Tenancy agreement template 2026. ASTs ended on 1 May. This writes the periodic tenancy.

Since 1 May 2026 a new private tenancy in England is an assured periodic tenancy (APT) under the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. It has no fixed term, the tenant can end it with at least two months’ notice in writing, and the rent goes up only by a Section 13 notice. An AST or any fixed-term template is out of date. In LetCompliance the agreement is written as an APT and filled in from your property and tenant records, and the 30-day deposit clock and the Prescribed Information follow from the same record.

Not for England at the moment. The model agreement GOV.UK used to publish for assured shorthold tenancies is no longer available, and no assured periodic version has replaced it (checked 16 October 2026). GOV.UK guidance now lists what the written terms must contain, which SI 2026/324 sets. The table on this page shows that list against the agreement the builder writes.

No. ASTs ended on 1 May 2026: every AST already running converted to an assured periodic tenancy that day, and a tenancy created since is periodic whatever the document calls itself. An AST template still carries a fixed term, Section 21 and a break clause, none of which apply. Writing in a fixed term is also a breach in its own right: Housing Act 1988 s.16E(1)(a) bars a landlord from purporting to let on a fixed term, and the council can impose a penalty of up to £7,000 (s.16I). This builder writes an assured periodic tenancy whatever start date you enter.

An APT is an assured periodic tenancy, the tenancy every standard private let in England has been since 1 May 2026. It runs from one rent period to the next with no end date (Housing Act 1988 s.4A), the tenant can leave with at least two months’ notice in writing, the landlord can only seek possession on a Section 8 ground because Section 21 is abolished, and the rent rises only by a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, at most once every 52 weeks. An AST, the default up to 30 April 2026, allowed a fixed term, Section 21 notices and contractual rent reviews.

No, not for a standard private tenancy. Every assured tenancy from 1 May 2026 is periodic with no fixed term: the tenant can leave with at least two months’ notice at any point, and the landlord can only seek possession on a section 8 ground. A clause that tries to lock the tenant in for 6 or 12 months has no effect (Housing Act 1988 s.4A), and purporting to let on a fixed term can bring a penalty of up to £7,000 (s.16E and s.16I). Lets outside the assured system, such as a company let, are different. The template leaves fixed-term wording out.

No. Their tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026 without anything new being signed. Where the terms were already in writing, the landlord had to give every named tenant the government’s Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026. Where the tenancy was only agreed orally, the written terms were due by the same date. Use this builder for your next new tenancy.

The landlord must give the tenant a written statement of the terms, with the information the regulations require, before the tenancy is entered into (Housing Act 1988 s.16D), and a written agreement can be that statement if it includes everything required. This builder writes the parties and the property, the rent and payment day, the deposit and the scheme protecting it, bills, pets and furnishing, joint tenants and HMO rooms, the Section 8 grounds, the Section 13 route for rent increases, and the address in England or Wales for notices (Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s.48).

Only by a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, with at least two months’ notice and no sooner than 52 weeks after the tenancy began or the last increase (53 weeks in one case). A rent review clause no longer works: a term raising the rent any other way has no effect (Housing Act 1988 s.13(4A)), so this builder leaves one out. On paid plans, LetCompliance drafts the Form 4A from the same tenancy record and dates it for you.

Not on a new tenancy in England. Rent periods must be monthly, or 28 days or shorter (Housing Act 1988, section 4A), and a term that makes rent due before the period it covers has no effect (section 4B). The first rent can still be paid after the agreement is signed and before the tenancy starts. Rent taken before the agreement is signed is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The rent in advance rules are set out in full on the blog.

A tenancy can exist without one, but section 16D of the Housing Act 1988 (inserted by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025) requires the landlord to give the tenant a written statement of the terms of the tenancy, with the information the regulations require, before the tenancy is entered into. A written agreement can serve as that statement if it includes everything required. Skipping it exposes you to a civil penalty of up to £7,000, imposed by the local housing authority under section 16I.

No, only for a private let in England. Wales uses occupation contracts with a written statement, Scotland uses the private residential tenancy with its own model agreement, and Northern Ireland has its own tenancy information notice. The section on letting outside England links to each government’s document.

One, if they rent the whole home together. That is a joint tenancy, and GOV.UK says every tenant on it is responsible for the rent. The written terms must name each of them, so add every tenant in the Tenants step. If you let rooms separately in a shared house, each tenant signs their own agreement for their room: tick “A single room in a shared house (HMO room-only let)” when you build it, and add your licence number if you have one.

Yes, for an ordinary let to students. One ground needs a step before anyone signs. If the house is an HMO and you want to be able to take it back for next year’s students (Ground 4A), the tenants must be given a written statement before the tenancy is entered into. It says you wish to recover possession on that ground because the tenants meet the student test and you intend to let to students again (Housing Act 1988, Schedule 2). Without it, Ground 4A cannot be used. The statement can go in the agreement under Additional terms. Read the ground in full on legislation.gov.uk before relying on it.

No. If you live in the home, the let is not an assured periodic tenancy (GOV.UK), and a lodger who shares your kitchen, bathroom or living room is likely an excluded occupier. That needs a lodger agreement, which this builder does not write.

The tenant can end an assured periodic tenancy at any time with at least two months’ notice in writing, or less if the landlord agrees to it in writing. The landlord cannot give no-fault notice at all, because section 21 is abolished, and must rely on a section 8 ground instead. Two grounds landlords often rely on, Ground 1 (the landlord or a close family member moving in) and Ground 1A (the landlord selling), are mandatory, need four months’ notice, and cannot be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy.

Yes, always. The template writes the contract; it does not carry out any legal duty for you. You must protect the deposit with DPS, TDS or mydeposits within 30 days, counting the day you receive it, and give the tenant the prescribed information within the same 30 days. Separately, the written statement of terms must be given before the tenancy is entered into; the standalone How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026. Miss the deposit deadline and a court must order you to pay the tenant between one and three times the deposit, and a court cannot make a possession order on any ground except Grounds 7A and 14 while the deposit is not protected. After the agreement, LetCompliance starts the 30-day clock with reminders 14, 7 and 1 days before it ends, and generates the Prescribed Information.

Yes. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps a tenancy deposit at 5 weeks’ rent where the annual rent is less than £50,000, and at 6 weeks’ rent where it is £50,000 or more. The builder does not stop you entering a higher figure, but the agreement states the cap and you should stay within it. Taking more is a prohibited payment: the tenant can recover the excess, and trading standards can impose a financial penalty.

Yes. A tenancy agreement of this kind is a simple contract rather than a deed, so an electronic signature is valid and no witness is needed. The PDF from this page is a SAMPLE for review and is not for signature. Inside LetCompliance, on the 3-day trial and paid plans, the same agreement can go out for e-signature: the tenant signs on their phone, and the times it was sent, opened and signed, with the IP address, are kept in a record you can export. How e-signing works, and the one case where it does not, is on the e-signature page.

Add terms specific to your let in the Additional terms step, such as a house rule for shared rooms or a pet condition beyond the statutory right. Wording you add is yours to check. Take a solicitor’s advice before signing where you change the standard clauses or the let is not standard, such as a company let or a large HMO.

Because the PDF from this page is for review, redlining and comparison, not for signature. Signing a copy marked SAMPLE does not make the tenancy invalid, but it leaves you with a document that says it is not final. The clean copy is built in an account, filled in from your property and tenant records, with the deposit clock and Prescribed Information following from it. Plans start at £7.99 a month, and the free plan builds one agreement a month.