How Much Can a Landlord Charge as a Deposit in England? (5-Week Cap)

How much deposit can a landlord charge in England is fixed by law, not by what the market will bear: since the Tenant Fees Act 2019 a tenancy deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, and six weeks’ rent where it is £50,000 or more. Charge a penny over that and the excess is a prohibited payment, recoverable by the tenant and a route to a financial penalty. This guide explains the caps, how to calculate them correctly (the weekly-rent formula trips up a surprising number of landlords), how the deposit interacts with the separate holding-deposit cap, and what the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 did, and did not, change.

The short answer: the 5-week and 6-week caps

The deposit cap depends on a single number: the total annual rent for the tenancy.

A few points that follow directly from the legislation:

• The cap is a maximum, not a target. You can take less, and many landlords do to make a property more attractive in a competitive area.
• The £50,000 threshold is the annual rent, roughly £4,167 a month. The overwhelming majority of England tenancies sit under it, so for most landlords the answer is simply “five weeks”.
• The cap is per tenancy, not per tenant. A four-bedroom house share on a single joint tenancy has one deposit capped at five (or six) weeks of the whole property’s rent, not five weeks each.
• It applies to assured tenancies, which since 1 May 2026 are all periodic. The cap is unchanged by the move away from fixed terms.

These limits come from Schedule 1 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019, which lists what a landlord or agent may lawfully require. Anything not on that list, admin fees, referencing charges, inventory fees, “check-out” fees, is a banned payment. The deposit is permitted, but only up to the cap.

How to calculate the cap correctly

The single most common error is multiplying the monthly rent by some fraction, or treating “five weeks” as “five-twelfths of a year”. Neither is right. The correct method converts the rent to a genuine weekly figure first:

1. Take the monthly rent.
2. Multiply by 12 to get the annual rent.
3. Divide by 52 to get the weekly rent.
4. Multiply the weekly rent by 5 (or 6 if annual rent is £50,000+).

Do not round the weekly figure up to a tidy number before multiplying, work to the penny and round the final deposit down if anything. Rounding the weekly rent up first can push the deposit over the lawful cap, and “I rounded for convenience” is not a defence.

A quick worked example shows how far the shortcut method can drift from the lawful figure:

Worked example: a £1,200-a-month flat

Priya lets a one-bed flat in Reading at £1,200 per month.

• Annual rent: £1,200 x 12 = £14,400 (under £50,000, so the five-week cap applies)
• Weekly rent: £14,400 ÷ 52 = £276.92
• Maximum deposit: £276.92 x 5 = £1,384.62

So Priya can take a deposit of up to £1,384.62. In practice she would round down and take £1,384, or a clean £1,350.

Compare the wrong methods landlords reach for:

• “Just take a month and a quarter”: 1.25 x £1,200 = £1,500, £115 over the cap.
• “Five-twelfths of the annual rent”: £14,400 x 5 ÷ 12 = £1,500, same overcharge.

Both produce a prohibited payment of £115.38. The tenant could demand that excess back at any point, and a council could treat it as a banned-fee breach. The five-week formula, converting through a real weekly rent, is the only safe route.

If the rent ever changes (for example after a lawful Section 13 increase using the current prescribed form on GOV.UK), the cap is recalculated on the new rent, but you are not obliged to top up an existing deposit, and topping it up could itself breach the cap if done carelessly. See our guide on how to increase rent legally in England in 2026 for the correct process.

Holding deposit vs security deposit: two different caps

Tenants and landlords often conflate two payments with very different rules.

• A holding deposit is the sum a prospective tenant pays to reserve a property while referencing is completed. It is capped separately at one week’s rent (annual rent ÷ 52). It must be refunded, set against the first rent, or against the deposit unless the tenant withdraws, fails Right to Rent, or provides false information.
• A security (tenancy) deposit is the sum held against damage, unpaid rent and breaches at the end of the tenancy, the one subject to the five- or six-week cap.

For Priya’s £1,200 flat, the holding deposit cap is £14,400 ÷ 52 = £276.92. Take more than a week’s rent to hold the property and you are again into prohibited-payment territory. Our holding deposit one-week cap guide walks through the deadline-for-agreement rules and when you may lawfully keep it.

You must also protect the deposit

Charging the right amount is only half the duty. Any security deposit for an assured tenancy must be protected in a government-authorised scheme within 30 days of receipt, and the prescribed information given to the tenant (and any relevant person, such as a guarantor) in the same window. This obligation, under sections 213-215 of the Housing Act 2004, is entirely separate from the Tenant Fees Act cap and was not changed by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

The three authorised schemes are the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, each offering a custodial or insured option. The penalties for getting protection wrong are severe, between one and three times the deposit, payable to the tenant, and an unprotected deposit can block a possession claim. Our overview of tenancy deposit protection in England sets out the mechanics, and the three deposit schemes compared helps you choose.

