Written Statement of Tenancy
Under the Renters Rights Act 2025, every landlord must give a new tenant a written statement of tenancy terms before or at the start of the tenancy, containing core information such as rent, deposit, landlord details and repair responsibilities.
At a glance
- Law
- Renters’ Rights Act 2025
- When
- Before or at the start of the tenancy
- Contents
- Rent, deposit, landlord details, repair responsibilities
Full guide
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Open full guideWhy Written Statement of Tenancy matters for landlords
RRA 2025 introduced a mandatory written statement of tenancy terms alongside the existing tenancy agreement. It feels redundant — a modern AST already contains the same fields — but the statutory obligation is separate, and the penalty for non-service is separate. Adding a single-page "statement" to the tenancy pack and issuing it with a dated email is the lowest-friction compliance path.
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Official sources
LetCompliance editorial reviews this entry every quarter against the sources above. Always confirm specific duties with a qualified solicitor or your local council.
Related terms
Legionella Risk Assessment
A written assessment of the risk of legionella bacteria in the property's water system. Required by HSE under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. Not a formal certificate, but landlords must demonstrate they have considered the risk.
Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
The standalone Welsh statute (commenced 1 December 2022) that replaced the assured / assured shorthold / common-law regime in Wales with two new contract types: Standard Contract (private rented sector default) and Secure Contract (mainly social housing). Different from England’s framework: notice is six months under a no-fault Section 173 (Wales’ equivalent of Section 21), Written Statement of Contract is mandatory within 14 days, and the Renters Rights Act 2025 does NOT apply in Wales. LetCompliance is England-only; Welsh landlords need a Wales-specific compliance product.
Section 48 Notice (Landlord’s Address for Service)
Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 requires a landlord of a residential dwelling in England or Wales to give the tenant a written address in England or Wales at which notices can be served. Until a compliant address is given, no rent is legally due. A common cure for an overseas landlord is to use the letting agent’s UK address (with the agent’s consent), but the address must be the landlord’s address for service, not a generic correspondence address.
Sub-letting
A tenant granting occupation rights to a third party (a sub-tenant) while the original tenancy continues. Most ASTs prohibit sub-letting without written landlord consent; under the Housing Act 1988 unauthorised sub-letting is ground 12 (discretionary) for possession and may also be a banning-order offence under section 79 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 if rent is taken from the sub-tenant beyond the rent paid to the landlord (“rent-to-rent fraud”). The Renters Rights Act 2025 retains sub-letting consent as a contractual landlord right with a reasonable-refusal threshold.
Break Clause
A clause in a fixed-term tenancy that allows landlord or tenant to end the agreement early. With fixed-term ASTs abolished from 1 May 2026 for most residential tenancies, break clauses are rarely relevant, a tenant can instead end a periodic tenancy with two months' notice.
Joint Tenancy
A tenancy where two or more tenants are jointly and severally liable for the rent and obligations. If one tenant leaves, the remaining tenants are liable for the full rent. A notice served by one joint tenant can end the tenancy for all.