Five-Week Deposit Cap in England: How to Calculate It Correctly

The Rule: Five Weeks' Rent, Not Five Months

For an assured tenancy in England, Schedule 1 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps the security deposit at five weeks' rent when annual rent is below £50,000, and six weeks' rent when annual rent is £50,000 to £100,000 inclusive. The Act does not cover tenancies with annual rent above £100,000.

This replaced the old common-law practice where landlords routinely asked for six, eight or even twelve weeks' rent. Any deposit that exceeds the statutory cap is a "prohibited payment" under Section 1 of the Act — it does not matter whether the tenant agreed to it.

The Exact Formula

The calculation uses annual rent divided by 52 to find the weekly figure, then multiplied by the cap:

Five-week cap (annual rent below £50,000): (Monthly rent × 12) ÷ 52 × 5

Six-week cap (annual rent at or above £50,000): (Monthly rent × 12) ÷ 52 × 6

A worked example: for a property at £1,200 per month, the annual rent is £14,400. Dividing by 52 gives a weekly rent of £276.923076... Multiplied by 5, the maximum deposit is £1,384.6153... The critical rule is that you must round down, not up. Taking £1,384.62 — one penny more than the truncated figure of £1,384.61 — creates a prohibited payment. The lawful maximum is £1,384.61.

For a higher-value let at £4,166.67 per month, the annual rent is £50,000.04 — crossing the £50,000 threshold, so the six-week cap applies. The weekly rent is £961.539... and the maximum deposit is £5,769.23.

Why Rounding Matters

This is not pedantic. The Tenant Fees Act specifically prohibits taking even a fraction of a penny above the cap. If your calculation produces a figure of £1,384.615384... and you round to £1,384.62, that extra penny is an unlawful prohibited payment.

The safe approach: calculate to at least four decimal places and truncate at two. Never round up.

Some landlords simplify by using a slightly lower round figure — say £1,380 instead of £1,384.61. This is legal (you can take less than the cap) and avoids any rounding risk, at the cost of slightly less deposit security.

What Counts as the Deposit

The cap applies to the total security deposit taken for the tenancy, including any separate "damage deposit" or "pet deposit" framed as additional security. Since the Renters' Rights Act 2025, landlords cannot collect additional security deposits for pets above the five/six-week cap — pet damage must be managed within the standard deposit limit.

Holding deposits are separate and capped at one week's rent. They must be refunded or credited to the rent or security deposit within seven days of the tenancy agreement being signed. They do not count toward the five-week cap.

What Happens If You Exceed the Cap

A deposit exceeding the statutory cap is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The consequences:

The tenant can recover the excess. They can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) using Form T286 to order repayment of the prohibited amount plus statutory interest.

Local authority enforcement. Trading Standards can issue a civil penalty of up to £5,000 for a first offence. A repeat breach within five years escalates to a penalty of up to £30,000 or criminal prosecution with an unlimited fine.

It does not void the deposit protection requirement. You must still protect the entire amount taken (even the excess) within 30 days and serve the Prescribed Information. Failing to protect an overcharged deposit creates two separate liabilities — the prohibited payment penalty and the Section 214 compensation claim.

If you discover you have overcharged, refund the excess immediately and keep a record of the refund. Voluntary correction before enforcement action is always the better outcome.

When Rent Changes

A rent increase under Section 13 raises the annual rent and may increase the deposit cap. If you request a deposit top-up to match the new cap, the additional amount triggers a fresh 30-day clock: protect the top-up and serve updated Prescribed Information within 30 days.

If a Section 13 decision sets a lower rent, check the deposit against the cap for the new rent. If the deposit exceeds the applicable cap, the excess is a prohibited payment under Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act; seek advice promptly on repayment and scheme records.

Our Tenancy Deposit Protection guide includes a deposit cap calculator worksheet with the rounding rules built in, plus the step-by-step process for handling cap adjustments when rent changes.

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