In short, the deposit lifecycle has three independent compliance points: charge no more than the cap, protect within 30 days, and serve the prescribed information. Failing any one of them exposes you to penalties regardless of the other two.

What counts towards the deposit cap

The cap covers the security deposit “as such”, you cannot dress up extra money under another label to get round it. In particular:

• Pet deposits are not allowed as a separate payment. Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, a landlord must give or refuse written consent to a pet request within 28 days (extendable by a further period where more information is reasonably needed) and cannot require pet insurance from the tenant (Housing Act 1988, sections 16A-16B). You also cannot demand an extra “pet deposit” on top of the five-week cap, any additional security for a pet still has to fit within the same overall cap.
• Cleaning, inventory and “admin” deposits are not separate permitted payments; folding them into a larger deposit just inflates the figure above the cap.
• Rent in advance is a separate payment, not part of the deposit, and is not itself capped, but it must be genuine advance rent, not a disguised deposit.

If you want a deposit-free alternative for higher-risk lets, a personal guarantor is often the better tool than trying to stretch the deposit. See do I need a guarantor for my tenancy and what is a tenancy guarantor for how a guarantee sits alongside, not inside, the deposit.

What happens if you overcharge

If a landlord or agent takes a deposit above the lawful cap, the excess is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The consequences:

• The tenant can recover the overpayment, and can apply to the First-tier Tribunal if it is not returned.
• A financial penalty of up to £5,000 can be imposed for a first breach, rising to up to £30,000 (or criminal prosecution) for a repeat breach within five years.
• Until the excess is repaid, a landlord generally cannot recover possession using the no-fault route, and since Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026, possession now depends entirely on Section 8 grounds, where compliance failures can be raised against you. Our explainer on Section 21 abolition covers how the possession landscape changed.

The cheapest insurance against all of this is simply doing the maths correctly at the outset and documenting it.

What the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed (and didn’t)

It is worth being precise, because there is a lot of misinformation. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, in force from 1 May 2026:

• Did not change the deposit cap. Five weeks (under £50,000) and six weeks (£50,000+) still apply, straight from the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
• Did not change deposit protection rules under the Housing Act 2004.
• Did abolish fixed terms, every assured tenancy is now periodic, but the deposit cap is calculated the same way on the rent regardless.
• Did introduce the pet-request regime and the ban on requiring pet insurance, which indirectly affects deposits because you cannot levy a separate pet deposit to compensate.

A future PRS Database and PRS Ombudsman are expected to come into force later (the database in late 2026 to 2027 and the ombudsman around 2028), and will add registration and redress duties, but they do not alter the deposit cap. We will update this guide as those provisions commence.

Frequently asked questions

How much deposit can a landlord legally charge in England in 2026?

A maximum of five weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks’ rent where it is £50,000 or more. This cap under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 was not changed by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

How do I convert monthly rent into the five-week cap?

Multiply the monthly rent by 12, divide by 52 to get a true weekly rent, then multiply by five. For £1,000 a month that is (£1,000 x 12 ÷ 52) x 5 = £1,153.85. Do not simply take “a month and a quarter”, that almost always exceeds the cap.

Can I charge a separate pet deposit on top of the five weeks?

No. There is no separate pet deposit allowed, and since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 you cannot require pet insurance from the tenant either. Any security for a pet must still fit within the same five- or six-week cap.

Is the holding deposit included in the five-week cap?

No, they are separate. A holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent and is usually set against the first rent or the security deposit once the tenancy begins. The five- or six-week cap applies only to the security deposit held against damage and arrears.

What happens if I accidentally take too much deposit?

The excess is a prohibited payment. The tenant can reclaim it, you can face a financial penalty of up to £5,000 for a first breach, and you may be unable to pursue possession until it is repaid. Recalculate and refund the difference promptly if you discover an overcharge.

Does the cap change if the rent goes up later?

The cap is recalculated against the new rent, but you are not required to top up an existing deposit. If you do increase the deposit after a rent rise, the new total must still be within the five- or six-week cap on the new rent, and any extra must be protected.

Coming soon

Tenancy Pilot is launching soon. Our deposit tools will calculate the exact five- or six-week cap from your rent, flag if a figure exceeds the limit, and track your 30-day protection and prescribed-information deadlines so nothing slips. If that sounds useful, join the waitlist.

This guide is general information for England, current at 18 June 2026, and is not legal advice. Deposit, fee and possession rules carry significant penalties when misapplied, verify against current GOV.UK guidance and consult a qualified solicitor before acting on your specific circumstances.