Prescribed information
Prescribed information is the written set of details that a landlord or letting agent must give to a tenant, and to any relevant person who paid the deposit, within 30 days of receiving a tenancy deposit for an assured tenancy in England or Wales. The requirement is set out in sections 213(5) and 213(6) of the Housing Act 2004 and the detail of what must be provided is specified in the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007. In Wales, the equivalent obligation is called "required information" under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, but the content and the 30-day deadline are substantively the same.
Protecting a deposit in a government-authorised scheme is only the first step. Serving the prescribed information correctly and on time is a separate legal obligation, and one that landlords and agents get wrong more often than deposit protection itself.
What prescribed information must contain
The Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007 sets out the required content in full. Prescribed information must include:
the name, address, telephone number, email address and any fax number of the scheme administrator of the authorised tenancy deposit scheme protecting the deposit;
the scheme's information leaflet, which explains the operation of sections 212 to 215 of the Housing Act 2004;
the procedures under the scheme by which the deposit may be repaid to the tenant at the end of the tenancy;
the procedures that apply if the landlord or tenant is not contactable at the end of the tenancy;
the procedures for resolving a dispute over the deposit through the scheme's alternative dispute resolution service;
the facilities available for enabling a dispute to be conducted and determined without the parties needing to attend;
the amount of the deposit;
the address of the rental property;
the name, address, telephone number, and email address of the landlord and of any letting agent acting on the landlord's behalf;
the same contact details for the tenant and for any relevant person who paid the deposit; and
the circumstances in which the landlord may retain part or all of the deposit, by reference to the terms of the tenancy.
Each of the three government-authorised deposit protection schemes, the Deposit Protection Service, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and myDeposits, provides a prescribed information template and scheme leaflet when a deposit is registered. Landlords using these templates correctly will cover the required content automatically, provided they complete every field accurately and attach the scheme leaflet.
The 30-day deadline
The clock starts on the day the landlord or agent receives the deposit, not the day the tenancy agreement is signed, and not the day the tenant moves in. The prescribed information must be served after the deposit is paid; serving it before the deposit has been received makes it legally invalid, as confirmed by case law. Missing the 30-day deadline by even a single day constitutes a breach, even if the deposit itself was protected on time.
Disputes over what was and was not stated in the prescribed information, or whether it was served at all, frequently arise in deposit adjudication. Landlords should retain evidence of service: a read receipt, a signed acknowledgement, or a dated email attaching the documents.
Who must receive it
The prescribed information must be served on the tenant and on any "relevant person", anyone who paid the deposit on the tenant's behalf, such as a parent, guarantor, employer, or local authority. Each relevant person must receive their own copy. Failure to serve a relevant person is treated as non-compliance with the same consequences as failing to serve the tenant.
From working with self-managing landlords across the UK, the most common prescribed information error is not serving a relevant person. Landlords who receive deposits from a parent or guarantor frequently serve only the tenant, which leaves them in breach even where the deposit is correctly protected and the tenant has been served.
When prescribed information needs to be re-served
Under the Deregulation Act 2015, prescribed information does not need to be re-served when a fixed-term tenancy becomes periodic, provided the landlord, tenant, property, and deposit scheme all remain the same. This position also applies under the Renters' Rights Act 2025: when existing fixed-term tenancies in England convert to periodic assured tenancies from 1 May 2026, landlords who have previously served prescribed information correctly do not need to re-serve it, as long as no material change has occurred.
Prescribed information must be re-served in four situations: a change of tenant (for example, one joint tenant is replaced); a change of landlord (for example, the property is sold); a change of deposit scheme; or a change of property address. In each case, the 30-day deadline applies from the date of the triggering change.
The landlord certificate
The prescribed information must include a certificate, signed by the landlord or an authorised agent, confirming that the information provided is accurate to the best of the landlord's knowledge and belief. The tenant must be given the opportunity to sign the certificate to confirm this. Leaving the certificate unsigned, by either the landlord or a person authorised by the landlord, makes the prescribed information invalid. If the landlord is a company, the certificate may be signed by an employee; it does not need to be signed by a director.
Consequences of non-compliance
If a landlord fails to serve the prescribed information within 30 days of receiving the deposit, or serves it incorrectly or incompletely, the tenant can apply to the county court for a financial penalty. The court must order the landlord to pay between one and three times the deposit amount. The severity of the penalty depends on the nature and degree of the breach, minor lateness typically attracts a penalty at the lower end of the scale; complete non-service or systematic non-compliance attracts higher penalties.
Non-compliance also has direct consequences for possession. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, Section 21 notices are abolished from 1 May 2026. All possession proceedings in England now rely on Section 8 grounds. Where the deposit has not been properly protected or prescribed information has not been correctly served, a landlord's ability to rely on certain Section 8 grounds may be affected, and tenants can raise non-compliance as a counterclaim in possession proceedings. Remedying a prescribed information breach before initiating any possession action is essential.
August stores all tenancy documentation, including the prescribed information certificate and scheme leaflet, in the documents feature against the relevant property and tenancy, accessible when needed to evidence service. For a step-by-step guide to protecting a deposit correctly, including how to register with a scheme, generate the prescribed information, and serve it within the deadline, see the August guide to protecting a tenancy deposit.
August also provides a free prescribed information form template, available in the landlord resources section.
Frequently asked questions
Can I serve prescribed information before the deposit is paid?
No. Prescribed information must be served after the deposit has been received. Serving it beforehand, for example, by including it within the tenancy agreement before the tenant pays, does not satisfy the legal requirement, as the deposit amount and protection details cannot be confirmed until the deposit is held. The 30-day window begins on the date the deposit is received.
Does prescribed information need to be re-served when the tenancy becomes periodic?
Not automatically. Under the Deregulation Act 2015, where the landlord, tenant, property, and scheme all remain the same, prescribed information served at the start of the tenancy covers the periodic continuation. Re-serving is required only where one of four material changes occurs: a change of tenant, a change of landlord, a change of scheme, or a change of property address.
What happens if the prescribed information contains a mistake?
A factual inaccuracy in the prescribed information, for example, the wrong deposit amount or an incorrect scheme contact, can constitute non-compliance. If you discover an error, correct it and re-serve the prescribed information as soon as possible. Where the 30-day window has passed, take legal advice on the appropriate remediation step before serving any possession notice.
Does prescribed information apply in Wales?
The obligation applies in Wales under different legislation, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and the Renting Homes (Deposit Schemes) (Required Information) (Wales) Regulations 2022, where it is called "required information" rather than prescribed information. The content required and the 30-day deadline are substantively the same as in England.
This entry reflects the law as of 1 May 2026 and the position under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Landlords with complex circumstances, multiple relevant persons, properties in multiple jurisdictions, or historic non-compliance, should take independent legal advice.
