mydeposits offers two deposit protection schemes: custodial and insured-backed. Both schemes protect tenants' deposits as required by law, but they work differently.
- Custodial
o There is no membership, application, or fee required.
o When a deposit is protected, the funds are transferred to and held by mydeposits for the duration of the tenancy.
o Property managers can start protecting deposits immediately with no setup.
o There is no limit on the number of deposits that can be protected.
- Insured-backed
o The property manager must activate a membership, complete an application, and pay an annual membership fee.
o If the property manager is an agent, their application will need to be reviewed and approved before they can proceed to payment.
o The property manager keeps hold of the deposit for the duration of the tenancy -the funds are not transferred to mydeposits.
o Deposit allocations are purchased as part of the membership, and each deposit protected uses one allocation.
o The property manager is responsible for returning the deposit directly to the tenant when the tenancy ends.
In summary, custodial is a simpler, no-cost option where mydeposits holds the deposit on behalf of the property manager, while insured-backed gives the property manager the flexibility to retain the deposit funds in exchange for an annual membership fee and a more involved setup process.
To activate an insured-backed membership, the property manager should navigate to Memberships > Insured-backed and select the "Activate" action. They will need to complete the membership application form and click "Save & Activate."
No. The property manager's corresponding address (for private landlords) or primary address (for company landlords and agents) must be within the UK to activate aninsured-backed membership.
A deposit allocation represents the number of deposits a property manager can protect under their insured-backed membership. Each time a deposit is protected, the available allocation decreases by one. The property manager specifies how many allocations they need when they first pay for their membership.
If the available deposit allocations reach zero, the "Protect" button will be disabled. A message will be displayed suggesting the property manager boosts their allocation. They can do this by navigating to their insured-backed membership page and purchasing additional allocations through the payment panel.
Yes. The property manager should navigate to the payment panel under the Details tab in their insured-backed membership, set up the number of additional allocations required, and pay for them. The available allocation will update immediately once payment is complete.
If a property manager has used all of their deposit allocations and needs to protect more deposits before their membership renews, they can extend their allocation at any time. The cost of the additional allocations is calculated on a pro-rata basis, meaning the further into the membership year they are, the less they pay per additional allocation.
For example, if the property manager extends their allocation halfway through the membership year, they will pay roughly half the annual rate for each additional allocation. If they extend with only a few months remaining, the cost will be lower still.
Yes. When calculating the price of additional allocations, the tiered pricing structure is based on the property manager's total allocation — that is, the original allocations plus the new ones combined. The additional deposits slot into the appropriate pricing tier based on this total, not just the number of new allocations being added. This means the property manager may benefit from lower per-deposit rates if their total allocation moves into a higher tier.
Yes. Discounts can be applied at the point of payment. These are percentage-based and may include:
All discounts are calculated as a percentage of the membership fee and will be reflected in the total before payment is confirmed.
Yes. Once a tenancy is closed and the deposit protection has ended, the allocation is returned so it can be reused for a new deposit, provided the membership is Active or Suspended.
The insured-backed membership renews annually. When the renewal date approaches, the property manager will be notified. They should navigate to the Renewal tab under their insured-backed membership, review or adjust their allocations forthe next period, and make payment. The suggested allocation will cover the number of deposits they currently have protected with active or registered tenancies.
If the property manager doesn't renew within the required timeframe, their membership will be suspended for non-renewal. While suspended, they cannot protect new deposits. They can resolve this by paying for their renewal. Once payment is received, the membership will return to Active status.
There are 10 steps required to complete the bulk upload of your properties and/or tenancies. Please see below:
1. Once selecting the ‘bulk upload’ tab, the system will notify you of the progress by sending in-app notifications and by email.
Top tip : If you would prefer not to receive these or only be contacted by one method, you can unselect the options.
3. If you are a company with multiple offices, please select which office you would like the property, tenancy or protections to be created under and click ‘next’.
Top tip : You can change the office that a property, tenancy or protection is linked to after it has been created by editing the property record. Or you can create individual CSV files for each office and carry out the bulk upload process for each office separately.
4. Upload your CSV file by clicking ‘Choose file’. If you need the template, it is available to download here, simply fill in with the required data and upload once complete.
Top tip : If you upload the wrong file, you can remove this by clicking on the bin icon next to the file name and upload the correct file.
5. Once your CSV file has been uploaded, click ‘Start import’ to load the data into the system.
6. The system will begin the import of the CSV file and run validation checks.
Top tip : You can navigate away from this page while it is processing the file and it will continue checks in the background.
Please note, you may receive an error message if the file is in the wrong format or structure. If you receive an error, please double check your file is in a CSV file format and that the file matches our template structure.
It is important to remember, the records have not yet been created in the system. Only the content of the CSV file has been copied and the validation checks have been run.
7. Once the system has finished validation, a summary of the following information will be displayed:
a. The number of records which have passed validation
b. The number of records which have errors
You can view the list of these properties and details of the errors by opening the ‘error log.csv’ file on the right side of the screen. This will show you details of the error(s) after all the columns with data in.
For example, if the last data column is ‘BA’, the error will show in column ‘BB’ onwards
Please note, the system will also list all the records uploaded from the CSV file on the screen. Those highlighted in green or white have passed validation and those highlighted in red have errors (which can be viewed in more detail on the error log).
