In practice, most tenants will be given a written tenancy agreement. This agreement should state what sort of tenancy you have. Your housing rights depend upon the type of tenancy you have.
What if I have nothing in writing?
This does not mean that you do not have a valid tenancy. Your rights depend upon other factors such as how you occupy the property. Find out more about your basic tenancy rights from Advicenow (external website).
Understanding your tenancy agreement
Tenancy agreements are often very wordy and are divided up into many separate parts called 'clauses'. Landlords often use a pre-printed form as their tenancy agreement. Details such as your name, the address, the date the tenancy starts, how long it lasts, the landlord's phone number etc will be added to the form. You need to make sure these details are correct.
Do not sign the agreement until you have read it and understood all the parts. If you are not sure about anything ask the landlord if you can have a copy and take it to a Housing Adviser for an explanation.
As soon as you sign the agreement it becomes a contract. This means that you and the landlord have agreed you will both stick to what is written in the agreement (the terms).
If there is anything in the agreement you are unhappy about, discuss it with your landlord. You can ask them to change the agreement before you sign it. If they won't change the agreement, get advice.
Landlord's responsibilities
The law says that a landlord has certain responsibilities. For example, there are certain repairs that a landlord has to carry out. This is still the case, regardless of what is written in the tenancy agreement. A landlord cannot write in the tenancy agreement that the tenant will do all the repairs - they would be trying to get out of their responsibilities if they did so. If you think a landlord has written something unreasonable in a tenancy agreement, get advice.
How long does the tenancy last - Assured Shorthold Tenancies?
An assured shorthold tenancy may run from week to week or month to month until further notice, or it may last for a specific period of time, of not less than six months. These details should be written into the tenancy agreement. Be careful if you agree to rent somewhere for a particular period like 6 or 12 months, or even five or ten years. You are agreeing to pay the rent until the end of this period, even if you move out. Make sure that there is an option written into the agreement to say that you can leave before this time if you give notice.
If you rent somewhere for a specified time, you do not necessarily have to go when that time has expired. You can stay in the property until the landlord goes through the legal procedure to get you to leave (get advice about this first). Or the landlord may ask you to sign a new agreement to stay for a further set period of time.
Information on other Websites
Adviceguide
Information about tenancy agreements from Citizens Advice
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Information Provider:
Manchester Advice
Date Reviewed:
28 October 2008
This information is for guidance only and is not an authoritative statement on the law. Please read our Terms and Conditions.
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