TDS Northern Ireland vs Mydeposits Northern Ireland: Which Scheme to Choose

Two Schemes, One Obligation

Northern Ireland has exactly two government-approved tenancy deposit schemes. Every deposit taken for a private tenancy must be safeguarded in one of them within 28 calendar days. There is no third option.

TDS Northern Ireland is operated by Tenancy Deposit Scheme Northern Ireland Limited, with offices at Innovation Factory, 385 Springfield Road, Belfast. It is backed by RICS, Propertymark, and the Landlords Association of Northern Ireland (LANI). You register and manage deposits through tdsnorthernireland.com.

mydeposits Northern Ireland is operated by HF Resolution Ltd, part of Hamilton Fraser. You manage deposits through mydepositsni.co.uk.

If you have seen references to the Letting Protection Service Northern Ireland (LPSNI), that provider is historical and no longer accepts deposits. Any deposit previously registered with LPSNI would have been transferred or closed out. You cannot register a new deposit there.

Custodial vs Insured: The Real Decision

Both TDS NI and mydeposits NI offer custodial and insurance-backed schemes. The scheme you pick matters less than the model you choose within it.

Custodial scheme: You transfer 100% of the deposit money to the scheme within 28 days. The scheme holds it in FCA-regulated bank accounts. It is completely free — the scheme funds itself from interest earned on the pooled deposits. When the tenancy ends, either party applies to the scheme for release. If a dispute arises, the money is already held securely by the scheme.

Insurance-backed scheme: You keep the deposit money in your own bank account. You pay the scheme a non-refundable protection fee per tenancy. You register the tenancy and deposit details online, and the scheme issues a Deposit Protection Certificate. If a dispute arises, you must transfer the disputed amount to the scheme for adjudication. The insurer guarantees payout to the tenant — and recovers the debt from you if necessary.

Cost Comparison

For a self-managing landlord with one or two properties, the custodial scheme is usually the simplest choice. No fee, no need to hold the money yourself, and no obligation to transfer funds if a dispute arises later. The trade-off is that you lose access to the deposit money during the tenancy — the scheme holds it.

If you want to keep the deposit funds available (perhaps as a cash-flow buffer), the insured scheme gives you that flexibility at the cost of the protection fee.

What Scheme Registration Actually Means

This catches landlords out regularly: creating a user account on a scheme portal is not the same as protecting a deposit. You have not met your legal obligation until:

1. You log into the portal
2. You enter the property address, monthly rent, deposit amount, tenant details, and any third-party payer details
3. Either you transfer cleared funds to the scheme (custodial) or you pay the protection fee and receive the official Deposit Protection Certificate (insured)

Only step 3 completes the protection. Setting up an account and entering your landlord details — without registering the specific tenancy deposit — leaves the deposit unprotected. The 28-day clock keeps ticking.

Free ADR With Both Schemes

Both TDS NI and mydeposits NI provide free alternative dispute resolution. If the tenant disputes your deductions at the end of the tenancy, either party can refer the matter to the scheme's ADR service at no cost. An independent adjudicator reviews written evidence and issues a written decision. Either party may request a review within 10 working days on grounds of factual or legal error. If no review is requested, the scheme repays the deposit within the following five working days; a review decision is final.

The burden of proof sits entirely on the landlord. Without a dated check-in inventory, signed condition reports, and itemised invoices, you will lose the claim regardless of how legitimate the damage was.

Making Your Choice

Both schemes are approved by the Department for Communities and both satisfy the statutory requirement. Pick the one whose portal you find easier to use, then choose custodial or insured based on whether you want to hold the deposit money yourself. Our Northern Ireland Tenancy Deposits guide includes a side-by-side scheme comparison and step-by-step registration walkthroughs for both.

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