Following criticism from a leading campaign group that too many tenants struggle to get their rental deposi back from landlords and letting agents, new research based on data provided by all the UK’s Government-approved schemes paints a different picture, it has been revealed.

The data, gathered in part by the Government, shows that tenants receive all or part of their rental deposit back in 90% of cases in the insurance-backed schemes, and in over 80% of cases within the custodial schemes.

Also, landlords keep all of the deposit less than 20% of the time, and just 7% of the time in insurance scheme disputes.

Total Property, which operates Mydeposits, claims these figures challenge the misconception that landlords routinely withhold deposits unfairly and that in practice tenants typically reclaim a significant portion, if not all, of their deposit.

Latest data

The latest data for July also shows that disputes within custodial schemes are resolved in an average of 15 days, comprising 10 days for adjudication and five days for case assessment.

Over the broader period from May to July, the average resolution time was 21 days (13 days to adjudication, seven days for case assessment).

For insurance schemes, resolution times are longer due to the different processes involved.During July 2025, the average resolution time was 55 days (41 days for case assessment and 14 days for adjudication).

And from May to July 2025, the average was 59 days, with 43 days for assessment and 16 days for adjudication.

But mydeposits says it is “continually reviewing and refining its approach to improve turnaround times across both schemes, with a focus on delivering fair outcomes quickly and efficiently”.

This latest data comes just a few weeks after Generation Rent claimed that nearly a quarter of tenants didn’t get their full deposit returned and claimed renters wait ‘too long’ for disputes to be settled, calling for a maximum 14-day decision period to be introduced.

Disputes

Eddie Hooker, CEO of Mydeposits, says: “There is a common assumption that tenants rarely get their deposits back, or that the system is too slow to resolve disputes.

“The data shows the opposite. Most tenants receive all or part of their deposit, and our custodial resolution process is delivering decisions within days. Where there is no dispute, or only a portion of the deposit is in question, we make sure the rest is returned as quickly as possible. Our focus is on fairness, efficiency and trust.”