Tenancy agreement template for England: 2026 rules
By TenancyDesk · Sources checked
A tenancy agreement for a private let in England now creates an assured periodic tenancy: a rolling tenancy with no end date. Since 1 May 2026 the landlord must give the tenant 18 items of written information before the agreement is signed, or risk a fine of up to £7,000. An old assured shorthold template does not do this.
- Tenancy type
- Assured periodic tenancy (rolling, no end date)
- Required written items
- 18, listed in SI 2026/324
- When to give them
- Before the agreement is signed or agreed
- Fine for not giving them
- Up to £7,000
- Longest notice you can ask a tenant for
- 2 months
- Rent increases
- Form 4A only, once a year
What is a tenancy agreement?
A tenancy agreement is the contract between a landlord and a tenant. GOV.UK describes it as a contract which sets out the legal terms and conditions of the tenancy. It can be written down or spoken, but if it is spoken you must still give the tenant the key terms in writing.
For most private lets in England the agreement now creates an assured periodic tenancy. That is a tenancy that rolls on from one rent period to the next, weekly or monthly, until the tenant gives notice or the landlord ends it through the courts on a legal ground. Where two or more tenants sign the same agreement it is a joint tenancy, and each of them is responsible for the rent.
This guide covers England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own tenancy law and their own agreements, so a template written for England should not be used there.
Sources: GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords
Can you still use a shorthold tenancy agreement template?
No. GOV.UK says all assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, and that you cannot create an assured tenancy agreement with an end date, which is what a fixed term is. Any term that sets an end date is unenforceable, and the council can fine a landlord who tries to use one.
An old assured shorthold tenancy (AST) template is out of date in three ways. It is built around a fixed term of six or twelve months. It usually refers to section 21, the no-fault notice that has been abolished. And it will not contain the written information that the law has required for every new tenancy since 1 May 2026.
If your tenancy began before 1 May 2026 and already has a written agreement, you do not need to replace it. The old agreement carries on, the parts the law has overridden simply stop applying, and the government’s Information Sheet was the document those tenants had to be given.
Sources: GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords · GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant
What an assured periodic tenancy agreement template must contain
For a tenancy that starts on or after 1 May 2026, you must give the tenant certain written information before you sign the agreement, or before you agree the tenancy if nothing is being signed. GOV.UK says the fine for not doing so can be up to £7,000.
The list is set by regulations made on 18 March 2026 (SI 2026/324), whose Schedule has 18 numbered paragraphs. The information is often called the written statement of terms. It can sit inside the tenancy agreement itself, which is the simplest way to do it: one document, given to the tenant to read before anyone signs.
Several of the 18 items are statements that explain the law to the tenant, and several apply only where the duty they describe applies to the tenancy. The table sets out all 18 in plain English. The regulations are the authority, so read a finished agreement against the Schedule itself.
| No. | What must be written down | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The name of every landlord | Always |
| 2 | The name of every tenant | Always |
| 3 | An address in England or Wales where the tenant can serve notices on the landlord | Always |
| 4 | The address of the property | Always |
| 5 | The date the tenant is first entitled to possession | Always |
| 6 | The rent and when it is due | Always |
| 7 | A statement that any rent increase must be proposed by a section 13 notice | Always |
| 8 | Bills the tenant pays to the landlord: whether in the rent or on top, the amounts and due dates, or how the tenant will be told | Where the tenant pays such bills to the landlord |
| 9 | The amount of any tenancy deposit | Where the deposit protection rules apply |
| 10 | The minimum notice the tenant must give to leave | Where the notice to quit rules apply |
| 11 | A statement that the landlord can usually end the tenancy only with a court order, after a notice in the prescribed form naming the grounds | Where security of tenure applies |
| 12 | A statement that the landlord must keep the home fit for human habitation | Where that duty applies |
| 13 | A statement of the landlord’s repairing duties: structure and exterior, water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water | Unless one of three listed exceptions applies |
| 14 | A statement of the electrical safety duties, including inspection at least every five years and a copy of the report for the tenant | Where the 2020 electrical safety regulations apply |
| 15 | A statement of the gas safety duties: safe condition, safety checks and a copy of the record for the tenant | Where there is a relevant gas fitting |
| 16 | Information about a disabled person’s right to ask for improvements, which the landlord may not unreasonably refuse | Where the tenant may make improvements with consent |
| 17 | A statement that the tenant may ask to keep a pet and that consent is not to be unreasonably refused | Always |
| 18 | A statement that the tenancy is supported accommodation, and why | Supported accommodation only |
Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · Legislation: written statement of terms regulations, SI 2026/324
Which terms in an old tenancy agreement are now void?
Several clauses that were standard in tenancy agreement templates no longer have any effect, whatever the tenant signed. Leaving them in a new agreement misleads both sides about where they stand.
A fixed term or end date is unenforceable. A rent review clause no longer applies: GOV.UK says you can raise the rent only once a year, not in the first year, and only by serving Form 4A with at least two months’ notice. A clause requiring rent before it is due is not valid, and before the tenancy starts you can ask for no more than one month’s rent, or 28 days’ rent where the rent period is shorter than a month. The rent in advance rules explain this in full.
You cannot require more than two months’ notice from a tenant who wants to leave. You and the tenant can agree a shorter period in writing. A blanket ban on pets does not work either, because the tenant has a legal right to ask and you may refuse only with a good reason. See when a landlord can refuse a pet.
| Old clause | Position since 1 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Fixed term of 6 or 12 months | Unenforceable. The tenancy is periodic from the first day |
| Rent review or annual uplift clause | No longer applies. Use Form 4A, once a year, with at least 2 months’ notice |
| Rent paid several months up front | Not valid. At most one month’s rent, or 28 days’ rent, before the tenancy starts |
| Tenant must give 3 months’ notice | The most you can ask for is 2 months |
| No pets under any circumstances | The tenant can ask in writing and consent cannot be unreasonably refused |
| Landlord may end the tenancy on 2 months’ notice (section 21) | Abolished. A section 8 notice on a legal ground is needed |
Sources: GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords · GOV.UK: rent increases for assured periodic tenancies · GOV.UK: rent in advance and deposits · GOV.UK: if your tenant wants to leave · Legislation: written statement of terms regulations, SI 2026/324
Is there a government tenancy agreement template for the UK?
