Any deposit a tenant pays to the landlord or agent, to rent a home in Jersey, must be protected with mydeposits Jersey within 30 days of receiving it.

This law was put in place to protect:

– the tenant, who is entitled to a full refund for meeting all the terms of their tenancy agreement, and
– the landlord in the event the tenant breaks any of the terms of the tenancy agreement

What kind of deposits need protecting?

The law applies to all new, renewed or varied tenancy agreements from 2 November 2015.

How is a deposit protected?

Firstly, the landlord or agent will need to set up a free mydeposits Jersey membership using our online portal. Find out more about joining mydeposits Jersey here.

To protect a deposit the landlord or agent will need to follow the protection process by providing us with the relevant tenancy details and then sending us the deposit to hold and protect. When the deposit is protected we will take a £21 administration fee, which is deducted from the total deposit amount.

We will then confirm to the tenant and landlord or agent that the deposit is protected, providing details of the tenancy and the amount protected. The landlord or agent should also provide the tenant with the Scheme Information Leaflet which provides more information on how the deposit should be returned and what to do if there is a dispute.

What are the penalties for not protecting a deposit?

A landlord or agent who does not protect the deposit within 30 days of receiving it is committing an offence, and could have to pay a fine of up to £10,000.

How do you keep deposits safe?

We will hold the deposit in a regulated bank, until the tenancy ends and it is due to be repaid. In the event of bank failure, the money is guaranteed safe.

How is the deposit returned?

All parties are encouraged to discuss the return of the deposit, including any proposed deductions at the end of the tenancy. Then either the tenant, landlord or agent can apply to us to release the deposit. Find out more about the release process here.

Disputes over the return of the deposit

If after discussing the return of the deposit all parties cannot agree with any proposed deductions, they can raise a dispute. We offer a free dispute resolution service or the case can be heard by the Petty Debts Court.