A tenancy agreement in London or the UK is a contract between the landlord and the tenants, setting out the legal terms and conditions of the tenancy. This can be a written or verbal agreement. It is probably best to have the tenancy agreement in writing so that it can be referenced.
In Croydon or London UK there are 2 types of tenancy agreements:
Fixed-term which runs for a set period of time
Periodic which runs week to week or month to month
Tenancy Types in the UK
Assured shorthand tenancies (ASTs)
These are the most common form of tenancies and most new tenancies are automatically this type.
A tenancy is an AST if all of the following apply:
the landlord does not live in the property
the property will be the tenant’s main accommodation
it is a private landlord or housing association
the start date of the tenancy started on or after 15 January 1989
An AST is not valid if:
the tenancy began before 15 January 1989
rent is more than £100,000 or less than £250 a year (less than £1,000 in London)
is a business tenancy or licensed premises
is a holiday let
if the landlord is a local council
Other tenancy agreements in the London and the UK.
Excluded tenancies or licenses - this is when you have a lodger living in your home and you share common areas such as the bathroom and kitchen.
Assured tenancies - tenancies that started before 15 January 1989 may be regulated.
About Tenancy Agreements in London UK
The following should be included in the tenancy agreement:
the names of the landlord and all the tenants who will be living in the property
physical address of the property
start and end date of the tenancy
the rental price and details of how it will be paid
details explaining when and how the rent will be reviewed
details confirming the deposit amount and how it will be protected
information about when the deposit can be partly or fully withheld (to repair damages caused by tenants)
obligations which the tenant or landlord should adhere to
outline which bills are the responsibility of the tenant (council tax, water rates and other utility charges)
details regarding other people being allowed to use the property
The following are not essential but may be included:
whether or not the tenancy can be ended earlier and what the process is to do this
who would be responsible for minor repairs outside of the landlord’s legal responsibility
whether or not the property can be sublet (let to someone else other than the tenant)
if the landlord will provide any services such as laundry or garden maintenance
who should be contacted about repairs
any rules regarding pets, lodgers, subletting, guests and smoking
Ensure that the terms of the tenancy are fair and comply with the law. Do no discriminate against your tenants directly or indirectly.
Changes to tenancy agreements
Any changes to the tenancy agreement must be done mutually with the agreement of the landlord and tenants.
Discrimination
Under no circumstances may the landlord discriminate against the tenants on the following:
age
race, nationality, ethnicity or national origin
disability
being or becoming a transsexual person
marriage or civil partnership
religion, or lack of religion or belief
gender
sexual orientation
being on maternity leave or being pregnant
If the tenant requires a guide dog and the tenancy agreement states that no dogs are allowed, the landlord would need to make changes in the agreement to allow for the guide dog. The only time this would be not considered is if there was a strong reason to support this such as another tenant in the same property with a severe allergy to dogs.
Managed payments from your local council
If the tenant moves to Universal Credit, the landlord can assist them in setting up their new rent payments.
Break Clause
A break clause is in a tenancy agreement allows both the tenant and the landlord the change to terminate the tenancy agreement earlier than the end date during a fixed-term agreement.
A break clause can only be enforced after 6 months, unless there are substantial grounds for eviction such as rent being in arrears.