Export message history for court

Where to find the export

The export lives in two places, both showing the same data:

1. Inline on the property page — open the property, expand the Tenancy card, find the Communications panel. The three export buttons (PDF / CSV / JSONL) are at the top of the panel.
2. Full-screen view — for longer conversations, click into the tenancy and go to /properties/{id}/tenancies/{tid}/messages. Same data, more screen.

The three export formats

• PDF — human-readable, formatted for legal review. Generated server-side by WeasyPrint from a Jinja2 template. Use this for tribunals, court bundles, and anything you need to read with a solicitor.
• CSV — flat table. Columns: sent_at, direction, channel, actor_kind, body. Use this for spreadsheet review or import to other systems.
• JSONL — one JSON object per line. Use this for programmatic processing or archival.

Filename pattern: tenancy_{tenancy_id}_messages.{format} — e.g. tenancy_abc12345_messages.pdf.

What's in the export

Every message on this tenancy, in chronological order, with these fields per row:

• sent_at — UTC timestamp the message was sent (displayed in Europe/London on the PDF render).
• direction — inbound (from tenant), outbound (to tenant), or note (internal note logged by you).
• channel — whatsapp, sms, email, app, or note.
• actor_kind — who sent it: landlord, tenant, or system (automated message from PropFlow).
• body — the message text.

Pre-tenancy messages (from when the tenant was an applicant or enquirer) are carried over to the tenancy and tagged with a "Pre-tenancy (carried over)" badge in the PDF render. They appear in chronological order alongside everything else, so the timeline is end-to-end.

What's not in the export

• Audit-log entries (who logged in, who uploaded what) — these are a separate export from the property's audit view.
• Compliance documents, certificates, signed agreements — these are uploaded files, not messages.
• Phone calls — PropFlow doesn't record voice. Use a manual note to record what was said.
• Messages from other tenancies on the same property — exports are tenancy-scoped, so each tenancy is its own evidence pack.

What makes the export "court-grade"

Three properties of PropFlow's message storage support evidentiary use:

1. Immutable rows. Each message is its own row in the conversation_messages table. Once written it isn't edited — corrections come as new messages, not in-place updates. This is what makes the timeline tamper-evident.
2. Delivery receipts. For WhatsApp and SMS messages, the Twilio message SID is stored alongside the row. For email, the Resend message ID. Anyone reviewing the evidence can verify with the platform that the message actually went and was delivered.
3. Audit log on every export. When you click Export, PropFlow writes an conversation.export_requested audit row recording who exported what, and when. This means there's a record of every disclosure.

What's not currently in the system: cryptographic hashing or e-signing of the exported file. If your case requires that, your solicitor can wrap the PDF in their own signed PDF after export — PropFlow's export is the raw evidence; downstream legal hardening is your call.

Plan availability

Audit-trail export is included on the Landlord plan and above. The free Starter tier doesn't include export — see Your trial, plans, and billing for the comparison.

Practical workflow for tribunal or court

1. Decide which tenancy and which date range matter. Export the PDF.
2. Open it. Highlight the messages that are relevant (most PDF readers let you annotate without modifying the file).
3. If you need a verified delivery receipt for a specific message, note its sent_at and the Twilio/Resend ID. Your solicitor can verify with the provider if challenged.
4. Attach the PDF (and optionally the CSV for searchability) to your evidence bundle.

Next steps

• Set up a tenancy — for the form that creates the tenancy in the first place.
• Your trial, plans, and billing — to check which plan you're on.