Tenancy agreements in the UK are recognized and protected by law. With the help of free available templates, you can draft the tenancy rental agreement online and sign it digitally.
Once an agreement is signed between the landlord and tenant, it is bound by certain legal obligations and considered a legal document or contract. The agreement mostly outlines all rights of tenant and landlord including any terms and conditions, that both the parties agreed on. Breach of this agreement results in penalty or eviction from the property.
Can you make your own tenancy agreement and what does it look like?
Certainly, there are a lot of sample templates available online, and people can use them to draft their own tenancy agreements. In fact, most of the private landlords choose to forgo using a property manager or an agent. RentOnCloud provides a free online tool to build your own AST tenancy agreement and get them signed digitally by all parties including Tenant, Landlord, and Guarantors.
Digital signatures are becoming commonplace with online and remote transactions in the UK. They not only make the process faster and easier, but they are legally binding and admissible in court – this was established by the Electronic Communications Act 2000 and subsequent EU Directives. See this guidance from GOV.UK for more detail. Having said that – this contract prepared using RentOnCloud web application is available for download as well, so both tenants/landlords can sign it personally (as well as online) if you prefer.
A simple tenancy agreement must include the following:
• Name of both, landlord and tenant
• Amount of rent, safety deposit, etc…
• Rented property address
• Duration of stay
• Inclusions in rent, for example – council tax, utilities
• Notice period to be served before vacating the property
Because this agreement or the legal paper is a form of a consumer contract, it has to be in simple language which can be easily understood by anyone and should not use any complicated legal terminologies which could be ‘unfair’.
Shorthold tenancy agreement in the UK
Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) is the most common kind of agreement which is usually given for a period of 6 months and it can be extended too. Once this agreed period is over, the property owner can evict the tenant even without a legal reason.
How does a tenancy agreement protect a Tenant?
Signing a legal contract protects you against any unfair treatment and un-mentioned clauses. It guarantees you certain rights such as:
• Covered from any unfair or unannounced eviction or increase in rent
• Stay in the property without any intervention, landlord or property owner can only visit you with prior notice, unless it’s an emergency
• You can ask for ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE (EPC)
• You can ask who your landlord is by checking with the company or person you are paying rent to.
As the rights of tenants are protected, they are also subject to certain responsibilities towards the property such as:
certain responsibilities towards the property such as:
• Pay rent on time.
• Pay other charges as agreed on, like utility bills.
• Allowing the landlord to access the property for any repairs required. Landlord must inform 24 hours before the planned visit and ensure the visit is conducted at a reasonable time.
• The rental space can only be subleased if permissible as per the tenancy agreement
• Ensuring there is no damage to the property during your stay.
Can the tenant vacate property before the term ends?
If a tenant breaks the contract or breaches the agreement, they are responsible for paying full rent for the remaining term of the tenancy. Also, if you have a ‘Break Clause’ in your tenancy agreement and according to that the property owner or the landlord agrees to end the term early, in that case you can vacate the space early and you are not subject to paying the remaining rent.
Breach of the tenancy agreement
It happens when either one of the parties fails to obey any of the mentioned terms & conditions in the signed rental agreement. If the property owner breaches the agreement, you can take legal action against them because the agreement you both signed is a legal document.
If a tenant is successfully able to prove the breach, they will be compensated for damages and they can also claim the court fees which they paid for proceedings.
Forced eviction
If a tenant is entitled to get court order to evict the property but the landlord forced the tenant to leave early before serving it, this is considered ‘illegal eviction’
Few pointers which come under illegal eviction are:
• Locks changed in your absence
• Not allowing you to use a part of your leased property
• Threatening or harassing to leave the property
• Switching off the water or energy supply
In such a case, the tenant can report to the police and get in touch with the local council. They might also assign a Tenancy Relations officer who intervenes between both the parties and can try to negotiate, and if the need arises, arrange emergency accommodation too.
One of the most important reasons to have a written tenancy agreement is that the eviction notice under section 21, can only be served if you have a written tenancy agreement in the first place. It also sets clear boundaries for the tenants as to what is allowed and what’s not.