Deposit protection

Here we show you how to protect a deposit on our new platform

Deposit protection

In this chapter we cover everything you need to know to protect and edit a deposit protection on the new Total Property platform. Watch the videos below or follow our step by step guide to protect your deposit.

How to protect a deposit

1. From the homepage of the dashboard, select properties

2. Click the blue 'Add property' button at the top and enter the relevant details

Top tip: If there are multiple landlords for this property you can add another landlord by selecting the 'add joint landlord' button

4. Now, you are able to add the property details. When you start to type the address our smart finder will provide suggestions

Please note: The property name is mandatory, this can be the first line of the address

5. Click the 'Add property' button at the bottom and your landlord will be invited to create their account

Remember: Once you have added the landlord and property details you still need to add the tenancy to make sure the deposit is protected

6. Now, select 'Add tenancy' at the top right hand corner

7. Enter the tenancy details including rent amount and start and end date of the tenancy and click next

8. Enter the tenant details (name, email and mobile number) and click next

9. You are now able to add any interested parties and their details, if needed. If there isn't an interested party you can skip this step

Please note: An interested party is someone that has paid the deposit on behalf of one of the tenants

10. Review all information on the confirmation page to check it is correct and select ‘Add tenancy and protect deposit’

11. Now you'll need to add deposit information, please select the date the deposit was paid and click save

Remember: Your debit card on file will automatically come up here but you are able to change this if needed

12. If changing the transfer method, you can select debit card, unallocated funds, bank transfer or cheque payment

13. Choose either protect deposit now or add to basket

Skip ahead for more information on check out using baskets .

If choosing protect deposit now, your deposit will now be protected.

Please note: If the deposit status says awaiting payment after payment has been made with a debit card, please refresh the page to update the status

How to add a property

1. On the homepage of your dashboard, select properties from the left hand menu

2. Click ‘Add property’ at the top right hand corner

3. If there is a joint landlord you can enter this information here, if not you are able to skip this step

Please note: The property name is mandatory, this can be the first line of the address

4. Enter the property name and first line of the address

5. Review all of the information and confirm it is correct by clicking ‘Add property’.

How to add a tenancy

1. On the homepage of your dashboard, select properties from the left hand menu

2. Select which property you would like to add a tenancy to

3. Click the ‘Add tenancy’ button at the top right corner

4. Add the tenancy name

Please note: The tenancy name is optional but we would recommend using the first line of the address

5. Next, please enter the rent amount. This will automatically work out the deposit amount

6. Add or amend the start date of the tenancy by clicking on the calendar and choosing the correct date

7. Now you can add the tenant's information (email address, first and last name and mobile number)

Remember: If the amount automatically calculated is incorrect you can set a custom deposit amount

Please note: If there are any interested parties, you are also able to add these with the tenant information

8. Click add tenancy and protect deposit

9. Confirm the date the tenant paid the deposit and click save

Top tip: You can pay for the deposit by either debit card, unallocated funds, bank transfer or cheque

10. Once paid, click ‘Protect deposit now’ and the deposit is protected

4. Enter the start and end date of the tenancy

5. You can also add the details of any interested parties

6. Click 'Add tenancy' to protect the deposit

7. Next, enter the date the date the tenant paid the deposit

How to protect a deposit with unallocated funds

Watch the video for a step by step guide on how to protect a deposit with unallocated funds or alternatively follow these steps.

