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Why a written tenancy agreement is necessary

Tessa Shepperson, a solicitor specialising in landlord and tenancy work and author of Lawpack's 'The Complete Guide to Residential Letting', discusses whether landlords need a written tenancy agreement.

Although it's not strictly necessary to create an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) in England and Wales, you, as a landlord, should ensure that your tenants have signed a written tenancy agreement prior to going into possession. But do note that in Scotland it's necessary to have a written tenancy agreement for it to be a short assured tenancy (SAT).

Informal oral arrangements can be a recipe for disaster: 

• If a tenancy is oral, there may be arguments later about the tenancy terms, even if these were clearly discussed when the tenant went into the property.
  
  
• Once a tenant is in occupation, you cannot then force them to sign a tenancy agreement that varies the terms of their tenancy, so it's essential that this is done before the tenant goes in.
  
  
• You will need a formal agreement so you can insert clauses that will protect your position and regulate the tenant's use of the property.
  
  
• If you intend to take a damage deposit, which has to be protected under one of the statutory tenancy deposit schemes, you will need to make a tenancy agreement.
  
  
• You will not be able to use the accelerated possession procedure to evict the tenant, where there is no written tenancy agreement.
  
  
• If no written tenancy agreement is provided, you're required, by law, to provide the tenant with written details of the main terms of their tenancy within six months; so you may as well provide a proper written tenancy agreement to begin with.

Although all tenancies should have a formal written tenancy agreement, this is not always essential with licences. For example, it may not always be necessary in the following circumstances:

• Letting a room in your house to lodgers. If this is the case, then you need a Lodger Agreement.
  
  
• Bed-and-breakfast accommodation.
  

But even if a formal tenancy agreement isn't provided in these circumstances, there should always be some paperwork to prove the terms of the letting, in case there is a dispute at a later date.

More information

• The terms landlords should include in a tenancy agreement
• What changes can a landlord make to a tenancy agreement

Published on: June 2, 2008

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