Can HouseFile read a photo of a paper certificate?

Yes. Photograph a paper certificate with your phone and HouseFile identifies the document type, files it in the matching checklist slot, and extracts the expiry date to set a renewal reminder. Scanned PDFs and digital PDFs work the same way.

Do I still need to name my files before uploading?

No. HouseFile reads the content of each document, so a file called IMG_4231.jpg files itself just as accurately as one called gas-safety-2026.pdf.

What happens if HouseFile reads a document wrongly?

Every detected field (title, category and expiry date) is shown for review before you confirm the upload, and you can correct any of them with a click. Nothing is shared with a tenant until you choose to share it.

New: photograph a certificate and HouseFile files it for you

The gas engineer finishes the annual check, hands you a paper certificate or WhatsApps you a photo of it, and drives off. This is often where compliance quietly goes wrong. The photo sits in your camera roll as IMG_4231.jpg, unnamed and unfiled, with an expiry date nobody wrote down. From today, you can photograph the certificate and HouseFile reads it, names it, files it, and books the renewal reminder.

A photo with a meaningless filename becomes a named, filed certificate with its renewal reminder set

What's new

HouseFile has always auto-detected clearly named PDFs. Upload gas-safety-2026.pdf and it would land in the right checklist slot. But that only worked when the file had extractable text and a sensible name. Real landlord paperwork often has neither: scanned certificates are just pictures inside a PDF, and photos from an engineer arrive with names like IMG_4231.jpg or WhatsApp Image 2026-07-04.jpg.

Now HouseFile reads the document itself, the way a person would. It can be a crisp digital PDF, a scan, or a slightly crumpled photo taken on your phone. Whichever it is, HouseFile identifies:

What it is: gas safety certificate, EICR, EPC, deposit protection certificate, tenancy agreement, HMO licence, and every other document type in your compliance checklist
When it expires: the explicit expiry or next-due date, read the way UK documents write it (2/7/2027 means 2 July, not 7 February)
When it was issued and its reference number: saved into the document's notes for your records

And if a certificate states an issue date but no expiry, HouseFile applies the standard UK validity period (twelve months for a gas safety record, five years for an EICR, ten for an EPC), so the renewal reminder still gets set.

What this looks like in practice

The gas engineer hands you the certificate. You open the property in HouseFile on your phone, tap upload, and photograph it. A few seconds later the upload form is already filled in: Gas Safety Certificate (CP12), filed under Legal Requirements, expiry next July, certificate number in the notes. You glance at it, confirm, and you're done. The renewal reminder is booked and the certificate is ready to share with your tenant for a timestamped acknowledgement.

The same reading step runs everywhere you add documents:

Bulk upload: drop a folder of mixed scans, photos, and PDFs and each one identifies itself
Checklist slots: drag a renewal onto its slot and the new expiry date replaces the old one automatically
The camera button: photograph paper documents straight into the property from your phone
Single document uploads: the form pre-fills instead of starting blank

You stay in control

Everything HouseFile detects is shown to you before anything is saved. The title, the category, and the expiry date are all fields you can edit before saving. If a document can't be identified (say, a boiler service invoice), it's added with a sensible descriptive title and HouseFile suggests any required documents still missing from your checklist, so one tap files it correctly.

Sharing works exactly as before: documents are only visible to your tenant when you choose to share them.

A note on how it works: the reading is powered by Claude, the AI model built by Anthropic. Documents are processed only to fill in the fields you see and are not used to train AI models. Clean digital PDFs are still classified instantly on our own servers, and the AI step only runs when a document actually needs reading.

Why it matters for compliance

Most compliance failures come from paperwork friction. A certificate stays in the camera roll, its expiry date never reaches a calendar, and the gas safety renewal slips because the reminder only lived in someone's head.

Removing the typing, naming, and date-hunting removes that friction, and with it most of the ways documents fall through the cracks. The certificate is filed and its renewal booked as soon as you upload it, and the proof-of-delivery trail starts when you share it.

Try it

The feature is live now for every HouseFile account, on every plan, at no extra cost. Open any property, tap upload, and photograph whatever paper certificate is nearest. You'll see it file itself. If you're setting up your first property, the setup guide walks through the whole flow, and the default checklist gives you every legally required document slot to fill.