Be A Better Landlord ~ 2 ~ why you should update your tenancy agreement

How to Rent for Landlords: Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)

A good contract between you and your tenant is the foundation of a tenancy that could last for years. It crucial that the document goes into all the known areas of a tenancy so that both parties have something to refer back to. The key components need to be agreed at the onset of the tenancy, increasingly we at Be A Better Landlord are being informed of situations which have become costly for a landlord because of some basic deficiencies in the tenancy  agreement.

For example, I was conversing with a client, who disclosed that recently they had lost out with several tenancies where at the end they had been unable to deduct for damage caused and utilities not paid. When the situation had gone for arbitration through the Deposit Scheme the full deposit had been refunded to the tenant with no explanation as to why. Closer examination of the agreement and correspondence exchanged between the tenant and agent revealed that there had been no mutual agreement as to what arrangements were in place for damages or non-payments. A tenancy needs to be robust and incorporate key elements to comply with all the legislative act, regulations and laws. Key components should include:

~ Parties
~ Term
~ Rent Amount and Frequency
~ Deposit
~ Method of Payment
~ Tenant’s Obligations
~ Landlord’s Obligations
~ Further Landlord Rights
~ Deposit Refund
~ Notice
~ Guarantor Clause
~ Signatures and Witnesses
~ Inventory of Fixtures and Fittings

The model agreement is intended for use when a private landlord and tenant enter into a fixed term assured short hold tenancy for a privately rented property in England (this is the standard type of tenancy in the private rented sector), though it is not compulsory to use it should be considered as despite its length it incorporates a few elements that are good to disclose on both sides, such as:

< Key dates and Checklists for Tenant and Landlord
< Landlord’s grounds for possession during the fixed term
< Break clauses for tenancies of two years or longer
< Additional terms agreed between the landlord and tenant
< Contact details and service of written notices

Whilst this tenancy is certainly more detailed than a standard AST, some of the elements are more onerous, the allowance of subletting without the landlord withholding permission, the advantages are that the details enable the agreement to be more substantive and more in line with all the information required to comply with all the Prescribed Information that is currently required. assured short hold tenancy agreements vary widely, and there is no reason why an agreement could not be drawn up that is a compromise between the two, Be A Better Landlord understands that so long as the document contains the key elements and is clearly written and does not assign to the tenant things which are the mandatory responsibility of the landlord and does not deny landlords their rights, they could have then a document can be drawn which is a compromise between the two. Our recommendation is:

~ It should be prepared well in advance
~ It should be given to the tenant in advance so that they have an opportunity to read it and seek advice before signing it
~ It should incorporate addendums such as:
~ An inventory
~ Any other supporting documents such as building insurance, permissions from mortgagees
~ Prescribed Information
~ Process for increasing the rent

So long as it is signed, witnessed and guaranteed as required – at the start and then it will be the useful tool needed to ensure that the tenancy proceeds smoothly.

Historical: An assured tenancy with limited security of tenure, was introduced by the Housing Act 1988 and saw an important default provision and a widening of its definition made by the Housing Act 1996. Since 28 February 1997 in respect of accommodation to new tenants who are new to their landlords, the assured short hold tenancy has become the most common form of arrangement that involves a private residential landlord.

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Be A Better Landlord – property professionals offering ‘in the property’ check-in with your tenant

• Provide your tenant with all of the checks and risk assessments to keep them safe and to keep you as the landlord compliant.
• Our ‘in the property. check-in documents by way of a signed receipt from the tenant that this all requirements have been carried out, all the landlord’s duties required by Deregulation Oct 2015 and as well as all relevant legislation that is applicable

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