Top tip : If you do not want to proceed with creating any records, you can press ‘Cancel import’ at any time. Please note, the data will still show on the screen but once you start a new import this will be removed.
8. If there are no errors, please click the ‘Complete’ button. The system will then start to create the records into our system one by one.
Top tip : You can navigate away from this screen while the system is creating these records and it will continue processing in the background. You will receive a notification by your chosen contact method when all valid records have been created.
9. Once the process has finished, please check to see if any records incurred an error and whether an error log has been completed. For any errors, the records have not been created in the system and you will need to take the following steps to edit and complete the process.
10. If you have some records with errors, you can either:
a. Cancel the current import, fix the errors on your original CSV file, and begin the upload process again in order to create all records at the same time
or
b. Create the records for the valid rows by clicking ‘Complete’ and these will be saved in our system. Next, download the error log and save it to your computer, correct the errors and remove the error description. You can then repeat the bulk upload process from the beginning, uploading the amended error log CSV file.
Top tip : It is best to wait until all valid records are created before downloading the error log. This is because records that appeared valid initially may incur an error and will be added to the error log during the creation process.
Please note, if all the records have errors, you will not be able to proceed. If this happens you should download the error log file, click ‘Cancel import’, correct the errors, and remove the error descriptions. Then you can repeat the bulk upload process from the beginning, uploading the amended error log CSV file.
Remember that the list of records will remain on the screen until a new bulk upload is started.
Top tip: If you belong to a company account with multiple users, the bulk import feature can only be used by one user at a time. Once a bulk upload is successfully completed for one user, the records will remain on the screen until you or another user with access to the company account begins a new bulk upload.
Yes, but only if all insured-backed deposits in Protected or Part-protected status have their tenancies closed. The property manager should navigate to their membership details and select the "End membership" action. They will need to confirm the action. Once ended, they will no longer be able to protect deposits under the insured-backed scheme.
The property manager will not be able to protect new deposits while their membership is inactive. If the membership progresses to cancellation, all deposits currently protected under it will stop being protected on a specified date (90 days after the pending cancellation date). The tenants associated with those deposits will be notified of this.
An insured-backed membership may be suspended because it is not currently incompliance with the mydeposits Scheme Rules. The specific reason for the suspension and any comments from mydeposits will be displayed on the property manager's Membership page. Common reasons include failure to renew the membership at the end of the membership period.
While the membership is suspended, the property manager will not be able to protect any new deposits using the insured-backed scheme. Any deposits that are already protected will remain protected during the suspension period - they are not affected immediately. However, if the suspension is not resolved, the membership will progress to cancellation, which will affect existing protections.
Access to the online account will be limited during suspension. The property manager will not be able to protect new deposits or end any existing deposit protections. They can still view their membership details and the reason for suspension.
The suspension lasts for a set notice period, during which the property manager is expected to resolve the issue that caused the breach. The deadline for resolution is shown on the Membership page. If the matter is not resolved before the deadline, mydeposits will proceed with the membership cancellation process.
To have the membership reactivated, the property manager needs to resolve the issue outlined in the suspension notice. Details of the breach, the steps required, and the deadline are provided in the suspension email and on the Membership page. If the property manager would like to discuss the suspension, they can email auditriskandcompliance@mydeposits.co.uk.
Tenants are not notified at the suspension stage. However, if the membership progresses to the cancellation stage, tenants will be informed that their deposit protection will end on a specific date.
If the matter that led to the suspension is not resolved within the required timeframe, the membership will move to "Pending cancellation." This means all deposits currently protected under the insured-backed membership will enter a 90-day run-off period, after which they will stop being protected. Cancellation is permanent and cannot be undone.
Pending cancellation means the membership is progressing through the cancellation process. Existing deposit protections will continue for a limited time (up to 90 days from the pending cancellation date), but once that period ends, all remaining protections will be ended and the membership status will become "Cancelled."
Yes. Mydeposits will inform tenants that their deposit will continue to have protection only until a specific date. Tenants will be advised to check with the property manager about the continued protection of their deposit and the steps being taken to provide evidence of its re-protection. If the property manager is an agent, mydeposits will also write to their landlord clientsadvising them of the situation and reminding them of their responsibilitiesregarding deposit protection.
Tenants are advised that they are responsible for requesting their deposit back at the end of the tenancy (the request should be made in writing and evidence of it should be kept). If the property manager proposes deductions, tenants should discuss them with the property manager. The property manager should return any agreed amount within 10 days of the tenant's request. If agreement cannot be reached, the tenant can raise a resolution with mydeposits before the protection end date. Tenants who plan to continue their tenancy should ask the property manager for proof that their deposit has been re-protected.
No. Cancellation of membership is permanent and cannot be undone. Once the cancellation process has completed, the property manager would need to explore alternative options for deposit protection.
Once the 90-day run-off period expires, any deposits that are still protected will have their protection ended automatically. The reason recorded will be that the insured-backed membership was cancelled. If there is an ongoing resolution case (e.g. Evidence review, resolution, or court proceedings), the deposit protection may continue until that case is concluded.
Within the spreadsheet, each row is a new record. The title of each column is shown below, with information on what needs to be provided.
Top tip: The titles of each column should not be edited in any way as this will cause an error when uploading.