your chances of success read our guidance on the right, How to present your case to the TDS Adjudicator. Please also read:
When we receive your Dispute Application we will contact the other party to request their response and for the disputed money to be paid to us. Having reviewed the case to confirm we are able to adjudicate, the dispute will be referred to an impartial adjudicator. Within 28 days they will examine all of the evidence to decide how the deposit should be apportioned and write a report explaining the reasons for their decision. We will then issue the report and pay the disputed money accordingly.
TDS has achieved ‘Complaint Handler’ membership of the Ombudsman Association. This means that we have significant experience in dealing with disputes and operate in accordance with the Principles of Good Complaint Handling.