Written Statement Of Terms For Tenants (Template)

What is the Written Statement of Terms?

Section 12 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 introduces a requirement for certain specified key terms of a tenancy agreement to be provided to tenants, such as landlord details, the tenancy start date, and the rent amount. Nothing crazy, to be honest.

Private landlords (excluding social housing) and letting agents in England are legally required to provide these key terms in writing to each named tenant.

The information can either be included directly in the tenancy agreement or issued as a separate document (I’ve made a downloadable template available if you want to provide it separately).

When Do I need to issue the Written Statement of Terms?

The timing of issuance depends on your specific circumstances:

• Existing written tenancy agreements – If you already have a tenancy agreement wholly or partly in writing with an existing tenant that commenced before 1 May 2026, you are not required to issue the Written Statement of Terms to your tenants. However, you must provide each named tenant with an Information Sheet (discussed in more detail in my Renters’ Rights Act blog post).
• Existing verbal tenancy agreements – If you have a verbal tenancy agreement with an existing tenant that commenced before 1 May 2026, you are required to issue the Written Statement of Terms to each named tenant by 31 May 2026 (in this case, you can use the downloadable template).
• New tenancies – All private landlords and letting agents must issue the Written Statement of Terms for any new tenancies commencing on or after 1 May 2026. It must be provided to the tenant before the tenancy agreement is signed.

What needs to be in the Written Statement of Terms?

1. Landlord(s) details
   • Full name – must include the names of all landlords
   • Address – this must be an address in England & Wales where the tenant can send legal notices to you (this does not need to be the address of where you live, but it must be an address where you can receive post i.e. letting agent)
2. Tenant(s) details
   • Full name – must include the names of all tenants, including joint tenant
   • Address – the address of the rental property where the tenant will live
3. Tenancy terms
   • Rent amount
   • Rent due date – the rent period must not exceed one calendar month
   • Rent increases – a statement confirming that any proposed rent increase will be made by serving notice on the tenant in accordance with Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988
   • Bills
     • If rent includes bills, you must clearly state which bills are included
     • If tenants pay bills separately to you (or someone connected to you), you must explain:
       • Which bills the payment covers
       • How much is due (or how it will be calculated and communicated)
       • When payments are due (or how this will be communicated)
     • This only applies to certain bills:
       • Council tax
       • Utilities (gas, electricity, water, sewage, fuel)
       • TV licence
       • Communication services (phone, internet, TV)
       • Green Deal energy improvements
     • You only need to include bills that are:
       • Covered by the rent, or
       • Paid separately to you
     • You cannot charge tenants for any bills outside of the approved list
   • Deposit: The deposit amount
4. Ending the Tenancy
   • Tenant notice period – the minimum amount of notice your tenant must give you (this can be any length of time, but cannot exceed two months)
   • Landlord ending the tenancy – a statement explaining that:
     • In most cases, you can only end the tenancy by obtaining a court possession order
     • The only exception is where a tenant is disqualified from renting due to immigration status
     • If seeking possession, you will usually need to:
       • Serve a possession notice
       • Use the correct legal form
       • State the grounds for possession
     • You must give the tenant at least the minimum required notice period
5. Health & Safety Information
   • Fitness for human habitation – a statement explaining that section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places you under an obligation to ensure the property is fit for human habitation, to the extent required by that section.
   • Repairs – explain that section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 places you under an obligation to do the following, to the extent required by that section:
     • To keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property
     • To keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the property for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation, and
     • To keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the property for space heating and heating water.
   • Electrical safety regulations – explain that regulation 3 of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 places you under an obligation:
     • Ensure the property meets all relevant electrical safety standards while it is occupied
     • Have all electrical installations inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, or more frequently if required by the latest inspection report
     • Obtain a written report from the person carrying out the inspection and testing, including:
       • The results of the inspection
       • The date by which the next inspection and test is required
     • Provide a copy of this report to the tenant
   • Gas safety regulations – explain that Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installations and Use) Regulations 1998 places you under an obligation:
     • To ensure that any relevant gas fitting and any flue which serves a relevant gas fitting is maintained in a safe condition.
     • To ensure that each appliance and flue must be checked for safety by a qualified person approved by the Health and Safety Executive, at the intervals required under the 1998 Regulations.
6. Tenant Rights
   • Disability Adaptations – provide information about Section 190 of the Equality Act 2010, explaining that:
     • You cannot unreasonably withhold consent if a disabled person living (or intending to live) in the property requests improvements that help them enjoy it as their main home
     • Section 190 does not apply if the tenancy already includes terms that provide the same protections
     • Tenants can find the definition of “disabled person” in Section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 and “improvement” in Section 190(9) of the Act
   • Pets – explain that tenants may keep a pet at the property if they request permission and you give consent, in line with Section 16A of the Housing Act 1988, and such consent cannot be unreasonably refused.

How to issue: Tenancy Agreement Vs Separate Document?

It doesn’t matter, to be honest. The guidelines clearly state that it can included directly in the tenancy agreement or issued as a separate document.

However, in practice, most tenancy agreements contracts will (or, at least, should) contain the majority, if not all, of the required information. So, my view is that there is generally no need for a separate document, and any missing information can simply be added to the tenancy agreement. My initial thought when reviewing all the information required in the Written Statement of Terms was, “Isn’t that just a tenancy agreement?”

In the coming weeks, I will make available a Periodic Tenancy Agreement available for download, which will include in all the information required. I will update this post once available, and also add it to the landlord forms section.

The only exception is if you currently have a verbal tenancy agreement. In that case, the information must be provided as a separate document (though, it’s strongly recommended to move to a written tenancy agreement anyway). You can download a template below.

Landlord out xo