Landlord duties – prescribed information

Landlords have been obliged since 6 April 2007 to provide a tenant with ‘prescribed information’ within 30 days after receipt of their deposit. (For deposits received before 6 April 2012, the time limit was 14 days.) The prescribed information must also be given to any relevant person.

Landlords have been obliged since 6 April 2007 to provide a tenant with ‘prescribed information’ within 30 days after receipt of their deposit. (For deposits received before 6 April 2012, the time limit was 14 days.)  The prescribed information must also be given to any relevant person.

A relevant person is someone who pays the deposit on behalf of the tenant in accordance with the tenancy arrangements. A landlord failing to serve the prescribed information may be deemed non-compliant, ordered to pay compensation to the tenant and prevented from recovering possession of the property.

The landlord must give the following:

• The name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and any fax number of the relevant Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

• Any information contained in a leaflet supplied to the landlord by the TDS administrator that explains the operation of the provisions of the scheme.

• The procedures that apply under the TDS by which a deposit amount may be paid or repaid to the tenant at the end of the tenancy.

• The procedures that apply where either the landlord or tenant cannot be contacted at the end of the tenancy.

• The procedures that apply under the TDS where the landlord and tenant dispute the deposit amount to be paid or repaid to the tenant.

• The facilities available under the TDS for enabling a dispute relating to the deposit to be resolved without recourse to litigation

• Amount of deposit paid.

• Address of the property to which the tenancy relates.

• Name, address, telephone number and any e-mail address or fax number of the landlord.

• Name, address, telephone number and any e-mail address or fax number of the tenant, including details that should be used by the landlord or scheme administrator to contact the tenant at the end of the tenancy.

• Name, address, telephone number and any e-mail address or fax number of any relevant person.

• Circumstances in which all or part of the deposit may be retained by the landlord, according to the terms of the tenancy agreement.

The landlord is required to sign a certificate confirming the information provided by the landlord in respect of the tenancy deposit held under the TDS is accurate to the best of the landlord’s knowledge and belief; and that the landlord has given the tenant an opportunity to sign any document containing the prescribed information provided by the landlord to confirm that the information provided is accurate.

Specialist property lawyers at Attwaters Jameson Hill can assist landlords, tenants and managing agents with the above and all other legal aspects of tenancies.