What to Put in a Tenancy Agreement Now — and What the Law Overrides

The tenancy agreement used to feel like the document that decided everything: fix the term, set the rent-review clause, write in your rules, and that was the deal. Under the Renters' Rights Act that's no longer quite true. A written agreement still matters — a great deal — but the law now sits above it, and several clauses landlords have relied on for years are simply unenforceable, even if both sides signed them. So the job has changed: a good agreement today records the deal clearly and points at the right obligations, without pretending to contract out of rights the tenant now has by statute. Here's what still belongs in one, what's been overridden, and the paperwork that has to travel with it. This is general guidance, not legal advice — verify the current requirements on GOV.UK and take advice where the wording matters.

Do you even need a written agreement?

Strictly, a tenancy can exist without a signed document — but letting without one is a bad idea for both sides. A written agreement is where you record the rent, the address, who the tenant is, the deposit and the day-to-day rules, so that if anything is ever disputed there's a clear reference point rather than two people's memories. It's also the natural companion to the rest of your file: the reference, the deposit record, the certificates. Think of it less as the thing that creates the tenancy and more as the thing that documents it — the anchor the rest of your evidence hangs from.

What a good agreement still contains

Most of a well-drawn agreement is unaffected by the reforms and still earns its place. At a minimum it should set out:

• The parties and the property — the full names of the landlord and every tenant, and the address of the let. Where you're letting to sharers on one agreement, that's a joint tenancy, with consequences worth understanding before one of them wants to leave.
• The rent — the amount, when it's due, and how it's paid.
• The deposit — the amount taken and the scheme it will be protected in.
• Responsibilities — who looks after what, day to day, within the repairing obligations the law already imposes on you.
• House rules — reasonable expectations on things like subletting, keeping the property in good order, and reporting repairs promptly.
• How to contact you — and how the tenant should report a problem, so repairs reach you fast.

None of that is controversial, and a clear agreement here heads off most everyday friction. The changes bite in a narrower set of clauses — the ones that used to give the landlord control the law has now taken back.

What the law now overrides

This is the part to get straight, because writing a void clause into your agreement doesn't make it enforceable — it just makes your document look out of date and can undermine trust. Under the Renters' Rights Act:

• Fixed terms have gone. New assured tenancies are periodic from the outset — there's no six- or twelve-month lock-in, and a tenant can leave by giving the required notice. A clause tying a tenant in for a fixed period no longer works the way it used to.
• Rent increases follow the statutory route. You can't rely on a contractual rent-review clause that raises the rent whenever or however you like; increases now run through the once-a-year Section 13 process, with the tenant able to challenge at tribunal.
• Blanket bans are out. A flat "no pets" clause is overridden by the tenant's right to request a pet, which you can't unreasonably refuse; blanket bans on tenants with children or on benefits are also unlawful.
• Rent in advance is capped. A clause demanding a large lump sum of rent up front no longer stands — the law now limits how much rent you can ask for before the tenancy begins.

The documents that must go with it

An agreement on its own is no longer enough. A set of legal documents has to be served alongside it — and, crucially, you need to be able to prove you served them, because several are tied to your ability to seek possession later. The core set for a typical let includes:

1. The deposit protection confirmation and prescribed information, within the scheme's deadline.
2. A current gas safety certificate (where there's gas), the EICR for the electrics, and a valid EPC.
3. The government's How to Rent guide, in its current version.
4. The written record of your Right to Rent check for every adult occupier.

Get one of these wrong and it's not just an administrative slip — a missing gas certificate or an unprotected deposit can block a possession claim entirely. The agreement and its attachments are one bundle, and the value is in being able to show, with dates, that the whole bundle was handed over correctly.

What landlords should do now

1. Retire any pre-reform template and use an up-to-date agreement that reflects periodic tenancies and the current rules.
2. Strip out void clauses — fixed-term lock-ins, blanket pet or benefit bans, contractual rent-review clauses that bypass Section 13.
3. Keep the useful bits — clear parties, rent, deposit, responsibilities and house rules earn their place.
4. Serve the full document set at the start, and keep dated proof that you did.
5. Store the agreement with the rest of the file — reference, certificates, deposit record — so the whole tenancy sits in one place.

The agreement is the first document in a tenancy, but it's not a document you can lean on to override the law any more. It sits inside the wider set of rules now in force under the Renters' Rights Act, and it follows straight on from the referencing you did to choose the tenant. As with everything else in the reform, the landlord who wins is the one whose paperwork is accurate, complete and easy to produce — not the one with the longest contract.

General guidance for UK landlords, not legal advice. Tenancy law, the terms that are enforceable, the documents you must serve and the possession rules are set by government and can change — always verify the current requirements at GOV.UK and take professional advice, including on the wording of your agreement, where it matters.