Three schemes — DPS (Deposit Protection Service), TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) and mydeposits — are authorised by MHCLG to protect tenancy deposits in England under section 213 of the Housing Act 2004. The legal protection they provide is identical: the same 30-day registration deadline, the same prescribed-information rules, the same exposure to a court-ordered penalty of 1–3× the deposit and the same Section 21 block until the breach is fixed.
So the question is never "which scheme is most legally robust" — it is "which scheme is the best fit for your portfolio shape". This guide breaks the decision down into the four variables that actually move the needle in 2026: custodial vs insured, per-deposit cost vs subscription, dispute resolution speed, and ecosystem depth (insurance, agent integration, deposit-replacement). At the bottom of the guide there is a 60-second decision quiz that hands you a ranked recommendation.
The 30-second answer
If you don’t want to read 4,000 words, here is the conventional wisdom in two lines per profile:
If your situation matches one of those, the rest of the article is background. If it doesn’t — e.g. you are a 4-property landlord using one agent and one self-managed flat — read on.
What "custodial" and "insured" actually mean
Every authorised scheme offers two product variants. The legal effect is the same; the cash-flow mechanic is opposite.
Custodial = the scheme holds the deposit in trust during the tenancy. You transfer the cash to the scheme within 30 days of receipt, the scheme issues the protection certificate, and the money sits there until the tenancy ends. End-of-tenancy: tenant and landlord agree the deduction split, the scheme refunds the agreed amounts. Custodial is free for the landlord on all three schemes (the scheme makes its money on the interest earned on the float).
Insured = the landlord (or agent) holds the deposit in their own account. The scheme provides an insurance wrapper that guarantees the tenant will be repaid even if the landlord/agent disappears. Insured costs a per-deposit fee (typically £15–20 + VAT) or, on mydeposits Annual Subscription, an annual fee that covers unlimited insured deposits.
Which is "better"? It depends on what you value:
For a self-managing landlord with a healthy reserve and 1–9 tenancies, custodial is almost always the right answer. The "I want the cash flow" argument matters when you are running 50+ tenancies and £200k of deposits is genuinely meaningful working capital — but at that scale you also want the predictable cost of an annual subscription, which only mydeposits offers cleanly.
DPS — the government-owned default
The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) is run by Computershare under contract to MHCLG. It launched in 2007 alongside TDS as one of the two original schemes (mydeposits joined later). DPS is the largest of the three by deposit volume, and it dominates the self-managing landlord segment because the custodial product is the simplest possible thing — transfer the money, get a protection certificate, do nothing for the rest of the tenancy.
Pricing in 2026:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: a self-managing landlord with 1–9 tenancies who values simplicity and free protection over speed of dispute resolution or wider ecosystem.
TDS — the agent and adjudication champion
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is run by The Dispute Service Ltd. It launched in 2007 alongside DPS as the original scheme. TDS dominates the letting-agent segment through TDS Insured, which is the historic and ARLA / Propertymark-aligned default for agents holding client money.
Pricing in 2026:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: a letting agent holding client money, or a self-managing landlord who has had a previous deposit dispute and wants the fastest published adjudication SLA for the next one.
mydeposits — the portfolio and ecosystem play
mydeposits is run by Hamilton Fraser, an insurance group that also owns Total Landlord Insurance, Reposit (deposit-replacement product), Client Money Protect (agent client-money insurance), and PRS redress scheme. mydeposits joined the authorised scheme list later than DPS / TDS but has built out the strongest product ecosystem of the three.
Pricing in 2026:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: a portfolio landlord with 10+ tenancies who wants predictable annual cost on insured protection and the ability to consolidate insurance + deposit-replacement + redress with one vendor.
Side-by-side: the matrix that matters
The 5/6-week deposit cap means the following weeks’ rent are typical:
| Dimension | DPS | TDS | mydeposits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custodial fee | Free | Free | Free |
| Insured fee (per deposit) | ~£18 + VAT | ~£18 + VAT | ~£18 + VAT |
| Insured (annual subscription) | — | — | Available, beats per-deposit at ~10+ tenancies |
| Adjudication speed (insured) | Fast | Fastest published | Competitive |
| Letting-agent / ARLA fit | Acceptable | Strongest | Good (Hamilton Fraser group) |
| Wider ecosystem | None | Arbitration service | Insurance, Reposit, CMP, PRS |
| Government-owned | Yes (Computershare) | No (charitable trust) | No (Hamilton Fraser) |
| Best segment | Self-managing 1–9 tenancies | Letting agents holding client money | Portfolio 10+ tenancies |
All three meet the legal requirement under the Housing Act 2004 identically. The differences are commercial, not regulatory.
