Signing a Tenancy Agreement
When you have decided to take a property and have agreed all the details with the landlord you will usually be asked to sign a tenancy agreement. This is a contract setting out in writing your responsibilities to the landlord during your stay. The most important features of any tenancy agreement are:
- the rent and the date each month when it is to be paid
- the dates between which the tenancy runs: (eg. from 1st October 2013 to 30th September 2014)
- the name and address of the householder (or the company managing on his/her behalf) and where you have to send the rent
As well as these details a tenancy agreement will contain several pages of text covering your general responsibilities regarding the letting. Typically it will state on which date your rent should be paid, the length of the tenancy, that you must not damage the building, keep noise to a reasonable level, are responsible for keeping the flat clean, etc. Tenancy agreements are usually standard documents bought from legal stationers or purchased ready-made from solicitors offices.
A word of warning: landlords and their agents often write in their own clauses on tenancy agreements, some of these are unenforceable in law but some are legally binding. Always read through the entire agreement before signing it. Never sign anything you are not happy about and seek independent advice if you do not understand what is written. It is a good idea to look at some tenancy agreements before you go house-hunting, that way you will get used to identifying what they should say and what has been added in. Model tenancy agreements can be obtained on request from the Accommodation Bureau
Please note: some householders chose not to have a tenancy agreement. In these cases, you could provide one yourself and get him/her to read and sign it. This would prevent misunderstandings which may arise and is a safeguard for you (and the householder) should anything go wrong.
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Agreements |
At first glance tenancy agreements can seem to be quite one-sided documents. Although they must always be fair to both parties they may not appear to have much on them about the landlord’s responsibilities to you. Nevertheless, you have legal rights as a tenant which apply no matter what is written on the tenancy agreement.
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Assured Shorthold Tenancies |
Almost all new tenancies in the private sector will be Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs). Assured shorthold tenancies are the most common type of tenancy encountered in the private sector. Under an assured shorthold you cannot be forced to leave your accommodation within the first six months of the contract (in normal circumstances). If your tenancy term is longer than six months then contract law protects you during this period too. After your initial contract expires your tenancy becomes ‘periodic’ (unless you sign up for another fixed period) which means that it automatically renews itself every time you pay the rent until either party decides to end it. If your landlord decides to end your tenancy he usually has to serve you with a written ‘notice to quit’ (he doesn’t need to give a reason). This is not always a threatening move. He may be doing so in order to comply with housing law if you are still in the first six months of the contract, but it does mean that you will need to negotiate a new tenancy agreement at the end of your current one. To get you out your landlord has to go to court to obtain a 'possession order'. So long as he has given you sufficient written notice (no less than two months), he will be granted one even if you are up-to-date with the rent. Under the new housing laws it is no longer necessary for your landlord to provide you with a written tenancy agreement although it is good practice for him/her to do so. Nevertheless, you have a legal right to have the terms and conditions of your tenancy provided to you in writing and signed by your landlord if you are not given a formally written out agreement at the start of your tenancy. This should include your name and the property address, the date on which the tenancy began, the amount of rent you have to pay, when it is due, and the date on which it will end (if fixed term).
