All deposits paid by tenants to landlords (or their letting agents) for Assured Shorthold Tenancies issued after the 6th April 2007 must be 'protected' by one of 3 government-approved deposit protection schemes. The act of protection differs from scheme to scheme and involves the landlord or agent either handing the deposit money over to the scheme to look after, or paying a fee (as either a payment per deposit or an annual subscription) to the scheme and keeping the deposit themselves in a segregated bank account that is used for no other purpose than holding tenant's deposits. We are members of both an insurance-based scheme and a custodial scheme and based on our own experience we would pick the insurance-based option every time, as getting money back out of the custodial scheme can be a painful process, even under the most clear-cut circumstances.