Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement

Written by The Landlord on 10 Feb 2012

The information in this post applies to England and Wales tenancy agreements.

• What is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement?
• Where Can I get a good Tenancy Agreement?
• When should I use a Tenancy Agreement?
• Do I need a written Tenancy Agreement?
• How do I know if I have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement?
• How long can the agreement last for?
• Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme
• Who keeps a copy of the Tenancy Agreement?
• What’s in a Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement?
• Tenant And Landlord Basic rights
• Changing the Tenancy Agreement
• Ending a tenancy agreement in the middle of the terms
• Discrimination in tenancy agreements
• Pet Clauses in Tenancy Agreements

What is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement?

A tenancy agreement is a legal contract between landlord and tenant, . It maybe written or oral. The agreement contains the terms and conditions of the tenancy, such as the length of the agreement, the rent payable, and what is and isn’t allowed in the property, such as pets.

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy is one of the most common in the private rented sector. If your tenancy began, or was agreed, on or after 28 February 1997, it is likely to be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. Tenancies starting, or agreed, before that date but after 15 January 1989, are more likely to be Assured Tenancies. Yes, there is a difference between a “Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement” and a “Assured tenancy” Both these types of tenancy were introduced to promote lettings. The primary difference between the two types of tenancy is the legislation regarding the landlord regaining possession of the property.

Where Can I get a good Tenancy Agreement?

Tenancy Agreements can range from 2 pages to more than 20, and they’re available from various sources. However, it’s important to note that any tenancy agreement must be “Fair” and “Clear” and not intended to mislead the tenant in any way.

There are literally hundreds of places where you can buy and/or download tenancy agreements from on the Internet. So you need to be careful when picking your source. A lot of outlets, especially the ones which offer free contracts, often distribute out-of-date and poorly formatted tenancy agreements. Also, a lot of them contain clauses which aren’t actually enforcible by law. This usually happens when landlords and/or letting agents modify (i.e. add their own clauses) existing tenancy agreements without checking if the clause(s) being added are actually enforcible by law. It goes without saying, tenancy agreements which aren’t correctly compiled by legal experts can be an expensive mistake.

ALL the Tenancy Agreements available on this site have been created by Stones Solicitors LLP. They are listed as a Top 200 Law Firm and is recognised by the two leading independent directories, Chambers and the Legal 500. Stones have expert solicitors specialising in landlord law. You can buy one of our tenancy agreements for just £4.99, and reuse it as many times as you wish.

Here’s a more elaborate guide on how to check if your tenancy agreement is any good or not.

When should I use a Tenancy Agreement?

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy is the most commonly used tenancy agreement in the letting of residential properties. This type of agreement is also referred to as an ‘AST’ or ‘Shorthold Tenancy’. An AST should be used where you are renting a property to just one person, or where you are renting to multiple tenants (that know one another). The advantage of this type of agreement with shared properties is that the tenants have ‘joint and several liability’ i.e. the landlord can claim all of the rent from each of the tenants, not just their own share.

An AST is not suitable for some circumstances where it should NOT be used:

• If the property receives more than 100k per year in rent (This was 25k before October 2010)
• If the property receives very low, or no rent at all
• If the property is a holiday home
• If the property is let to a private limited company
• If the property is owned by the Crown or a government department
• If the property is being let with more than two acres of agricultural land or an agricultural tenancy

Do I need a written Tenancy Agreement?

It is not legally required to have a written tenancy agreement in place to start a tenancy. A tenancy agreement can be a oral contract between landlord and tenant. However, written tenancy agreements are highly recommended so important terms and conditions don’t get forgotten.

When a landlord rents out a property to a tenant, this is a legal contract, so it’s important to have the T&C’s in the contract written down so both tenant and landlord knows what the contract specifies. If everything is written in black and white, there can never be any question of what was agreed. If T&C’s are only verbally agreed, it’s easy to forget what was agreed.

Additionally, if under any unfortunate circumstance, complications between landlord and tenant surfaces which requires the aid of the court, the tenancy agreement can prove to be vital.

How do I know if I have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement?

There are serveral factors which will determine whether or not an Assured Shorthold Tenancy has been agreed. You will have an AST if:

• If the tenant pays less than 50k per year in rent
• If the tenant moved into the property on or after 28th febuary 1997
• If the tenant is renting from a private landlord
• If the tenant has rights to have privacy in the property where the landlord cannot enter the property without mutual agreement

How long can the agreement last for?

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy can now be (after 28th February 1989) for any period of time, it does not have to be “short” (Prior to 28th February, there was a requirement for a tenancy to be for a minimum of six months, there is no longer this minimum set.)

The landlord and tenant may agree on a fixed term of less than six months. However, the tenant has a right to stay in the property for a minimum period of six months, regardless of what the agreement stipulates.

