Service Of Prescribed Documents On Tenants – D’aubigny V Khan & Anor (2025)

As a landlord, there are certain documents (known as prescribed documents) that you have to give to your tenant at certain times to comply with statutory requirements

Section 21 (b) of the Housing Act 1988 states that:

“The Secretary of State may by regulations require information about the rights and responsibilities of a landlord and a tenant under an assured shorthold tenancy of a dwelling-house in England (or any related matters) to be given by a landlord under such a tenancy, or a person acting on behalf of such a landlord, to the tenant under such a tenancy.”

What are the prescribed documents?

• A valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• A valid Gas Safety Certificate (GSC) for every year of the duration of the tenancy
• An up-to-date copy of the ‘How to Rent Guide’, which can be found online on the Gov website

How can and when should prescribe documents be served?

The prescribed documents should be served at the start of the tenancy before the end of the tenancy when you wish to serve a valid section 21 notice in order to obtain possession by the accelerated route. However, the GSC must be complete every year and an EPC every 10 years, copies of the certificates must be made available for the tenant.

This then poses the question how can these documents be served on tenants? This is where the case of D’Aubigny v Khan & Anor clarifies the rules on service of prescribed documents through two appeals.

The facts

The Khan’s had served a valid section 21 notice on their tenant, D’aubigny, who had an assured shorthold tenancy. The notice was served via 1st class post by their solicitor as per section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978-

“Where an Act authorises or requires any document to be served by post (whether the expression “serve” or the expression “give” or “send” or any other expression is used) then, unless the contrary intention appears, the service is deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre-paying and posting a letter containing the document and, unless the contrary is proved, to have been effected at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.”

After receiving the section 21 notice the tenant claimed that she had not received the prescribed documents. Although the Khan’s evidenced that their solicitor had sent the prescribed documents both by tracked delivery and 1st class post, they were unable to prove that the tenant actually received the documents as the tracked delivery was never signed for.

They had argued that clause 13 of their tenancy agreement stipulated that any document which is sent correctly is deemed served if that be by 1st class post, fax or email. As neither party provided a fax or email address, the Khan’s continued to send documents by post.

DDJ Davis concluded that that the tenant had failed to prove that she did not receive the documents and that the words ‘serve’ ‘give’ and ‘send’ should be interpreted as substitution for ‘served by post’

The appeals

D’Aubigny appealed the judgement twice, the first appeal was dismissed by DDJ Baucher who had the same view as DDJ Davis.

The second appeal argued the following grounds:

“1. HHJ Baucher was wrong to find that s. 7 IA 1978 applied to the requirement to give an EPC, GSR and How to Rent.

2. She was wrong to find that these documents were “notices” for the purposes of clause 13.2 of the tenancy agreement.

3. Insofar as she also dismissed the appeal on the basis of the Respondent’s notice, she was wrong to find that the only viable conclusion was that these documents were received by Mrs D’Aubigny.”

Ground 1 of the second appeal was dismissed because it is common ground that someone may give a document by post as long as the other person received it. What s.7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 is concerned with is that the word ‘serve’ does not exclude documents to be sent by post as it still requires documents to be ‘given’ to a tenant.

Ground 2 of the appeal was dismissed because the GSC, EPCM and ‘How to Rent’ guide were considered notices for the purpose of clause 13.2 of their tenancy agreement, the Khan’s letter to D’Aubigny were notifying her that the GSC and EPC were complete and were within regulation.

Ground 3 was dismissed because although there was no proof that the tracked letter was ever received as it was never signed for, neither the 1st class or the tracked letter were ever returned. It was evidenced by the solicitor’s royal mail book that the letters were placed into the post. If a letter is correctly addressed and directed it is therefore deemed to have been received.

The second appeal was therefore also dismissed.

What can you do as a landlord to ensure prescribed documents are served and received?

You can continue to send prescribed documents by 1st class post and tracked delivery, but as we have seen in this case it may not be the most reliable form of sending documents if you want to prove that documents were received.

If your tenancy agreement permits you, you can also send the prescribed documents by email to the tenant and request a read receipt. However please note that you do not have to respond to a read receipt.

A process server is someone who will serve the documents by hand to the individual and provide a witness statement of the delivery process. This will show that the documents were in fact handed over to the individual, as well as the date and time of the delivery.

It is important that the tenancy agreement clearly states how documents are to be sent and if when they are to be considered received.

If you have any questions about serving prescribed documents or require legal advice on landlord and tenant matters, our experienced dispute resolution team is here to help. Our legal experts can guide you through your obligations, ensuring compliance with housing laws and minimising legal risks. Call 0330 822 3451 or request a callback. 

The author of this blog is Julia Piotrowska, a Legal Assistant in our Dispute Resolution team.