It’s very unlikely that you don’t’ already use a rental agreement of some sort whether it’s the official version or one you’ve customised to suit yourself and your tenants. It’s even more unusual that you won’t have had problems or difficulties at some point in the past.
By comparing and contrasting the different kinds of tenancies, you can get an idea of how important the rental agreement is. If you’re struggling for inspiration, check out estate agencies, websites and rental owners’ associations.
A tenancy is basically granting the right to exclusive use of a property for a fixed period of time and must comply with statutory law. Anyone can draw one up but it is important to know what to say in it so that you’re complying with the law, acting responsibly and being fair to the tenants.
The four most popular UK residential tenancies are as follows:
- Protected Tenancies Rent Act 1977
- Protected Shorthold Tenancies Housing Act 1980
- Assured Tenancy Housing Act 1988
- Assured Shorthold Tenancy Housing Act 1996
Protected Tenancies Rent Act 1977
Otherwise known as Regulated Tenancies, these are governed by the Rent Act 1977 and the Housing Act of 1988 had no effect on them whatsoever. In order for a tenancy to be legitimately a Protected Tenancy under the 1977 Act, the dwelling must be let as a separate dwelling under section 1 of the Act and must not fall into any of the express exclusions under Part 1 of the Act. A protected tenancy is a statutory tenancy rolling on from month to month giving the tenant the right to a fair rent, not a market rent! At no time can this type of tenancy be changed to An Assured Shorthold Tenancy, even if ownership changes or a new ten
