Every deposit, the same fortnight
Student lets run on the academic calendar, so deposits land together. Group houses pay in spring when they sign, and then tenancies start in September, all at once. Each deposit needs registering with a deposit protection scheme within the time the rules allow, and the prescribed information needs serving to the tenant and anyone who paid on their behalf, such as a parent.
Your lettings team is also handling check-ins, maintenance and late bookings. The deposit list is a column on a spreadsheet, and ticks go in when someone remembers to add them.
Why deposits slip through
Registration itself is simple. The risk is in volume, timing and the details of who paid what. Student houses often have joint deposits paid by several parents. Some deposits are paid in parts. Some tenants change before the tenancy starts. Each of these makes the paperwork slightly different.
- Deposits are recorded when paid, but the deadline is not tracked from that date.
- Joint deposits paid by several people are split inconsistently.
- Replacement tenants mean re-registration, which is easy to miss.
- Proof that information was served is in email sent items, if anywhere.
- The scheme's own records and yours drift apart during the year.
What getting it wrong costs
The consequences of late protection or information that was not served are a matter for your legal advisers, and they are well known in the lettings world to be serious. Short of that, poor records make deposit disputes at the end of the tenancy harder to handle, and they create stress each September for the team.
The deposit tracker we build
- When a deposit payment lands, from your bank feed, payment provider or lettings software, the tracker creates a deposit record against the tenancy and starts the countdown to your registration deadline.
- Who paid is recorded, including parents and joint payers, so the relevant people receive the paperwork.
- Registrations are prepared in the format your scheme accepts. Where the scheme has an API or bulk upload, they are sent that way; otherwise a batch is ready for a person to submit.
- The scheme reference is recorded when registration is confirmed.
- The prescribed information and the scheme's leaflet are sent to each tenant and relevant person, and the tracker keeps a copy of what was sent and when.
- Changes such as a replacement tenant trigger a task to update the scheme and serve updated information.
- Your team works from one list sorted by days remaining, with anything close to the deadline at the top.
| Deposit status | Shown as | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Paid, not registered | Days remaining | Registration prepared |
| Registered, information not served | Amber | Send documents |
| Registered and served | Green | Nothing |
| Tenant changed | Red | Update scheme and re-serve |
The deadlines and the content of what must be served come from the rules and your scheme. We build around them, and your advisers confirm the process; we do not give legal advice.
What September looks like with it
Nobody counts days on a calendar. The team starts each day with a short list of deposits that need action. Proof of what was sent is attached to each tenancy. When a deposit dispute comes at the end of the year, the registration and paperwork trail is complete.
Is this your deposit process?
- Most of your deposits arrive in a few weeks each year.
- Deposit registration is tracked in a spreadsheet.
- Joint deposits paid by parents make the paperwork confusing.
- Proof that information was served is hard to find.
- Tenant changes before the tenancy starts are sometimes missed at the scheme.