Written statement of terms or the Information Sheet?

What is a written statement of terms?

It is the written information about the key terms of a tenancy that a landlord must give for every new assured tenancy created in England on or after 1 May 2026. You must give it before you and the tenant sign the agreement, or before you agree the tenancy verbally. GOV.UK’s own page on the duty is titled ‘Tenancy agreements: written information for your tenant’.

It does not have to be a separate document. The government expects most landlords to put the information in a written tenancy agreement, and you do not need to copy the wording of the legislation as long as every required item is covered. Our guide to a tenancy agreement template for England shows how the two fit together.

The duty applies to private landlords letting on an assured tenancy, which since 1 May 2026 means an assured periodic tenancy. A letting agent can give the information for you. You only need to give it to people you are entering a tenancy with, not to people viewing the property.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: tenancy agreements, written information for your tenant · GOV.UK: written information that must be given to tenants, landlord guidance (PDF)

What must a written statement of terms include?

The Schedule to the regulations (SI 2026/324) has 18 numbered items. The table groups them using the government’s landlord guidance. This is the minimum: you can add other lawful terms to a tenancy agreement.

The address for notices must be a postal address in England or Wales where you can receive post. It does not have to be your home, and it can be a business address. You do not have to give a phone number or an email address.

If the rent includes bills, say which. If the tenant pays you separately for bills, explain what each payment covers, how much is due and when, or how and when you will tell them. The guidance limits this to council tax, utilities, a TV licence, communication services and Green Deal charges, and says you cannot require money for bills outside that list.

Several items only apply where the underlying law applies. The gas item is needed only if there is a relevant gas fitting, and the supported accommodation item only for that kind of letting. If the statement is silent on the tenant’s notice period, it is automatically two months.

Sources: Legislation: written statement regulations, SI 2026/324 · GOV.UK: written information that must be given to tenants, landlord guidance (PDF)

The items landlords most often get wrong

Rent increases: the statement must say you will serve a notice in accordance with section 13 if you propose a new rent. A rent review clause does not do that job. See our guide to Form 4A and section 13.

Deposit: state the amount here. The separate deposit information, such as which scheme holds the money, is still due within 30 days of receiving the deposit under the tenancy deposit protection rules. You can give both together if you want to.

Pets: you must explain that the tenant can keep a pet if they ask in line with section 16A of the Housing Act 1988 and you consent, and that you cannot unreasonably refuse. You do not have to list examples. Our guide on whether landlords can refuse pets covers the request process.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information that must be given to tenants, landlord guidance (PDF)

Possession grounds you must mention at the start

Some grounds for possession can be used only if you told the tenant in writing at the start of the tenancy that you might use them. The government calls this ‘prior notice’. For private landlords the grounds are 2ZA to 2ZD (a superior lease), 4 and 4A (student lets), 5 to 5H (including ministers of religion, employment and supported accommodation) and 18.

You can give prior notice in any form of writing, including in the tenancy agreement. For most of these grounds, a landlord who did not give it can still try to use the ground but could be fined up to £7,000 by the council. Ground 4A, for student lets, cannot be used at all without it. The grounds themselves are explained in our guide to the section 8 grounds for possession.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information that must be given to tenants, landlord guidance (PDF)

Existing written and verbal agreements

If a tenancy began before 1 May 2026 and you already had a written agreement, or any written record of its terms, you did not need to give the new written information. Instead you had to give the official Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 to every tenant named on the agreement by 31 May 2026. Lodgers are not covered.

If the tenancy was based entirely on a verbal agreement, you had to give the full written information by 31 May 2026.

A few tenancies convert later, because a notice served before 1 May 2026 ran out or a court case ended. GOV.UK says you then have one month from the date the notice stops being valid or the court process concludes. Our guide to the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet covers those cases.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

How to give the Information Sheet

Use only the official PDF from GOV.UK. You can print it and post or hand over a hard copy, or send the PDF as an attachment to an email or text message. GOV.UK is explicit that you must not email or text a link to the PDF, because that will not be valid.

Keep the version supplied and evidence that it reached each named tenant. If a document is missing from your file, distinguish a missing file from a failure to provide it. Do not backdate a newly prepared statement or delivery record.

Sources: GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

What happens if you do not give the written information?

GOV.UK says you could be fined up to £7,000. The tenant can complain to the local council, which enforces the duty. The same maximum applies to failing to give the Information Sheet by the deadline.

The statement is not frozen once given. GOV.UK says both you and your tenant must agree to any change to the terms of the tenancy agreement. If a duty was missed, get advice about the actual position: a document created today does not show the original deadline was met.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: tenancy agreements, written information for your tenant · GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

Before you prepare a written statement

Gather the details once, then compare them with the completed statement. Treat the statement as specific to one tenancy, and read it against the actual agreement. A template with blank fields is not a finished record.

• Identify whether this is a new tenancy or an existing one with written or verbal terms.
• Use the actual landlord and tenant names and the full property address.
• Add a postal address in England or Wales where notices can reach you.
• Check the rent, the due date, the deposit amount and which bills the rent covers.
• State the tenant’s notice period, no longer than two months.
• Add prior notice of any possession ground that needs it.
• Compare the result with all 18 items in the Schedule to the regulations.
• Give it before the agreement is signed, and record when and how it was supplied.

Common questions