How to Complete and Serve Deposit Prescribed Information So You Can Prove It

The deposit is protected and a certificate PDF sits in the inbox, but the prescribed-information form was never filled, the leaflet never attached, and the parent who paid was never served. Download the scheme’s own form, fill it, sign the accuracy box, attach the leaflet, send both PDFs, and then file the dated send next to the protection reference.

Saturday. Lena’s one let in Leeds. The tenant’s mum paid the £1,350 deposit on the 2nd; keys on the 20th. The agent WhatsApps the DPS certificate on the 18th. Lena files that PDF and ticks “PI done”. In March a letter arrives: mum was never named and never served.

Forwarding that certificate is not prescribed information. Shelter Legal England (updated 5 August 2025): the scheme certificate is not enough. In practice the scheme will not serve it for you. Typical mistake — and a risk: treating a WhatsApp certificate as the pack.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

Why does the pack start with the scheme’s form, not a homemade Order table?

Prescribed information is the scheme’s own form from the DPS, mydeposits or TDS account — not a spreadsheet of the 2007 Order and not a forum “PI template 2026”. Download that form in the same sitting as the protection confirmation. Do not type statute fields into a blank table.

Do write from the official document. Do not invent your own version. mydeposits (checked 12 September 2026): use the official document from your scheme; do not write your own. DPS: save the form from the account after you submit the deposit; Insured has its own template. TDS AskTDS: Word or PDF template on Guides, plus the leaflet.

For example, Lena needed the DPS form from the account, not a homemade Order table. The 2007 Order is why those boxes exist — it is not the worksheet.

What to fill on the form, and who signs the accuracy certificate?

Fill the amount received, the full property address, landlord or agent contacts, every named tenant including the end-of-tenancy contact, and relevant-person contacts if anyone else paid. Then the landlord or agent signs the accuracy certificate — accurate information, and the tenant given the opportunity to sign.

Do write every required field. Do not leave the landlord box blank. GOV.UK (checked 12 September 2026): within 30 days of getting their deposit tell tenants the address, amount, how it is protected, scheme contacts, your contacts, and any third-party payer. Housing Act 2004 s.213: serve the tenant and any relevant person — anyone who paid on the tenant’s behalf — within 30 days beginning with receipt.

A relevant person is someone who paid, not every guarantor. Deduction lines must match this tenancy. mydeposits: mismatched clauses and blank fields fail the pack. The accuracy signature is not the scheme certificate on the protection reference file. An agent may sign. If the tenant will not sign, still serve.

Why does the scheme leaflet have to travel with the form?

The form alone is not the pack. The scheme leaflet — the information sheet the scheme administrator supplies — is itself prescribed information. Attach the current leaflet or custodial terms to the same send. A missing leaflet is an incomplete pack.

Do file the leaflet that belongs to your scheme; do not send the form naked. DPS custodial terms must travel with the form; mydeposits needs the Information for Tenants leaflet; TDS uses “What is the Tenancy Deposit Scheme?” or the custodial leaflet. A missing leaflet fails the pack.

How do you serve every named tenant and anyone who paid?

Serve the completed form plus leaflet on every named tenant, and serve anyone who paid as their own recipient. One form can name all joint tenants; a third-party payer is served separately. Still inside 30 days beginning with receipt — same clock as the protection file, different send.

Do write each named inbox. Do not wait for a tenant signature. Do not treat a portal login as the send. Email the PDFs if the tenancy allows it; otherwise hand or tracked post. NRLA (2 February 2026; guide updated 30 July 2026): leaflet and PI in the same 30-day window; serve after protection, still inside those 30 days. Ask at application who else will pay.

Lena’s mum paid £1,350 on the 2nd. Day one is the 2nd, not keys on the 20th. Protecting on day 29 and serving PI on day 31 is a PI problem even if the money is in the scheme. A holding deposit is not this file until they become a tenant. Borrow the dated-event pattern from the safety-certificate send log — document, who, method, time, evidence — not the gas clocks.

What to file as dated proof next to the protection reference?

Keep dated proof of when and how the pack went out, in the same folder as the scheme name, protection date and unique reference. One line per named recipient. The sent item with the PDFs attached is the file. A WhatsApp or a portal login is not.

Do file five fields: document (form + leaflet), who, method, time, evidence (sent-item showing To plus attachments, signed ack, or posting receipt). Ask for a one-line “received, thanks”. If they will not sign, note “opportunity given, no reply” and keep the sent proof. mydeposits on signing: signed copy, or email plus a reply, or tracked post. NRLA: keep when and how.

This sits next to the protection reference — not a rewrite of how to protect. It is not a deposit dispute evidence pack. If the deposit later transfers scheme, re-serve and keep both dated proofs.

Success bar: Saturday opens the scheme form PDF, the leaflet, a signed accuracy box, a sent-item for each named tenant and the payer, and the three protection fields in one folder — without opening WhatsApp. Verify that checklist, then stop. Workflow: Open scheme form → Fill contacts → Sign accuracy → Attach leaflet → Serve named tenants + payer → File dated proof next to the reference → Stop. An IziRento workspace can hold those PDFs and the three protection fields on the same lease.