Never received Prescribed Information? You may have a claim

What Prescribed Information actually is

Within 30 days of receiving your deposit, your landlord had to give you a specific set of written information, defined by the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007. It must include, among other things:

• Which scheme is protecting your deposit and its contact details
• The landlord's (or agent's) name and contact details
• How the deposit is repaid at the end of the tenancy
• What happens if there's a dispute, and how to use the scheme's free resolution service
• The circumstances in which deductions can be made

Schemes provide standard certificates and leaflets for this, and many require the tenant to be given the scheme's own terms too. A text message saying "your deposit is with the DPS" does not come close.

Why it matters even when the deposit was protected

Section 213(5) and (6) of the Housing Act 2004 make serving the Prescribed Information a duty in its own right. Breaching it triggers the same consequences as failing to protect the deposit:

• A court must award you 1× to 3× the deposit — see how the amount is decided
• Deposit compliance failures can restrict the landlord's routes to possession under the post-2026 framework until corrected

Serving it late is also a breach — the duty is to serve it within 30 days, and the breach is complete when that deadline passes.

"I can't remember receiving it"

That's common, and it's often the landlord's problem rather than yours: in court, the landlord carries the practical burden of showing the information was served, usually with a signed copy or proof of delivery. Useful things to check on your side:

• Your tenancy paperwork bundle — was a scheme certificate or leaflet in it?
• Old emails from the landlord or agent around your move-in date
• Anything you signed at check-in beyond the tenancy agreement itself

Renewals and the Prescribed Information

Renewals complicate the picture. Where a landlord complied properly first time round and the deposit stayed in the same scheme, the law can treat renewals as compliant too. But where the original service was defective or never happened, later periods can carry their own breaches — see how renewals affect claims. It is fact-sensitive, which is why our assessment maps your tenancy history period by period.

What to do next

First confirm the protection position itself with free searches of all three schemes — our guide to checking your deposit shows how. Then use the free check below to estimate the claim, and our £9.98 assessment will confirm the breaches and value in writing.