Deposit Protection Time Limit in Northern Ireland: The 28-Day and 35-Day Deadlines

Two Deadlines, Not One

Northern Ireland runs a split deadline system for tenancy deposit compliance. Landlords must meet both, and they start from the same trigger — the date the deposit money is received — but they end on different days.

28 calendar days to protect the deposit. Under Article 5B(3) of the Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006 (as amended by the PTA 2022 and the 2023 Regulations), the deposit must be safeguarded in an approved scheme — TDS Northern Ireland or mydeposits Northern Ireland — within 28 calendar days of receipt.

35 calendar days to serve prescribed information. Under Article 5B(6)(b), the landlord must serve the complete statutory prescribed information on the tenant (and any third-party deposit payer) within 35 calendar days of receipt. This includes the scheme's official leaflet under Regulation 37.

These are separate obligations. Protecting the deposit on day 27 but serving prescribed information on day 40 means the landlord has met the first deadline and breached the second. Both must be satisfied independently.

How to Count the Days

Day 0 is the date the money is physically or digitally received by the landlord or the landlord's agent. Calendar days are counted consecutively — weekends, bank holidays, and public holidays all count. There is no extension for Christmas, Easter, or the Twelfth.

If a deposit is paid in instalments, each instalment triggers its own independent pair of deadlines. The first payment starts one 28/35-day pair, and any subsequent payment starts another from its own date of receipt.

Example: A tenant pays half the deposit on 1 March and the other half on 15 March. The first half must be protected by 29 March (28 days from 1 March), and prescribed information for it must be served by 5 April (35 days from 1 March). The second half must be protected by 12 April (28 days from 15 March), and its prescribed information by 19 April (35 days from 15 March).

In practice, most landlords protect the full amount and serve prescribed information when the second instalment arrives, covering both tranches inside the tighter first-instalment window.

Where the Old 14-Day and 28-Day Limits Went

Before the Private Tenancies Act (NI) 2022 came into force on 1 April 2023, the protection window was 14 calendar days and the prescribed information window was 28 calendar days. These shorter periods applied to deposits received before 1 April 2023.

For deposits received on or after 1 April 2023, the current 28/35-day split applies. Landlords cannot rely on the old deadlines for new deposits, and they should not assume the English 30-day deadline applies either — Northern Ireland has its own statutory framework.

What Happens When You Miss the Time Limit

Under the PTA 2022, failing to protect a deposit within 28 days or failing to serve prescribed information within 35 days is a continuing offence. The breach does not expire after six months — it accrues daily until the landlord completes the required action.

Local councils can issue fixed penalty notices: up to £500 for requiring or retaining a deposit above the one-month cap, or an amount equal to three times the deposit for failing to protect it or serve prescribed information. On summary conviction, the maximum fine is £2,500 for a cap breach or £20,000 for failure to protect the deposit or serve prescribed information.

Late protection does not erase the historical breach but does stop the continuing offence clock. If you discover you have missed the 28-day window, protect the deposit today. If you have not served prescribed information, serve it now and get the tenant's signed acknowledgement.

The practical risk is not just fines. At the end of the tenancy, a tenant who knows the deposit was protected late — or that prescribed information was never served — has leverage in any deduction dispute. ADR adjudicators and courts both take compliance failures into account when deciding claims.

The Tenancy Deposits in Northern Ireland guide includes a deadline calculator and compliance timeline that counts both the 28-day and 35-day windows from the date of receipt, with reminder checkpoints at key intervals.

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