1. Create a protection by going to properties on the left menu of the dashboard and clicking 'Add property'

2. Enter the property address

Top tip: If you start to input your address, the portal will automatically provide suggestions for you to select

3. Now you can add a tenancy to the property, enter the rent amount and click next

Please note: The deposit will be automatically calculated based on the rent amount, if this is incorrect you can manually edit

1. Under the property tab you can click the pen icon to edit the house name or address, once updated select 'save'

2. You can also add a joint landlord by entering their details and clicking the blue 'save' button

3. Click on the tenancy tab and select the pen icon to change the rent amount

Top tip: By entering the rent amount, the platform will automatically work out the deposit amount for you using the five week deposit cap

4. Under the deposits tab, if the deposit amount has increased this is where you will be able to view the remaining amount outstanding and make a payment

Remember: You can make a payment using either the debit card on file, unallocated funds, bank transfer or cheque

3. Select the EWC number for the relevant tenancy

4. Now click ‘Renew tenancy’ at the top and choose whether you want to renew the tenancy or set as a periodic tenancy

Skip ahead to learn more on changing an existing tenancy to a statutory periodic tenancy

5. Amend the end date of the tenancy and it will be renewed

How to renew a protection

1. On the homepage of your dashboard, select properties from the left hand menu

2. Select which property you would like to add a tenancy to by searching the address or tenant name

Top tip: You can also select deposits and search using the deposit ID or property name

How to change to a statutory periodic tenancy

There are a few options of how to view the deposit in the portal. You can either click on properties, tenancies or deposits on the left hand menu.

On the homepage of your dashboard, select properties from the left hand menu

1. Select the deposit you would like to change

2. Once you have chosen the deposit, click on the tenancy tab along the top

3. Next, click the blue ‘Renew tenancy’ button

4. This will give you two options, either renew the tenancy or set the tenancy to periodic. For this we will select set the tenancy to periodic

5. Click ‘Renew tenancy’ and this has now been changed to a statutory periodic tenancy

8. Now you will be able to view the payment page, by clicking on the pen icon next to transfer you will see a few different options available, debit card, bank transfer, cheque and unallocated funds

9. You can now select the funds to pay for the deposit

Please note: The status may say awaiting payment after payment has been made, please refresh the page and this will be updated to protected

10. Click 'Protect deposit now'

Remember: You can use the funds to cover all of the deposit and have the change kept in your account or you can you use unallocated funds for part of the deposit payment

How to edit a protection

Watch the video for a step by step guide on how to edit a protection or alternatively follow these steps.

There are a few different options to view the protection within the platform. You can do this by selecting 'properties' on the left hand side and search for the protection by the property name, address or the landlord name.

An alternative way to do this is by clicking 'tenancies' and searching the tenancy address, landlord or deposit protection amount.

The third way you can do this is by choosing 'deposits' and search using the deposit ID, property address, landlord or the protected amount.

Top tip: You can also search for the protection using the start or end date of the tenancy

Remember: All new protections will have an EWC number instead of DPN. Existing protections will still use the DPN

How to check out using a basket

At the end of protection you have the option to add this to your basket which allows you to pay later or to add more deposits and check out at the same time

How to access your basket

You can do this by selecting the basket icon at the top, it will then show you a drop down of all items in your basket.

Alternatively, you can access your basket by selecting 'Deposits' along the left menu and going to the basket tab.

Top tip: You can check out each deposit separately by ticking the relevant box or check out all deposits at the same time by selecting all

Checking out

1. Go to the check out and your card details will be pre-populated to allow you to simply click 'Protect deposit'

Please note: The platform allows you to pay with either debit card, unallocated funds, bank transfer or cheque payment

2. The funds have been paid and the deposits are now protected

How to bulk upload

1. Once logged into the Total Property platform, select 'Tenancies' from the menu on the left hand side

2. Click on the tenancies tab at the top and select 'Bulk upload'

3. Start a new import

4. Choose which office this upload relates to by selecting the relevant branch and click 'Next'

Please note: If you do not have the CSV template, you can download one in the platform

5. Attach the completed template to the platform, select 'Start import' and this will be uploaded to the platform

How to search deposits

There are a few different ways you can search for a deposit within the Total Property platform. Either, select 'Properties' from the menu on the left side and search the property name, address or landlord name or you can choose 'Deposits' from the menu on the left and search using the deposit ID, property address, landlord name or protected amount.