Private renting
Deposits
You may have to pay a deposit before you move in. Contact your local council about possible rent or deposit guarantee schemes if you’re having difficulty paying the deposit.
Deposit protection
Your landlord must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme if you have an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) that started after 6 April 2007 (in England and Wales).
Deposit disputes
Contact the tenancy deposit protection scheme your landlord used if you cannot get your deposit back.