How to Write a Tenancy Agreement (Post-RRA 2025)

What changed under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025

Section 21 abolished. Fixed-term assured tenancies abolished. Ground 8 threshold raised to 3 months. Information Sheet required for every tenancy by 31 May 2026. Read the full guide.

Drafting a tenancy agreement that complies with the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is not the same exercise as drafting an AST was before 1 May 2026. Several once-standard clauses are now void; new clauses are required; and the document doubles as the statutory written statement of terms. This page sets out, step by step, how to produce a compliant agreement that protects you as a landlord and meets the new legal framework.

Before you start: choose the right form of tenancy

For most private rentals in England, the only available form is an assured periodic tenancy. Three categories sit outside this regime and use different documents:

• If you are letting a room in your own home to a lodger, use a lodger agreement — see our lodger guide.

• If you are letting to a limited company, use a company let agreement — these are not assured tenancies.

• If you are letting in Wales, use an occupation contract under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 — see our Wales guide.

If your let is a standard residential tenancy in England, read on.

Step 1 — The required statement of terms

The agreement must include — or be accompanied by — a written statement of terms covering the prescribed information. The required content can be incorporated into the body of the tenancy agreement so long as nothing is omitted. Cover, at a minimum:

• Names and service addresses of the landlord (and any letting agent acting in the landlord’s name).

• Names of all tenants who are party to the tenancy.

• Full address of the demised property.

• Tenancy start date.

• Rent and rent period (typically monthly).

• Deposit, if any, and the protection scheme used (DPS, MyDeposits, or TDS) — with the prescribed information served as required by the Housing Act 2004.

• Express confirmation that the tenancy is an assured periodic tenancy under the Housing Act 1988 as amended.

• The tenant’s key statutory rights — including the right to request a pet, the right not to be discriminated against, and the right to challenge a rent increase at the First-tier Tribunal.

The government Information Sheet must also be served on the tenant before the tenancy starts. The Information Sheet is a separate document and is not satisfied by being incorporated into the agreement.

Step 2 — Drafting the operative terms

Beyond the statement of terms, the agreement should set out the operative terms — the working rules of the tenancy. Cover:

• Use of the property. Confirm it is for residential occupation only by the named tenants and any permitted occupiers (e.g. children).

• Rent payment mechanics. Date due, method of payment, and consequences of late payment (interest is permitted at a reasonable rate; penalty fees are not).

• Repairing obligations. The landlord’s duties under sections 11 to 17 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 should be incorporated by reference. The tenant’s duty to take reasonable care should be set out.

• Access. Reasonable notice for inspection and repair (24 hours in writing, except in emergencies). Do not include any clause permitting access without notice.

• Alterations and decoration. Restrictions on structural alterations are normal; outright bans on minor decorating may be unreasonable.

• Sub-letting and assignment. Prohibition is standard, except where the tenant has the statutory right to take a lodger.

• Insurance. Confirm the landlord insures the building and the tenant is responsible for their own contents.

• Utilities and council tax. Specify who is responsible.

• End of tenancy. Inventory check-out, return of deposit, and forwarding-address requirements.

Step 3 — What you must NOT include

The following provisions are now void. Including them does not invalidate the agreement, but the clauses themselves cannot be enforced and signal that the document was not drafted for the current regime:

• Any fixed term. The tenancy is periodic. Wording such as “for a term of twelve months” should not appear.

• Contractual rent review clauses of any form — index-linked, agreed-formula, “as the landlord may notify”. Rent increases are by Section 13 only.

• Rent in advance of more than one month during the tenancy.

• Blanket “no pets” clauses. A reasonable refusal of a specific pet request is permitted; a blanket ban is not.

• Notice requirements longer than two months from the tenant.

• Section 21 references or any clause purporting to allow termination without grounds. Include them and you signal that your agreement is from the wrong era.

• Bidding clauses. Any provision requiring or inviting offers above the advertised rent.

• Penalty late fees. Reasonable interest on arrears is permitted; flat penalty fees are not.

• Discriminatory selection criteria, including any provision premised on the tenant having or not having children, or on benefits status.

Step 4 — Schedules and supplementary documents

Several documents must accompany the tenancy agreement at the point of signing or shortly after. Treat them as part of the agreement pack:

• Government Information Sheet (statutory requirement).

• How to Rent guide (the current government version).

• Energy Performance Certificate, if required.

• Gas Safety Record (CP12), if there is gas at the property.

• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), valid within the past five years.

• Deposit prescribed information from the protection scheme, served within 30 days of receiving the deposit.

• Inventory and schedule of condition, ideally photographed and signed by the tenant — see our inventory guide.

Step 5 — Execution

Two executed copies — one for each party — should be signed and dated by all parties. Where a guarantor is involved, the guarantor signs a separate deed of guarantee. Electronic signature is acceptable for tenancy agreements; deeds (such as a guarantee) require additional formalities.

Critically: the agreement and all the supplementary documents must be served on the tenant before they take occupation. The Information Sheet, the How to Rent guide, the EPC, the gas safety record, the electrical certificate, and the deposit prescribed information should all be in the tenant’s hands at or before the tenancy start date. Service of these documents conditions the validity of certain future possession routes; failure to serve them at the right moment can prevent reliance on Section 8 grounds later.

Common drafting mistakes

• Re-using a pre-2026 AST template. Almost every off-the-shelf AST contains void clauses (fixed term, rent review, pet ban). Cut-and-paste is dangerous.

• Forgetting the Information Sheet. The Information Sheet is statutory and a £7,000 penalty risk per tenancy. It is not satisfied by being mentioned in the agreement; it must be served as a separate document.

• Failing to serve documents at the right moment. Late service of gas safety records, EPC, or deposit information has legal consequences for future possession claims.

• Including Section 21 references. A clause stating “the landlord may serve a Section 21 notice” is not just void — it is an embarrassing tell that the agreement was lifted from an old template.

• Listing the tenancy as a “fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy”. This terminology is wrong post-1 May 2026. The correct description is “assured periodic tenancy”.

Using a professionally drafted template

For most landlords, a properly drafted template is the right starting point. A good template handles the statutory mechanics and avoids the void-clause traps; you focus on the property-specific operative terms (rent, deposit, agreed pet status, parking, etc.). See our RRA 2025 compliant tenancy agreement.

For complex lets — high-value properties, multi-occupancy, atypical clauses — bespoke drafting from a regulated solicitor is the right call. The cost of correct drafting is a fraction of the cost of an unenforceable possession claim or a £7,000 civil penalty.