There is no single tenancy agreement template for the whole UK, because each nation has its own housing law. For England, the government used to publish a free model agreement for a shorthold assured tenancy. That GOV.UK page has been removed: when it was checked on 5 October 2026 the address returned a ‘gone’ message.
On the same date, no replacement government model agreement for assured periodic tenancies could be found on GOV.UK. What the government does publish is the list of written information every new tenancy must have, the prescribed notices such as Form 4A and Form 3A, and guidance for landlords. If a model agreement is published later, it will appear on GOV.UK.
That leaves landlords choosing between a solicitor’s draft, a landlord association’s agreement, or software. Whichever you use, check it has no fixed term, no rent review clause, no section 21 wording, and all 18 written items that apply to your tenancy.
Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords
Can a tenancy agreement be signed electronically?
Yes, in general. The Law Commission’s 2019 report on electronic execution of documents concluded that an electronic signature is capable in law of being used to execute a document, provided the person signing intends to authenticate it and any formalities for that kind of document are met. The government agreed with that conclusion in March 2020.
Two practical points matter more than the signature itself. First, the written information has to reach the tenant before the agreement is signed, so send the full agreement for reading first and keep a record of when it was sent. Second, signing online is not the same as serving notices by email. GOV.UK says a rent increase form can go by email only if the tenancy agreement allows it, so decide whether to include a clause on electronic service.
TenancyDesk’s tenancy agreement builds the 18 items into Part 1 and sends each tenant their own link to sign online. Whatever you use, keep the signed copy, the date each person signed, and proof of what the tenant was sent beforehand.
Sources: Law Commission: electronic execution of documents · GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: rent increases for assured periodic tenancies
Checklist before you and the tenant sign
Work through this list with the finished document in front of you, not the blank template. A template with empty boxes is not a record of what this tenant was told.
- Confirm the property is in England and the let is an assured periodic tenancy, not a lodger arrangement or a company let.
- Check there is no end date, no fixed term and no rent review clause anywhere in the document.
- Fill in all 18 written items that apply, using the real names, the full property address and a landlord address in England or Wales for notices.
- State the rent, the day it is due, and any bills the tenant pays to you with the amounts or how they will be notified.
- State the deposit amount and be ready to protect the deposit within 30 days of receiving it.
- Set the tenant’s notice at two months or less, and check your wording against the tenancy notice periods for England.
- Send the complete agreement to every tenant before anyone signs, and keep proof of the date.
- After signing, give each tenant a copy and store the signed version with the date of each signature.
Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · Legislation: written statement of terms regulations, SI 2026/324 · GOV.UK: if your tenant wants to leave
Common questions
Is a tenancy agreement a legal requirement in England?
Since 1 May 2026 a landlord in England must give 18 items of written information before a new assured periodic tenancy is agreed, with a fine of up to £7,000 for failing to. The agreement itself can still be spoken, but the key terms must be in writing, so in practice a written agreement is the sensible way to comply.
Do I need a new tenancy agreement for a tenant who moved in before 1 May 2026?
No. A tenancy with a written agreement made before 1 May 2026 did not need a new agreement. It became an assured periodic tenancy automatically, and the landlord had to give the tenant the government’s Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 instead. Terms the law has overridden, such as a fixed term, no longer apply.
Can a tenancy agreement still have a fixed term of 12 months?
No. Since 1 May 2026 GOV.UK says you cannot create an assured tenancy agreement with an end date. Any fixed term is unenforceable and the tenancy is periodic from day one. The tenant can leave by giving written notice, which the agreement cannot set at more than two months, and the landlord needs a legal ground and a section 8 notice.
How much notice can a tenancy agreement ask the tenant to give?
Two months is the maximum a landlord can ask for under an assured periodic tenancy in England. A shorter period is allowed if landlord and tenant agree it in writing. The tenant’s notice must be in writing, which can be a letter, email or text, and must end on a rent due date or the day before.
Can I put a rent increase clause in a tenancy agreement template?
No. For assured periodic tenancies, rent can be increased only once a year, not in the first year, and only by giving the tenant Form 4A with at least two months’ notice. GOV.UK says a rent review clause in an older agreement no longer applies to increases after 1 May 2026.
Is there a free government tenancy agreement template?
As of 5 October 2026 no government model agreement for assured periodic tenancies could be found on GOV.UK, and the old model assured shorthold agreement page has been removed. The government publishes the list of 18 required written items and the prescribed notice forms, not a full agreement.
Does a tenancy agreement need to be witnessed?
GOV.UK’s guidance for assured periodic tenancies does not ask for a witness: it says the agreement can be written or spoken. An electronic signature is capable in law of executing a document, according to the Law Commission’s 2019 report. If you want certainty about an unusual agreement, ask a solicitor.
Official sources and scope
Checked on 5 October 2026. This is general information for private landlords in England, not legal advice or a complete compliance assessment. Follow the current official guidance for your tenancy and get advice about exceptions, missed deadlines or disputes.
- GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords
- GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant
- Legislation: written statement of terms regulations, SI 2026/324
- GOV.UK: rent increases for assured periodic tenancies
- GOV.UK: rent in advance and deposits
- GOV.UK: if your tenant wants to leave
- Law Commission: electronic execution of documents
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