Your tenancy Agreements / Contracts

1. What is a tenancy agreement
2. Tenancy agreement details
3. Brief outline of rights and responsibilities
4. Ending the tenancy agreement
5. Facing eviction
6. Passing the tenancy to another tenant

1. What is a tenancy agreement?

This agreement is a contract between tenant and landlord, containing rights and responsibilities. Each contract may contain different arrangements, so long as they don't conflict with the law. The rights and responsibilities enshrined in law are paramount. The most common of these are:

• The landlord must carry out basic repairs
• The landlord must keep the installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and heating water in good working order
• Tenants have the right to live peacefully in the accommodation without nuisance from landlords
• In most cases, landlords must not treat you unfairly because of your race, sex, sexuality, disability, or religion.

An agreement suggesting either party have less rights than those given by common law is a sham tenancy agreement.

In England and Wales, most tenants have no legal right to a written tenancy agreement despite the fact that most tenants have written tenancy agreements. Although legal contract may exist verbally, verbal contracts are notoriously difficult to enforce, especially if there were no witnesses to the agreement.

2. Tenancy agreement details

A written agreement should indicate the type of tenancy. The majority of private tenants are assured short hold tenancy (AST). A tenant will usually have an A.S.T. if:

• you moved in on or after 28 February 1997
• you pay rent to a private landlord
• you have control over your home so that your landlord and other people cannot come in whenever they choose to
• Your landlord does not live in the same building as you.

The tenancy agreement is a form of consumer contract and should therefore be in easily understood language. That means that it must not attempt to put either the tenant or landlord in a disadvantageous position.

Within the agreement, it is good practice to include the following information:

• Tenant and landlord's name and the address of the property to be let
• Date the tenancy began
• Duration of the tenancy and whether it runs out on a certain date
• The amount of rent payable, how often and when it should be paid and details of possible increases.
• The agreement could also state what the payment includes, (e.g. council tax or fuel whether your landlord will provide any services, for example, laundry, maintenance of common parts or meals and whether there are service charges for these)
• Length of notice period which you and your landlord need to give if the tenancy is to be ended. There are laws about how much notice should be given and notice periods will depend on the type of tenancy and why it is due to end.
• Although it is unlikely the agreement will contain details of your landlord's obligations to repair the property, your landlord's obligations to repair depend on the type of tenancy.
• If the landlord is a company, the tenant has the right to know the name and address of each of the company directors and the company secretary. Tenants can find out from the Land Registry, details of who owns their property.

A tenancy agreement can normally be changed if BOTH tenant and landlord agrees to new terms.

3. Tenant and landlord rights and responsibilities

With rights come responsibilities and both landlords and tenants must keep within the agreement. It is vital that those signing an agreement are fully aware of their legal rights and responsibilities. The law is there to protect both parties. No circumstance permits someone to take the law into their own hands.

The basic minimum of a landlords responsibilities / tenants rights, normally are:

• Landlord will repair the structure and exterior of the property, heating and hot water installations, basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary installations
• Landlord will ensure the safety of gas and electrical appliances
• The landlord must guarantee fire safety of furniture and furnishings provided under the tenancy
• The tenant has the right to a property fit for habitation
• The landlord must repair and keep in working order the room and water heating equipment.
• The tenant has the right to privacy

The basic minimum of a tenants responsibilities / landlords rights, normally are:
• The landlord is entitled to the rent, in full and on time.
• Bills should be paid be those allocated to be responsible. If the landlord pays the bills, the tenant should ask to see those bills if they deem them to be too high.
• The tenant should take care of the property
• Tenants and their visitors must behave responsibly
• Landlords are entitled to reasonable access in order to maintain the property
• Tenants should also notify their landlord if the property is likely to be empty for more than one week.

4. Ending the tenancy

Tenancy ended by the landlord.
• A tenancy runs until it is ended by either the landlord or the tenant agreeing to surrender the property, a notice being served, or eviction. In nearly all cases, a court order will be required to evict a sitting tenant. Whether the court allows eviction will depend on the kind of tenancy and the reasons given for eviction.
• Fixed term agreements mean that tenancies can only end if the agreement specifically permits, allowing for agreed notice period. If the tenant opts not to leave at the end of the fixed term, the tenancy becomes a rolling contract. This is what many tenants actually do.
• Under a rolling agreement a tenant can be removed, after being given the correct notice period, without the landlord having to prove tenant wrongdoing. Under a fixed-term agreement, the landlord is obliged to provide good reason for demanding eviction.
• Tenancy can be ended by the landlord if:
a. The owner wants to come back and live in the property;
b. The house is being repossessed;
c. The tenant is over two months in arrears with rent;
d. The tenant refuses vital maintenance work.
• A landlord can also ask the court to consider eviction if:
a. The tenant has broken the terms of the contract;
b. The tenant is consistently late in paying the rent;
c. The tenant lied to acquire the accommodation.
• For most private tenants, the landlord can give two months' notice and get a court order without needing to give a reason. Provided the landlord has followed certain rules (e.g. the two months' notice must not end before the end of the first six months of a tenancy), the court will grant an order.

Tenancy ended by the tenant.

As above, perhaps the fixed term has ended or the tenant simply wants to move. A tenant can only end a fixed term before it expires with the landlord's permission or if there is a clause within the agreement to allow this. Leaving without giving proper notice is not only rude, your landlord may be entitled to charge rent up to the fixed tenancy date or to the notice period date. It is usually costly to tenants, so don't do it.
a) Most tenancies require 4 (four) weeks notice.
b) The landlord may agree to you moving out early but, get it in writing
It is important for both landlord and tenants to understand that any possessions left at the property still belongs to the tenant and should be returned as such, when asked for. However, landlords may charge the cost of removing possessions from the property.

5. Facing eviction

Seek legal advice.

6. Passing the tenancy on to a different tenant.

• This process is called assignment and the rules governing this are very complex. Seek legal advice before attempting this.
• If the sitting tenant has died, there are rules allowing the tenancy to pass to the tenant's partner or sometimes a family member who has been living at the property. These laws apply regardless of the tenancy agreement. Partners in both same-sex and opposite-sex couples count as a family member and have the right to succession. Seek legal advice.