Tenancy Agreement

This is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement for a residential property which sets out the duties and responsibilities of the (non resident) landlord and tenant. The property or any part of it can be furnished or unfurnished and the tenant or tenants must be an individual or individuals (i.e. not a company or partnership). It gives special rights to the landlord to repossess the property at the end of the term and special rights to the tenant to apply to a rent assessment committee for a rent determination in certain circumstances.

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy can be for any length of time. The landlord may agree a fixed term of less than six months if the tenant agrees. However, the tenant has a right to stay in the property for a minimum period of six months. This means that even if a fixed term of less than six months is agreed, the landlord does not have a guaranteed right to possession if the tenant refuses to leave during the first six months of the tenancy.

From 6 April 2007, all landlords and letting agents who take deposits for Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England and Wales must join a Government-authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme. Within 14 days of receiving the deposit, the landlord must provide the tenant with details of the scheme chosen by him to safeguard the deposit. Details of the 3 schemes and further information can be found at:

• The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) at www.depositprotection.com
• Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd (TDSL) at www.mydeposits.co.uk
• The Dispute Service (TDS) at www.thedisputeservice.co.uk

N.B. The Dispute Service has special clauses which it requires in its members' tenancy agreements, which the agreements here do not include. However, these are available to members from the Dispute Service and can be appended to the Tenancy Agreement.

It is recommended that the Tenancy Agreement is prepared in duplicate and both copies should be signed by all parties, with both the landlord and tenant retaining a copy. An inventory should also be prepared of the furnishings or equipment included in the let.

This agreement is suitable for use in England and Wales and includes clauses covering:

• The amount of rent and deposit payable and the term of the tenancy
• Landlord's obligation to insure the property and keep wind and water-tight
• Right of landlord to charge interest on late rent payments
• Tenant's obligation to pay bills and council tax
• Tenant's obligation to keep the property and any garden in good order and repair
• To use the property for residential purposes only
• Not to cause nuisance or annoyance to others
• Not to keep pets without written permission
• Not to leave property unattended for more than 21 days without informing landlord
• Prescribed information about the tenancy deposit scheme.

The prescribed information about the tenancy deposit scheme is provided as a separate document with all versions of our Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement.

We offer two versions of this Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement:

Tenancy Agreement (House)

The Tenancy Agreement (House) version is suitable for use when letting a whole flat or house to a single tenant or joint tenants. In this case the tenants have joint responsibility for bills etc. This is generally easier to manage than the Tenancy Agreement (Room) version.

This document is available individually or as part of a Property Annual Subscription or Full Annual Subscription - giving you access to wide range of documents, packages and forms for a single annual fee. It is also included in the Tenancy Package for England and Wales.

You can view a sample document here.

This document is £9.99 (Word Document) or £14.98 (Word Template) including VAT.

How to order

Choose the format of your Tenancy Agreement (House): Word Document (.doc) or Word Template (.dot) 

Tenancy Agreement (Room)

The Tenancy Agreement (Room) version is suitable for use when letting a room within a flat or house to a tenant. If the property has several such tenants, each tenant is responsible for their share of bills etc. This is useful in situations where it is easier to find single tenants for rooms within a property where the tenants may wish to stay for different terms.

Please note - this is not the same as the Rent a Room Agreement, which is for use with a resident landlord and is sold separately.

This document is available individually or as part of a Property Annual Subscription or Full Annual Subscription - giving you access to wide range of documents, packages and forms for a single annual fee. It is also included in the Tenancy Package for England and Wales.

You can view a sample document here.

This document is £9.99 (Word Document) or £14.98 (Word Template) including VAT.

How to order

Choose the format of your Tenancy Agreement (Room): Word Document (.doc) or Word Template (.dot)