Residential Tenancy Agreement

This document is a Residential Tenancy Agreement that you can use to set up and manage a residential letting.

The residential tenancy agreement is for use for the letting of a private property as a home for the tenant. This differs from a  commercial lease agreement which deals with the letting of property to a company or business for the express purpose of running a  business from the property. The main residential tenancy agreement is the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (AST).

The AST follows the requirements of the Housing Act of 1988, which has three specific criteria. These are that:

• The agreement must offer property that is separate from the landlord’s home.
• The tenant must use the property as their main home.
• The tenant must be an individual, so the propety cannot be jointly held.

The urpose of the residential tenancy agreement is partly to protect a tenant from outrageous rental charges. It is also meant to minimise the occasions when a landlord can legally increase the rent. AST agreements are for 6 to 12 months, which is why they are considered short hold.

Not all residential tenancy agreements have to be assured shorthold tenancies. There are other types including an assured tenancy for more than a year's period. Also included in our residential tenancy agreement section are joint tenancy, periodic tenancy and lodger tenancies. A joint tenancy is one that is held by more than one party where all tenants are legally responsible  jointly for the obligations in the tenancy agreement. A periodic tenancy is a shorter term tenancy which is usually entered into after the fixed term of an AST tenancy has expired. The tenant still pays the same amount of rent but the landlord or tenant has not yet officially ended the fixed term tenancy.

A Lodger Tenancy Agreement is different from an AST in that it is for a room rather than for an entire property. In this way, a rent a room tenancy allows the tenant a specific space in the landlord’s home or rental property. This room can be furnished or unfurnished. The rights and obligations that apply to the landlord and tenant are different as well. Typically the tenant has fewer rights when they rent a room. In a lodger agreement there can be a guarantor or no guarantor. If a guarantor is required it means that someone else will be responsible for the rent if the lodger fails to pay. Students and those with unstable work are usually required to have a guarantor.

AST agreements can also include a guarantor if the landlord feels the situation is too risky for one only individual to be responsible. Again ,it is usually a question of income, where the landlord wants to make sure that they will be paid. A tenant's credit history can also be a consideration. If a tenant has black marks against their credit history for failed rental payments or foreclosure, the landlord can ask for a guarantor.

For further information in relation to residential tenancies, our articles and guides such as our Guide to Getting Landlords Advice and article on Tenancy Agreements: Background Information for Landlords are helpful.

Find Out More

• A Guide to Our Lodger Tenancy Agreement