How to switch between schemes
You can switch between schemes. There is no statutory penalty for moving from one authorised scheme to another. The mechanics:
Switching at end of tenancy (the safe, common case):
Switching mid-tenancy (more involved, requires care):
Most landlords switch between tenancies rather than mid-tenancy because the audit trail is simpler. The most common switch is TDS Insured → DPS Custodial when a landlord moves from agent-managed to self-managed (drops the per-deposit fee), and DPS → mydeposits Annual when a landlord crosses ~10 tenancies (drops to predictable annual cost).
What the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changes
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (in force 1 May 2026) does not change the deposit protection regime itself. The 30-day registration deadline, the prescribed-information rules, the 1–3× penalty exposure under section 214 of the Housing Act 2004 — all unchanged.
What it does change:
The practical implication is that the scheme choice matters more in 2026, not less. With Section 21 gone, the deposit protection chain has to be airtight for the entire life of the tenancy — a single mid-tenancy transfer with a missing prescribed-information receipt will block your possession claim under Section 8.
The 60-second decision quiz
If you want a personalised recommendation in under a minute, run the Deposit Scheme Quiz — 5 questions on cash-flow preference, portfolio size, agent involvement, dispute-speed appetite and ecosystem need. The quiz scores all three schemes on a 0–14 scale and returns a ranked recommendation with a runner-up.
Companion tools:
Sources
📦 Free — First-Day Tenant Document Pack Checklist (England 2026)
Every document a UK landlord must give a new tenant on day one — with the statute, the deadline and the evidence rule for each.
- Gas Safety, EICR, EPC, Deposit Prescribed Information, How to Rent
- RRA Information Sheet (31 May 2026 duty)
- Tenant Privacy Notice (UK GDPR)
- Tribunal-grade service-proof checklist
Frequently asked questions
Is one of the three UK deposit schemes more legally robust than the others?
No. DPS, TDS and mydeposits are all authorised by MHCLG under section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 and provide identical legal protection. The 30-day registration deadline, prescribed-information rules and 1–3× penalty exposure are the same across all three. Pick on cost, dispute speed and ecosystem rather than legal effect.
Which is cheaper — DPS, TDS or mydeposits?
Custodial is free on all three schemes. Insured pay-per-deposit is broadly similar (around £18 + VAT on each). mydeposits Annual Subscription beats per-deposit insured pricing from roughly 10 active tenancies onwards — typically the cheapest insured option for portfolio landlords.
Which scheme has the fastest dispute resolution?
TDS publishes the fastest reported adjudication SLAs on insured disputes (averaging under 20 working days post-evidence). DPS is close behind. mydeposits is competitive but historically a touch slower at peak. All three resolve standard disputes inside 8 weeks.
Can I switch from one deposit scheme to another?
Yes. There is no statutory penalty for switching. The cleanest path is to switch between tenancies (refund the old deposit, register the new one in the new scheme within 30 days, issue updated prescribed information). Switching mid-tenancy is permitted but requires keeping a complete audit chain — a missing link is treated as a fresh protection breach.
I am a letting agent holding client money — which scheme should I use?
TDS Insured is the historic and ARLA / Propertymark-aligned default for letting agents holding client money. It integrates cleanly with Client Money Protection rules and offers an arbitration service for landlord-agent disputes that is unique among the three schemes.
Does the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 change deposit scheme choice?
The legal protection regime is unchanged. What changes: a single deposit now protects the whole of the periodic tenancy (no renewal events), and the deposit must remain protected during a Section 13 rent increase (re-registering if a top-up is taken under the 5/6-week cap). The scheme choice matters more, not less — a single mid-tenancy transfer with a missing prescribed-information receipt blocks Section 8 possession.