Comparison
HouseFile vs spreadsheets
| Capability | Spreadsheet | HouseFile |
|---|---|---|
| Track documents & expiry dates | ✓Yes, if you update it by hand | ✓Expiry dates read from each certificate you upload |
| Reminders before certificates expire | ✗Only if you set them up and remember to look | ✓Emails 30 days before each certificate expires, at 7 days and on the day |
| Share documents with tenants | ✗Separate emails or printouts | ✓A link for each property, or each HMO room |
| Prove a tenant received a document | ✗No. A sent email only shows that you sent it | ✓When each document was opened, and whether the tenant agreed to it |
| Evidence pack for a dispute | ✗You put it together from emails and folders | ✓A PDF Compliance Report of what each tenant opened and agreed to |
| Survives you being busy | ✗It relies on you remembering to look | ✓Reminders go out whether or not you log in |
| Cost | ✓Free | ✓From £2.99 a month after a 14-day free trial |
When a spreadsheet is enough
With one property, a good memory and tenants who never question anything, a spreadsheet and a tidy folder of PDFs can work.
It falls short when you need to show what your tenant received, such as the deposit prescribed information in a possession claim. A spreadsheet can remind you that the gas safety record was renewed. To show your tenant received it on a given date, you need a record made at the time. HouseFile keeps one: tenants open their documents through a link, and it notes when each was opened and agreed to, in a PDF you can download.
If you're not sure where you stand, try the free Renters’ Rights Act readiness checker or get a compliance checklist for your property type. Both work alongside a spreadsheet.
You can keep your spreadsheet and use HouseFile too
14 days free · no card needed