What is the prescribed information, and when do I have to give it?

What is the prescribed information for a tenancy deposit?

It’s the information about the deposit that section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 requires a landlord to give. Article 2 of the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007 sets out what it must contain. It comes in two parts.

What does it say about the scheme?

• the scheme administrator’s name, address, phone number and email address
• the information in the scheme’s leaflet that explains how the deposit rules work
• how the scheme repays the deposit at the end of the tenancy
• what happens if you or the tenant can’t be contacted at the end
• what happens if you and the tenant disagree about the amount
• the scheme’s dispute resolution service, which settles disputes “without recourse to litigation”

What does it say about the tenancy?

• the deposit amount and the property address
• your name and contact details, or your agent’s
• the tenant’s contact details, including how to reach them at the end of the tenancy
• the contact details of anyone who paid the deposit for the tenant
• when you may keep all or part of the deposit, “by reference to the terms of the tenancy”
• a certificate signed by you, confirming the information is accurate and that the tenant was given the chance to sign it

GOV.UK’s plain-English list covers the same ground (GOV.UK).

When do I have to give the prescribed information?

Within 30 days of receiving the deposit (section 213). It’s the same 30 days you have to protect the deposit, counted from the day the money arrives. Protecting on day 25 leaves five days for the prescribed information, not another 30. How the days are counted is on How long do I have to protect a deposit?

Protect first, then give the information. It names the scheme and says how the deposit is protected, which can only be accurate once the deposit is registered.

Who has to receive it?

Your tenant, and any “relevant person” (section 213). A relevant person paid the deposit on the tenant’s behalf under arrangements with the tenant, such as a parent, an employer or a council. Each one is named in the information and gets their own copy.

Giving a copy to each joint tenant removes any doubt about who received it. A guarantor who only promises to pay, without handing over money, hasn’t paid the deposit, so isn’t a relevant person.

Is the deposit protection certificate the same as the prescribed information?

No. The certificate is the scheme’s confirmation that the deposit is protected. TDS’s rules say it “is not a substitute for serving prescribed information”, and that TDS doesn’t serve the prescribed information for you (TDS Custodial Scheme Rules, rule 6.3). DPS’s terms say the same in their own words. Once DPS has protected a deposit, the landlord must give the prescribed information (DPS custodial terms).

Many landlords send the two together, so the tenant has everything at once.

Where do I get a prescribed information form?

From your scheme. At DPS, you can print a form pre-filled with the details in your online account, then add the information it doesn’t hold (DPS custodial terms). TDS makes forms available, and says giving the information correctly and on time remains the landlord’s responsibility (TDS rules, rule 2.9). mydeposits says the landlord or agent signs the prescribed information and sends it to the tenant and anyone who contributed (mydeposits).

At TDS, the scheme leaflet is part of it. Landlords and agents must give tenants and relevant persons a copy of the leaflet as part of their prescribed information obligations (rule 15.4).

Check the form against your tenancy before you sign. The section on keeping part of the deposit should quote the clauses of the agreement your tenant signed. Those same clauses are the starting point for any deduction you propose at the end.

Does the tenant have to sign the prescribed information?

No, but they must be given the chance. The certificate at the end is signed by the landlord, and confirms the tenant was given the opportunity to sign (2007 Order, article 2). Where an agent completed the scheme’s initial requirements for you, the agent may sign the certificate instead.

Keep a copy of exactly what you gave, with when, how and to whom. That record matters if anyone later asks whether it was given.

When do I need to give it again?

Mainly when something it records changes:

• More deposit. For a top-up or a new instalment, DPS asks for updated prescribed information (DPS).
• A different scheme. TDS expects up-to-date information within 30 days of a deposit moving in or out of TDS Custodial (TDS rules, rule 7.10).
• A new tenancy. Section 215B treats a replacement tenancy as compliant only where the landlord, tenant and property are the same and the deposit stays in the same scheme. Different tenants or a different property fall outside it.
• Other changes. TDS’s rules say landlords should consider giving fresh information if any of the details originally given change (rule 15.3).

The move to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026 didn’t, on its own, call for fresh information. Under section 146 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, existing tenancies continued as the same tenancy.

What if I gave it late, or got it wrong?

Give it, or correct it, as soon as you notice. Two rules apply in England:

• Section 214. A tenant, or anyone who paid the deposit, can apply to court if the information wasn’t given within 30 days. The court must then order the landlord to pay one to three times the deposit (section 214).
• Section 215. A court can’t make most possession orders on an assured tenancy until the information has been given. For this rule, giving it late still counts (section 215).

Keep both versions, and proof of when you gave each one.

What is it called in Wales?

The required information. Under section 45 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, the landlord gives it to the contract-holder, and anyone who paid the deposit for them, within 30 days of the deposit being paid. The Renting Homes (Deposit Schemes) (Required Information) (Wales) Regulations 2022 list what it contains. The list follows the same pattern as England’s, and ends with the landlord’s signed certificate. The 2007 Order no longer applies in Wales.

Where next?

Whether the deposit needs protecting at all is on Do I have to protect my tenant’s deposit?, and the timing is on How long do I have to protect a deposit? At the end of the tenancy, the guide to disputing a deposit deduction explains how a dispute runs, and the deadline calculator works out when your evidence is due. A deposit dispute pack matches each deduction to its tenancy agreement clause and the evidence behind it.