Unfurnished Tenancy Agreement Template for England (RRA 2025)

This is an assured periodic tenancy (APT) agreement for an unfurnished residential let in England, drafted to reflect the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It is the successor to the assured shorthold tenancy (AST), which ended for new lets on 1 May 2026. The document is the same one used for furnished lets — what changes for an unfurnished letting is the inventory: you record the property's fixtures, fittings and condition rather than its furniture.

What this document is

An unfurnished tenancy agreement creates an assured periodic tenancy under the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (RRA 2025), in force from 1 May 2026. The tenancy this document creates is an assured periodic tenancy (APT) — the successor to the assured shorthold tenancy (AST), which the RRA 2025 abolished for every new residential letting in England from that date. Any AST already running when the Act commenced converted automatically to an APT on the same day, without needing to be re-signed. See our guide to what replaced ASTs for the full background.

Net Lawman's template — the document behind this page — covers both furnished and unfurnished lets from the same agreement. For an unfurnished tenancy, you complete the inventory and schedule of condition with the property's fixtures and fittings (kitchen units, carpets, curtain rails, blinds) and any fitted white goods, rather than listing furniture item by item.

Why unfurnished still needs an inventory

Letting unfurnished doesn't remove the need for a written record of the property's condition. Fixtures, fittings, decorative finishes and any white goods you leave in place are still yours, and you're still responsible for their condition at the start and end of the tenancy. A schedule of condition, ideally with dated photographs taken before the tenant moves in, is what settles a dispute over wear and tear, damage or alterations when the tenancy ends — without one, disagreements are harder to resolve, including in front of a deposit scheme's dispute resolution service.

Letting unfurnished also takes you outside a separate piece of regulation: the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988 apply only where a landlord supplies "relevant" furniture — upholstered furniture, mattresses, beds, cushions and similar items. A property let genuinely unfurnished, or furnished only with items outside that scope such as carpets, curtains and kitchen white goods, falls outside the Regulations entirely. It's still good practice to note the condition of anything you do leave behind.

What's included

• The tenancy agreement itself, drafted for the post-RRA 2025 regime — periodic from day one, no fixed term, no Section 21 wording.
• An inventory schedule for the property's fixtures, fittings and any white goods.
• A schedule of condition template, for recording the state of the property (and anything left in it) before move-in.
• The written statement of the tenancy's key terms, required under section 12 of the RRA 2025 for every tenancy granted on or after 1 May 2026.
• Guidance notes for the landlord.

What you still need to do

The template above covers the agreement, the written statement of terms, and the inventory paperwork. Alongside it, for a new unfurnished letting you still need to:

• Provide a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) before marketing the property. See our EPC guide.
• Provide a Gas Safety Record (CP12) if the property has a gas supply or gas appliances, renewed annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer. See our gas safety guide.
• Have a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) in place before the tenant moves in, and renew it at least every 5 years — see our EICR guide and GOV.UK's electrical safety guidance.
• Protect the deposit within 30 days of receiving it, in one of the three Government-approved schemes, and give the tenant the prescribed information in the same 30-day window (Housing Act 2004, section 213, as amended by the RRA 2025; see our Housing Act 2004 guide and GOV.UK's deposit protection overview).
• Carry out right-to-rent checks on every occupier aged 18 or over before you enter into the tenancy agreement. See our right to rent guide.
• Complete and sign the inventory and schedule of condition, ideally with photographs, before the tenant takes occupation.

A note on the "How to Rent" guide and the Information Sheet. Neither applies to a new tenancy like this one. The How to Rent guide was withdrawn by GOV.UK on 1 May 2026 and is no longer issued to new tenants. The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 was a one-off document for tenancies that already existed on 1 May 2026, with a 31 May 2026 deadline that has now passed — it isn't something you serve on a brand-new letting. What a new tenancy needs instead is the written statement of key terms, which is included in the template above.

Net Lawman is a third-party provider — we earn a small commission if you buy through us, at no extra cost to you.

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This page explains the paperwork and the law behind it; it is not legal advice on your individual situation. If your circumstances are unusual — an HMO, a company let, or a dispute over an existing agreement — take advice from a solicitor or a service such as Shelter or Citizens Advice before you act.