What to File After You Protect a Tenancy Deposit (Scheme, Date, Reference)

The money left the tenant’s account. Someone said it was protected. If the only proof is a WhatsApp or an agent login, November will not open a file. Keep three fields on that tenancy — scheme name, protection date, unique reference — plus the downloaded scheme confirmation. Log the receipt date, write which model you used, download the PDF, paste the three fields, and stop.

Saturday. Nora’s one let in Nottingham. The tenant paid the deposit to the agent on the 3rd; keys go out on the 28th. Her calendar still says “protect deposit — move-in”. The agent WhatsApps “DPS done” with no PDF. In November she needs the unique reference and finds only that chat.

The clock starts when the money lands, not on move-in day. A deposit paid on 3 September for a 28 September start must be protected from the 3rd. Typical mistake — and a risk: diarising protection on keys-out while the 30 days are already running. In practice a “DPS done” chat is a lead, not the file.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

When to start the 30-day clock — money landing or move-in day?

The 30-day protect window starts on the date the deposit is received — your account or the agent’s — not on keys-out, not on the agreement date, and not on first rent day. Log amount, who paid, whose account, and the cleared date the same day the money lands.

Do write that cleared date as day one. Do not wait for keys-out. GOV.UK (checked 12 September 2026): you or your letting agent must put the deposit in an approved tenancy deposit protection scheme — a TDP scheme — within 30 days of getting it. Housing Act 2004 s.213(3): initial scheme requirements within 30 days beginning with the date the deposit is received.

For example, Nora’s tenant paid the agent on the 3rd. Day one is the 3rd, even though keys leave on the 28th. A holding deposit is not this file until they become a tenant — then the same 30-day clock starts. NRLA (2 February 2026): protect within 30 days of receipt; late protection is treated like no protection.

Custodial or insured — which model do you write on the file?

Custodial means the scheme holds the cash for free. Insured means you or the agent hold the cash and pay the scheme to insure it. Write which model you used on the file. Do not rank the three approved schemes, and do not delay the choice past receipt.

Do pick for how you handle the money. Do not turn this into a shop window. GOV.UK’s landlord hub names DPS, MyDeposits and TDS, and still lists both models. Custodial = the money reaches the scheme. Insured = registered and insured while you still hold the cash. In an insured dispute you must give the money to the scheme.

Nora needed one line: “custodial — DPS”. Not a 2026 bake-off. NRLA: choose the model to suit how you handle the money — do not delay. Write it. Move on.

What to download after you register, transfer or insure?

Do not stop at “I clicked submit”. Download the scheme confirmation from the account and save the PDF on the tenancy. A dashboard login is not the file. If the PDF is not there when you expect it, contact the scheme the same day.

Do download immediately. Do not treat the agent portal as the archive. DPS: a Certificate of Deposit Protection per deposit — log in → View tenancies → Manage tenancy → View deposit certificate (DPS during-tenancy tools). TDS Custodial: certificate once cleared funds arrive (rule 6.1); if you cannot see it, contact TDS (rule 6.2). Custodial accounts use the EW… format (TDS Custodial scheme rules).

mydeposits: download the DPC — the deposit protection certificate — from the member account; duplicates live there. Insured refs usually begin DPC or EWC; custodial refs begin DPN (mydeposits insured scheme rules). Nora’s Saturday job was that PDF, not another ping.

What to store with the tenancy — scheme name, date, unique reference?

Store scheme name, protection date and unique reference with the tenancy, not in a chat. Add the PDF path, the receipt date, and who holds the cash. If an agent received the money, get the confirmation and the reference in writing and keep your own copy.

Do paste the three fields onto the tenancy. Do not leave the only copy in WhatsApp. mydeposits: the landlord on the agreement is ultimately responsible even if an agent is instructed — ask for a copy of the DPC. The unique reference is a real field: DPS Deposit ID; TDS custodial EW…; mydeposits DPC/EWC or DPN.

This is not a row on the certificate date calendar, and it is not a safety-certificate send log. Those cards date gas, EICR and EPC. This card is where the deposit money went. A dated PDF on the tenancy beats rebuilding the trail from a dashboard later.

Why does this file stop before a scheme shop window or a dispute pack?

Because the job is the reference file, not a bake-off and not a two-year evidence pack. This card stops at the receipt date, the model you used, the confirmation PDF, and three fields on the tenancy.

Do not rank the three schemes. Do not assemble claim photos here — that is the deposit dispute evidence pack. Do not serve prescribed information — the statutory notice the scheme certificate does not replace. Shelter Legal (updated 5 August 2025): sending the scheme certificate is not enough for that notice. That serve-and-proof job is the next file.

Success bar: the tenancy opens receipt date, custodial or insured, a confirmation PDF, and scheme + date + unique reference — without opening WhatsApp. Verify that checklist, then stop. Workflow: Log receipt → Write the model → Register, transfer or insure → Download the PDF → Paste three fields → Stop. An IziRento workspace can hold those fields and a path to the PDF on the same lease.