Returning a tenancy deposit to a former tenant you cannot reach: the landlord's duty, the scheme rules and how to find them

The duty: protect the deposit, then return it

In England and Wales a deposit taken for a private tenancy must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it, and the tenant must be given the prescribed information about it. In England the protection rules carried on through the private renting changes of 1 May 2026, and in Wales the same 30-day rule applies to occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. The three schemes are the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

At the end of the tenancy, GOV.UK guidance is that the deposit must be returned within 10 days of the landlord and tenant agreeing how much is to be repaid. Where they do not agree, the disputed amount stays protected until the dispute is settled, through the scheme's free dispute service or the courts. A deposit paid by someone else, such as a parent or a council rent deposit scheme, is protected in the same way, and the tenancy or deposit agreement says who is entitled to it back.

None of this stops applying because the tenant has gone quiet. A tenant who cannot be found is still owed their share. A landlord who keeps it has a debt to the tenant on the books, not a windfall.

Custodial or insured: where the money is now

What happens next depends on the kind of protection you used.

If you are not sure which type you used, the deposit certificate and the prescribed information you gave the tenant will say. Either way the scheme is the first call. It holds whatever contact details the tenant gave when the deposit was protected, and it may be able to reach them where you cannot.

When the tenant does not respond

Each scheme has a procedure for a tenancy where one side cannot be contacted or does not reply. With the custodial scheme, once the tenancy has ended and a set period has passed without agreement, either side can ask for the deposit to be released by sending a statutory declaration: a formal written statement, made before a solicitor or another person authorised to witness it, setting out the tenancy, the attempts made to get in touch and the amount claimed. The scheme then writes to the other side and gives them time to respond before it pays out. A landlord uses this route to claim deductions for rent or damage. It does not replace getting the rest of the money to the tenant.

The forms and waiting periods differ between schemes and change from time to time, so follow the current guidance from the scheme that protects your deposit. A statutory declaration has to be true. It asks what you know of the tenant's whereabouts and what you did to reach them, and a knowingly false declaration is a criminal offence. That is one more reason to make real efforts to find the tenant before you sign one.

What to try before tracing anyone

• Every phone number and email address on the file, including ones you have not used for a while. A short message saying you have money to return is the kind people answer.
• Any forwarding address the tenant gave at check-out or in an email, even informally.
• The scheme's own contact with the tenant, as above.
• Emergency contacts and referees on the application form. Ask them to pass on a message. Do not ask them for the tenant's address, which is the tenant's to give.
• The guarantor, if there was one, who usually knows where the tenant is and has an interest in the deposit being settled.
• Post to the old address marked "please forward". If the tenant arranged for their post to be redirected, it reaches them.

Keep a dated note of every attempt: who, when, how and with what result. It is what a scheme asks for, and it is your answer if the tenant reappears in two years and asks why they were never paid.

Why returning a deposit is a lawful reason to trace

Tracing someone means processing their personal data, so it needs a lawful basis. Returning money you owe under a tenancy is a clear legitimate interest under UK GDPR, and it is one the tenant would expect: it is their money. Trace Bureau records the purpose against every instruction, and the tenant is not told who instructed the trace. They will know who you are when your letter arrives, which is the point.

Use the address for the purpose you gave. Write to the tenant, tell them the amount and how it was worked out, and ask how they would like to be paid, or tell them how to claim it from the scheme. Do not call at the property, and do not pass the address to anyone else.

The same trace, seen from the other side

Most landlords who trace a former tenant are recovering rent arrears or the cost of damage, and the landlord's guide to tracing a former tenant covers that. The deposit case is often the same tenancy seen from the other side: a deposit that covers part of what is owed, a balance due one way or the other, and a tenant who needs to be told. One trace serves both. If the tenant owes more than the deposit covers, the letter that explains the deductions can also set out the balance, though before a court claim you will need a letter that meets the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, which is likely to apply where a landlord claims from an individual tenant.

What a trace gives you

Trace Bureau cross-references more than 150 sources, registers and records, and a private investigator checks and verifies the result. You receive a dated PDF report with the tenant's current registered UK address and a confidence rating: Confirmed, Probable or Possible. The minimum to start is the tenant's full legal name plus a date of birth or a previous address, and the address of the property they rented counts as a previous address, so every landlord has enough. Add the previous address from the application form, the employer and any phone number or email address.

Standard is £150, delivered within 3 to 5 working days, and Priority is £200, delivered within 2 to 3 working days. Letting agents instructing for a landlord receive the matter reference on the report and a free re-check within 60 days, and agents who instruct ten or more traces a month pay £120 per trace on a firm account. There is nothing to pay when you instruct. Your card is only saved, and it is charged only when a private investigator has verified a current address. Not found, no fee.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own deposit schemes and rules. In Scotland a deposit must be lodged with an approved scheme within 30 working days of the start of the tenancy, and the Scottish schemes have their own procedures for a tenant who cannot be reached. Check the rules of the scheme that holds the deposit. The trace itself covers the whole of the UK.

When to instruct a professional trace

Instruct when the scheme and your own messages have not reached the tenant and you want to close the deposit properly: before you ask for an insured deposit to be released from protection, before you make a statutory declaration about deductions, or simply when the tenant's share has been sitting unclaimed. Instruct a trace online in about five minutes, or see the page for landlords.