Deposit Amount Discrepancy Detector

Available from: v0.1.375

Overview

The Deposit Amount Discrepancy Detector is an event-driven compliance function that automatically compares the deposit amount on a deposit_releases record against the original deposit amount held on the associated tenancy. When a material discrepancy is detected, the system raises a critical compliance check and alerts the relevant finance and administrative users.

This feature helps organisations catch data inconsistencies, unauthorised adjustments, and clerical errors at the earliest possible point — before they escalate into disputes or regulatory breaches under the Renters' Rights Act.

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Trigger Conditions

The function fires automatically on either of the following database events:

Event	Description
deposit_releases.created	A new deposit release row is inserted
deposit_releases.totalDepositAmount updated	The totalDepositAmount field on an existing deposit release is modified

No manual action is required to invoke this check — it runs as part of the deposit release lifecycle.

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Discrepancy Detection Logic

The detector compares two values:

• deposit_releases.totalDepositAmount — the amount recorded on the deposit release
• tenancies.depositAmount — the original deposit amount from the associated tenancy

A discrepancy is flagged if:

|totalDepositAmount - depositAmount| / depositAmount > 0.01

The 1% tolerance threshold is intentional. It prevents false positives caused by floating-point arithmetic or minor rounding differences between systems, while still catching any material financial variance.

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What Happens When a Discrepancy Is Detected

When the comparison exceeds the 1% threshold, the system takes two automatic actions:

1. Compliance Check Created

A new row is inserted into compliance_checks with:

• Severity: critical
• Rule: deposit_amount_discrepancy
• Linked entities: the affected deposit_releases and tenancies records

This check appears in the compliance dashboard and remains open until reviewed and resolved by an authorised user.

2. Notifications Dispatched

Real-time notifications are sent to:

• All users with the finance role in the organisation
• All org admins for the relevant organisation

Notifications contain sufficient context to identify the affected tenancy and the magnitude of the discrepancy.

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Entities Involved

Entity	Role
deposit_releases	Source of the totalDepositAmount being checked; trigger point for the function
tenancies	Provides the reference depositAmount for comparison
compliance_checks	Receives the new critical check record when a discrepancy is found
notifications	Used to alert finance and admin users

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Resolving a Discrepancy

When a deposit_amount_discrepancy compliance check is raised:

1. Navigate to Compliance → Open Checks in the dashboard.
2. Locate the check flagged as deposit_amount_discrepancy.
3. Review the deposit_releases.totalDepositAmount against tenancies.depositAmount for the affected records.
4. Either:
   • Correct the deposit release if the amount was entered in error, or
   • Document a justified reason for the variance and mark the check as resolved with an audit note.

All resolution actions are logged for audit trail purposes.

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Notes

• This check is non-blocking — the deposit release row is created or updated regardless of whether a discrepancy is found. The compliance check is raised in parallel.
• The 1% tolerance applies to the relative difference, not an absolute monetary value. For a £1,000 deposit, variances up to £10 will not trigger a check.
• If tenancies.depositAmount is null or zero for the associated tenancy, the function handles this gracefully to avoid division errors — no false-positive check is raised in those edge cases.