Hi there Hoping for some advice from people more in the know than I am. Presently renting a property privately - i.e. not through a letting agency. Should also point out that I know the landlord, although wouldn't say I'm friends with them particularly. My AST with them is in writing and using a familiar template to that I've seen in the past when renting. The only differing factor with this rental is that in my AST, the deposit section is marked as N/A and the clause on deposit is marked in the agreement is not applicable too. So to all intents and purposes the AST does not acknowledge that they hold a deposit. I also know that they have not registered this deposit in an approved TDS account. On to the point I need help with..... I will need to give notice shortly to end the tenancy due to an unexpected change in circumstances that means I need to downsize and cannot afford this property any more. This has come a lot earlier than I expected and I know it will be an unpleasant surprise to the LL too. I'm concerned that if (and I emphasis if) things were to become less amicable between myself and the LL over my quitting much earlier than we all hoped (I'd be exercising a break clause - so quite within my rights), that my deposit is potentially at risk if they decided they wanted to keep it. A) Because it's not referenced in the AST so they could deny its existence and B) because I'm not protected under the TDS Can anyone tell me where I stand? Someone has suggested witholding the last months rent (deposit = 1 months rent on this tenancy) to safeguard myself. I am reluctant to do this because it could promote unnecessary bad feeling, but hopefully you can see why I am concerned. I feel as though there is no acknowledgement of my deposit and that means they could quite easily hold it back and deny knowledge of its existence I'll stop now so this doesn't become too long, but any suggestions welcome