If your deposit certificate shows the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) as the scheme, the money is held by DPS directly, not your landlord — but that doesn't mean it releases automatically if your landlord goes silent. There's a specific mechanism built for exactly that situation, and it runs on a series of 14-day windows worth understanding before you start.
Requesting repayment: the standard route
At the end of your tenancy, either party logs into their DPS account and requests repayment. If your landlord agrees to the amount you're requesting, DPS typically pays out within a couple of business days. The friction starts when they don't respond, or propose deductions you don't accept.
If your landlord goes silent: the Single Claim / Statutory Declaration process
This is the mechanism for exactly the situation you're describing — and it works in both directions (a landlord can use it if a tenant goes silent, and a tenant can use it if a landlord does). The process runs through several 14-day windows, so it's worth tracking dates carefully:
- If the other party hasn't responded to a repayment request 14 calendar days after the tenancy ended, you can begin the Single Claim process.
- You complete a Statutory Declaration — a sworn legal statement of what you're claiming and why — which must be witnessed by a solicitor, a Commissioner for Oaths, or a Magistrate (this typically involves a small witnessing fee, so check the current cost with whoever administers it locally).
- DPS notifies the other party. They then have 14 calendar days to respond and disagree in writing if they wish to.
- If there's no response within that window, DPS pays out the claimed amount to you directly.
- If they do respond and disagree, you get a further 14 calendar days to submit evidence supporting your side, and the case goes to DPS's free Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service.
- An independent adjudicator reviews the evidence and typically issues a decision within around 28 days of receiving the complete case file.
One eligibility detail worth knowing: DPS's ADR process is generally only available for assured shorthold tenancies with a deposit under £5,000 — outside that, disputes would need to go through the courts instead.
What to have ready
- Your Deposit ID and any repayment reference DPS sent you at the start of the tenancy
- A clear written record of your attempts to contact your landlord about the deposit, with dates
- Check-in and check-out reports, and photos, if the dispute touches on damage or cleanliness rather than pure non-response
See also: first confirm whether your deposit is legally protected, and if it's held elsewhere, how to dispute deductions with TDS or MyDeposits.