How To Sign Up A New Tenant & Create A Legal Tenancy Agreement

We’re all relying more and more on automated and online services, and the process of finding tenants is no exception. It’s never been easier to quickly throw up a rental advert on Rightmove & Zoopla – bypassing extortionate high-agency fees – and start generating enquiries. In many cases, it takes just a few clicks to get started, and off we go! Weeeeeeeee!

So while finding tenants without an agent is relatively straightforward, the part that comes afterwards -forming a legally binding tenancy agreement – still isn’t clear for many landlords. This may also explain why some are still on the fence about using online agents (which is a tragic shame, because they’ve been a game-changer for so many landlords!).

I’m referring to the steps that come after receiving enquiries and carrying out viewings.

What next?

What about all the legal paperwork?

How do I actually create a tenancy agreement?

Yup, many landlords feel overwhelmed at this stage, and understandably so.

The good news is that these concerns are often bigger in theory than they are in practice. However, it’s important not to underestimate the legal side entirely.

In reality, creating a legally binding tenancy agreement is relatively straightforward. In fact, many landlords already do it without even realising it (not necessarily in a good way – more on that shortly…).

Before signing up a new tenant! The Legal requirements…

To clarify, this blog post is not about complying with your legal obligations as a landlord. It is focused specifically on how to sign up a tenant by creating a legally binding tenancy agreement.

If you need to go back to basics, you can hop over to the legal guide for landlords.

How to sign up a new tenant / Creating a legally binding contract

Ok, it’s really easy – far easier than people realise.

Verbal Tenancy Agreements

This is what many landlords and tenants don’t realise…

You can technically create a legally binding verbal tenancy agreement. In theory, if a landlord gives permission for a tenant to live in their property and hands over the keys, a tenancy can be created. At that point, both landlord and tenant are generally afforded their statutory rights – no more, no less.

That’s why it’s incorrect when a landlord or tenant claims there is no tenancy agreement simply because there is no written contract.

Needless to say, you’d have to be mental to create a verbal tenancy agreement.

However, there is an important caveat to verbal agreements, which means every landlords in England cannot getaway with providing no documentation at all. Not anymore, anyways. With the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act, which came into effect on 1st May 2026, all landlords must provide each named tenant with a Written Statement of Terms as a bare minimum.

This is not necessarily a full tenancy agreement, but it is a document setting out specific key terms of the tenancy (e.g. rent amount, deposit details, and other core information). Failing to provide this won’t invalidate the tenancy (i.e. stop a tenancy from being legally binding), but it could result in significant civil penalties, potentially ranging from £7,000 to £40,000. Ouch!

You can find more details on the information you need to provide in the Written Statement of Terms Guide.

Creating a written Tenancy Agreements

There isn’t a trick or special ceremonial procedure required to create a valid and legally binding written tenancy agreement. Despite popular belief, you don’t need a solicitor or any form of legal specialist, nor do you need to sacrifice a goat.

Tenancy agreement templates are readily available online. Once a contract is signed by all parties (tenant, landlord, and optionally a witness), a legally binding tenancy is created. Most agreements set out the agreed rent, property details, duration and dates of the tenancy, and the general terms and conditions.

Yes, it really can be that simple: find a template tenancy agreement and get it signed. Done! A legally binding tenancy agreement is in place.

However, that’s not to say there aren’t important aspects of drafting and using tenancy agreements that you need to be mindful of. As with everything, there are sensible ways of doing it, and very poor ones. So here are a few tips and points to consider…

• As mentioned, as per the requirements of the Renters’ Rights Act, landlords must provide each named tenant with a Written Statement of Terms (i.e. specified key information about the terms of the tenancy).

  The required information can either be included directly in the tenancy agreement or issued as a separate document, although it is often simpler to incorporate it into the agreement so everything is set out in one place. As also mentioned, failure to provide all the required information will not invalidate the tenancy agreement, but it may expose landlords to significant penalties.

• Make sure you source your tenancy agreement from a reputable supplier, and don’t just use the first free one you get can your grubby little mitts on. Many of the tenancy agreement templates I’ve seen circulating are either out of date and/or riddled with junk clauses which aren’t enforceable by law.

  But please note, invalid clauses won’t make the actual tenancy invalid, it just means those certain clauses won’t be legally enforceable. For example, if a clause in the contract stipulates that the tenant has to pay a £1,000 penalty for being one day late on paying rent, it is very unlikely to be enforceable by law, regardless of who signed what.

• It’s important to read through the contract carefully before offering it to your tenant (I’m often amazed at how many landlords don’t do this. Truly baffling!). If there are any clauses that seem unfair, inaccurate or you’re unsure about, you should seek advice from someone qualified to get clarification.
• Don’t just add your own clauses willy-nilly, because the odds are it won’t be valid, and therefore enforceable. If you want to add your own clauses, seek advice from someone qualified to ensure it’s valid/fair.

  Landlords/agents adding their own home-cooked clauses is probably the number one reason for why many circulating tenancy agreement contracts are riddled with invalid clauses, and those clauses usually just get superseded by statutory rights (which can’t be overruled). For example, some landlords commonly add a clause stipulating that the tenant must give 6 months notice before vacating. That’s actually unenforceable, because in most cases, it’s the tenant’s statutory right to provide only a minimum of one months’ notice.

• Many letting agents (not all) use copy and paste contracts, which are total junk and ill-suited. Buyer beware (if you go down the agent route, that is)
• Here you go, a link to some decent tenancy agreements.

Using a high-street agent to handle your tenancy agreement

Of course, you can choose to instruct a reputable high-street letting agent to sign a tenant up for you, but you should expect to pay a hefty premium. You will typically be charged a “tenant find” fee, which covers advertising, sourcing a tenant, and handling the paperwork.

However, a good agent will prepare a valid, tailored tenancy agreement and walk you through each clause in detail.

Comparatively, doing it yourself can save you several hundred pounds (and that’s being very conservative).

Bottom line: signing up a new tenant and creating a legally binding tenancy agreement is easy. Anyone can do it!

Landlord out xo