At the end of the term if the tenancy agreement is not renewed, it then becomes what is known as a Statutory Periodic Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement. The terms of the original tenancy agreement still apply, but the tenancy continues on the rent schedule. For example, if rent is paid on a monthly basis, then the contract will become a monthly periodic tenancy.

There’s also what is known as a Contractual Periodic Tenancy; this is when no term for the end of the let is set and the tenancy agreement simply continues until either party decide to bring it to an end.

Regardless of which status your agreement is in (fixed term or statutory), the landlord still has to give two months notice to the tenant and can’t obtain possession (before 6 months of the tenancy agreement has elapsed) other than by satisfying certain of the prescribed grounds.

Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme

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. More details on Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme.

Who keeps a copy of the Tenancy Agreement?

The landlord and each tenant should have their own copy of the tenancy agreement. Each copy should be signed by tenant and landlord.

It’s important that everyone keeps their own copy, as it may prove to be useful in court if any legal issues occur.

What’s in a Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement?

Here are just a few of the issues the contract should cover:

• The amount of rent and deposit payable and the term of the tenancy
• 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.

Remember, an agreement can be amended by adding or removing any terms as required, as long as they do not conflict with law. Both the tenant and landlord have rights and responsibilities given by law. The tenancy agreement can give both the tenant and landlord more than statutory rights, but cannot give less than your statutory rights.

Tenant And Landlord Basic rights

There are basic obligations a tenant and landlord must obey even if they aren’t set down in the agreement, but which are given by law and are implied into all tenancy agreements. These terms form part of the contract, even though they have not been specifically agreed.

Some of the most common implied terms are:

• The landlord must carry out basic repairs
• the landlord must keep the installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and heating water
• the tenant has the right to live peacefully in the accommodation without nuisance from the landlord
• the tenant has an obligation to take proper care of the accommodation.

Changing the tenancy agreement

A tenancy agreement can be changed if both the landlord and tenant agree to the new conditions. The change should be recorded in writing, either by drawing up a new written document setting out the terms of the tenancy or by amending the existing written tenancy agreement.

An oral agreement can also be changed. Usually the change will be oral too. In the case of a dispute, evidence of the variation can be provided if there were witnesses to the new agreement or simply by both parties acting on the variation, for example, by paying and accepting a new rent.

It’s important to be diligent when modifying a tenancy agreement. Ensure that ALL terms and conditions in the agreement are legal and enforceable by law i.e. a clause which suggests that the tenant or landlord have less rights than those given by common law or statute is not valid, and will not be enforceable by law. If you are unsure, it’s best to seek legal advice.

Ending a tenancy agreement in the middle of the terms

It both parties agree to terminating the agreement, they can legally do so. This is called ‘surrender’. There are two ways that surrender of a tenancy can occur: by “operation of the law” or by a “declaration of surrender”.

Surrender of operation by law
This is when the tenant gives up their occupation of the property to the landlord and the landlord accepting this. This could involve the tenant handing over the property’s keys to the landlord and the landlord accepting that the agreement is over and that they now have possession.

Declaration of operation by law
This is when the tenant signs a “Declaration of Surrender”. This written document then acts as proof that the tenant has given up possession of the property to the landlord.

For a surrender to be legal, both parties must agree. It’s advised for everything that has been agreed to be writen down so everyone knows where they stand. If a joint tenancy is in place, all the joint tenants and the landlord must agree to the surrender.

When a tenant has legally surrendered the tenancy, then the landlord has the right of possession of the property under Section 5 of the Housing Act 1988. The landlord needs to end the agreement properly, before re-letting the property, otherwise the landlord could be accused of unlawful eviction.

Discrimination in tenancy agreements

The landlord must not discriminate against the tenant because of your race, sex, disability, sexuality or religion. It is against the law for the landlord to do any of the following:

• rent a property to a tenant on worse terms than other tenants
• treat the tenant differently from other tenants in the useage of facilities such as the garden
• evict or harass the tenant because race, sex, disability, sexuality or religion
• refuse to make reasonable changes to a term in the tenancy agreement which would allow a disabled person to live there.

Discrimining against sex, disability, sexuality or religion, generally don’t apply if your landlord lives in the same property as you. However, the landlord still cannot discriminate against race.

Pet Clauses in Tenancy Agreements

Most good tenancy agreements will have a pet clause, but what it stipulates can vary from contract to contract. In general, they will say whether a tenant can or can’t keep pets. But even if the tenancy agreement does say NO PETS permitted, a landlord can change his/her mind, and in that case the landlord should give written permission so there is no confusion.

In case of any damage caused by pets, the tenant will still be held liable and responsible. Damage is exactly that, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a tenant, their friend or their dog that cause it. The security deposit can be used to cover damages caused by pets. However, just so tenants are clear about what is expected, landlords can provide a supplement Pet Clause Policy Form with the Tenancy Agreement.