The short answer
There is not currently a settled statutory “dormancy” route for unclaimed tenancy deposits in England and Wales, based on the source reviewed for this article. In other words, landlords should not assume that a deposit becomes theirs simply because a former tenant cannot be contacted or does not claim it.
A 4 September 2026 report by Landlord Today describes this as a policy gap. It says there is no legislative framework in England and Wales governing dormant tenancy deposits, and no official consolidated figure for deposits left unreturned after tenancies end.
This article is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Before taking action on a particular deposit, check the current process and requirements with the relevant tenancy-deposit scheme or an appropriate professional adviser.
Why an unclaimed deposit can remain unresolved
The issue particularly affects self-managing landlords when a tenancy has ended but the former tenant is hard to reach. That could leave money in the deposit system without an agreed conclusion.
The Landlord Today report attributes an estimate of about £750 million to modelling by The Letting Partnership, using publicly available data. This is not an official total: the report says there is no official or consolidated record of the value of deposits that remain unreturned after tenancies have ended.
The reported estimate should therefore be understood as an attempt to highlight the possible scale of the issue, rather than evidence that a deposit scheme, agent or landlord has acted improperly.
England and Wales are different from Scotland
The same report draws a clear distinction between the jurisdictions:
- Scotland: the report says Scotland has legislated for dormant tenancy deposits and has a process under which eligible unclaimed funds may, after safeguards and timeframes, be directed to housing-related causes.
- England and Wales: the report says there is no legislative framework governing dormant tenancy deposits.
That distinction matters. A Scottish approach should not be treated as a rule that applies in England or Wales. Equally, discussion about whether England and Wales might adopt a clearer framework is a policy conversation, not a confirmed change in law.
What landlords can do now: keep the end-of-tenancy record clear
Where a deposit has not been resolved, a well-organised tenancy file can make it easier to understand what happened and to respond if contact is re-established. Keep the records connected to the tenancy, property and end-of-tenancy correspondence together, rather than relying on an old inbox or incomplete paper file.
For example, a landlord may want an orderly record of:
- the tenancy and property details;
- contact details held during the tenancy and any later correspondence;
- documents relating to the tenancy’s end; and
- records showing the status of any deposit-related communication.
These are practical record-keeping measures, not a substitute for the process set by the relevant deposit scheme. They also do not determine entitlement to the money or resolve a dispute.
If you prefer to manage those records in one place, see how Portfoliq works. Its landlord tools can be used to keep property, tenancy and document records organised as part of an end-of-tenancy workflow. You can also explore Portfoliq's landlord features when considering how to structure your records.
The key point to remember
For England and Wales, the available source does not describe a statutory point at which an unclaimed tenancy deposit automatically becomes dormant or is otherwise dealt with under a dedicated dormancy framework. The status of long-unclaimed deposits is instead presented as an unresolved policy issue.
For a live case, avoid making assumptions based on elapsed time alone. Retain the relevant records and use current information from the scheme protecting the deposit to understand the appropriate next step.
Source
- Landlord Today: “Unclaimed deposits – what happens to the hundreds of millions?” (4 September 2026). The report attributes the approximate £750 million estimate to The Letting Partnership’s modelling and states that there is no official consolidated figure.