Pleads the case for the government to go ahead with legislation to protect private tenants' deposits following on the demise of the government-funded pilot Tenancy Deposit Scheme without any clear commitment to putting a statutory scheme in its place. Runs through the history of campaigning for reform on this issue since 1998. Analyses the government's reluctance to address this area of consumer detriment in spite of their own ample evidence of the level of tenant dissatisfaction, their own research showing how other countries have adopted successful strategies to regulate this contentious issue and their insistence on considering the case for legislation in the context of the Law Commission's proposals to reform tenancy law. Concludes that the draft Housing Bill provides a perfect opportunity to put in place a speedier and swifter remedy, building on the progress made by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.