Prescribed Information Document Generator
Prescribed Information Document Generator
Overview
Under the Housing Act 2004, landlords and agents are legally required to provide tenants with Prescribed Information (PI) within 30 days of receiving a tenancy deposit. Failure to do so can result in financial penalties and restrictions on serving a Section 21 notice.
From v0.1.34, the platform automatically generates the Prescribed Information document for every deposit registration, pre-filled from your tenancy and deposit protection scheme data, and tracks whether it has been served to the tenant on time.
How It Works
1. Automatic Document Generation
When a deposit is registered, the platform generates the Prescribed Information document automatically. It is pre-populated with:
- Tenancy details — tenant name(s), property address, tenancy start date
- Deposit details — deposit amount, date received
- Scheme details — the name, address, and contact information of the deposit protection scheme holding the funds
No manual form-filling is required.
2. Serving the Document to the Tenant
Once generated, the PI document must be served to the tenant. You can do this within the platform or outside of it (e.g. by email or post). Mark the document as served once the tenant has received it.
3. 30-Day Service Tracking
The platform tracks the service status of each PI document against the statutory 30-day deadline:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Document generated; not yet marked as served |
| Served | Document has been served to the tenant |
| Overdue | 30-day deadline has passed without the document being marked as served |
A clear indicator is shown on the deposit record so landlords and agents can act before the deadline passes.
Legal Context
- Legislation: Housing Act 2004, ss. 213–215
- Deadline: Prescribed Information must be served within 30 days of the deposit being received
- Applies to: All assured shorthold tenancies in England and Wales where a deposit is taken
- Consequences of non-compliance: The landlord may be ordered to pay the tenant up to 3× the deposit amount, and cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice until the PI has been provided
Notes
- The document is pre-filled from data already held on the tenancy and scheme record. Ensure tenancy and scheme details are accurate before registration.
- Marking a document as served records the date of service for your compliance audit trail.
- This feature works alongside the broader deposit registration workflow introduced in earlier releases.