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How to Create Space in a Small Kitchen

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Do You Really Know About Tenancy Agreement?

Tenancy agreements

What is a tenancy agreement

The tenancy agreement is a contract between you and your landlord. It may be written or oral.The tenancy agreement gives certain rights to both you and your landlord, for example, your right to occupy the accommodation and the your landlord’s right to receive rent for letting the accommodation.

You and your landlord may have made arrangements about the tenancy, and these will be part of the tenancy agreement as long as they do not conflict with law. Both you and your landlord have rights and responsibilities given by law. The tenancy agreement can give both you and your landlord more than your statutory rights, but cannot give you less than your statutory rights. If a term in the tenancy agreement gives either you or your landlord less than your statutory rights, that term cannot be enforced.

A tenancy agreement can be made up of:-

express terms. These include what is in the written tenancy agreement, if there is one, in the rent book, and/or what was agreed orally

implied terms. These are rights given by law or arrangements established by custom and practice.

Express terms of tenancy agreements

Written tenancy agreements

In England and Wales, most tenants do not have a right in law to a written tenancy agreement.  However, social housing landlords such as local authorities and housing associations should give you a written tenancy agreement. If you are visually impaired, the tenancy agreement must be written in a format you can use, for example, in large print or Braille.

In Scotland, in most cases, your landlord must provide a written tenancy agreement. In particular, your landlord must provide a written tenancy agreement if you are a public sector accommodation tenant, or if you are an assured or short assured tenant of a private landlord.

In Northern Ireland, tenants of local authorities and most housing associations must have written tenancy agreements.

Some solicitors and estate agents supply samples of written tenancy agreements. The local authority housing advice section, if there is one, may also be able to supply sample tenancy agreements.

If you have a written agreement, it should indicate the type of tenancy you have.

The tenancy agreement should be signed by both you and your landlord. Each tenant, if there are joint tenants, should receive a copy of the agreement.

Your landlord is obliged by law to give you their name and address, regardless of whether or not you have a written tenancy agreement.

It is good practice for a written tenancy agreement to include the following details:-

your name and your landlord’s name and the address of the property which is being let

the date the tenancy began

details of whether other people are allowed the use of the property, and if so, which rooms

the duration of the tenancy, that is, whether it runs out on a certain date

the amount of rent payable, how often and when it should be paid and how often and when it can be increased. The agreement could also state what the payment includes, for example, 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

the length of notice which you and your landlord need to give if the tenancy is to be ended. Note that there are statutory rules about how much notice should be given and these will depend on the type of tenancy and why it is due to end.

The agreement may also contain details of your landlord’s obligations to repair the property, although it is rare for agreements to go into details. Your landlord’s obligations to repair depend on the type of tenancy.

Oral tenancy agreements

A tenancy agreement exists even if there is only an oral agreement between you and your landlord. For example, you and your landlord may have agreed at the start of the tenancy how much the rent would be and when it is payable, whether it includes fuel and bills such as water rates or whether your landlord can decide who else can live in the accommodation.Oral agreements can be difficult to enforce because there is often no proof of what has been agreed, or a particular problem may have arisen which the agreement did not cover.If you are thinking of disputing or are trying to enforce an oral agreement with your tenant or landlord you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. 

Implied terms of tenancy agreements

There are obligations you and your landlord have which may not be set down in the agreement but which are given by law and are implied into all tenancy agreements. These terms form part of the contract, even though they have not been specifically agreed between your landlord and you.

Some of the most common implied terms are:-

your landlord must carry out basic repairs, for example, keeping the installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and heating water in good working order

you have the right to live peacefully in the accommodation without nuisance from your landlord

you have an obligation to use your home in a 'tenant-like' way, for example, by not causing damage and by using any fixtures and fittings properly

you have an obligation to provide access for any repair work that needs to be done.

Rights given by law will vary according to the type of tenancy. In Northern Ireland, all tenants of private sector accommodation have basic rights regardless of the type of tenancy. These are the right to a rent book, the right to claim housing benefit, freedom from harassment and proper notice to quit the tenancy.

What documents and information must the tenant receive

By law, as a tenant, you must be given the following information:

if you have a weekly tenancy (not a fixed term or monthly tenure), your landlord must provide a rent book or similar document. Your landlord commits a criminal offence if they fail to do so

if you do not know the name of your landlord, you can make a written request to the person who receives the rent for the full name and address of your landlord. The agent must supply you with this information in writing within 21 days, after which they commit an offence

in England and Wales if the tenancy is an assured shorthold which was created on or after 28 February 1997, your landlord must provide basic written terms of the agreement within 28 days of you requesting this in writing.

Sham tenancy agreements

The rights laid down by law always override those which are stated in a written or oral agreement. An agreement which suggests that you or your landlord have less rights than those given by common law or statute is a sham tenancy agreement.

What an agreement states and what the tenancy actually is may be different. For example, your landlord may claim that an assured tenancy is in fact an assured shorthold tenancy (short assured tenancy in Scotland), or that the agreement is not a tenancy agreement but a ‘licence to occupy’.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland, you may also have signed an agreement stating that the property was granted under a licence to occupy. This is not enough to make the agreement a licence.

Changing the tenancy agreement

A tenancy agreement can normally only be changed if both you and your landlord agree.If you both agree, the change should be recorded in writing, either by drawing up a new written document setting out the terms of the tenancy or by amending the existing written tenancy agreement.

An oral agreement can also be varied. Usually the variation will be oral too. In the case of a dispute, evidence of the variation can be provided if there were witnesses to the new agreement or simply by both parties acting on the variation, for example, by paying and accepting a new rent.

If you’re disabled, your landlord must take reasonable steps to change the tenancy agreement if a term of the agreement makes it impossible or difficult for you to live in the property because of your disability. Landlords who don't take reasonable steps to change the agreement are discriminating against you as a disabled person and they are breaking the law. What's reasonable will depend on the circumstances but, for example, your landlord must agree to change a term of the agreement so that you can make disability-related improvements to the property or so that you can have an assistance dog.

Ending a tenancy agreement

Your, or your landlord’s, right to end a tenancy agreement and your right to stay and be protected from eviction will depend on the type of tenancy you have.

Is the tenancy agreement ‘unfair’

The tenancy agreement is a form of consumer contract and as such it must be in plain language which is clear and easy to understand. It must not contain any terms which could be ‘unfair’. This means, for example, that the tenancy agreement must not put either you or your landlord in a disadvantageous position, enable one party to change terms unilaterally without a valid reason or irrevocably bind you to terms with which you have had no time to become familiar. An unfair term is not valid in law and cannot be enforced.

Discrimination in tenancy agreements

Your landlord must not discriminate against you because of your disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

This means that they are probably breaking the law if they:

rent a property to you on worse terms than other tenants

treat you differently from other tenants in the way you are allowed to use facilities such as a laundry or a garden

evict or harass you because of discrimination

refuse to make reasonable changes to a term in the tenancy agreement which would allow a disabled person to live there.

The rules about discrimination generally don't apply if your landlord lives in the same property as you. However, if your landlord does live in the same property as you, they must not discriminate against you because of your race.

I've found this flat that I would really like to rent because it's near where I work. I'm profoundly deaf and have a hearing dog but the landlord says he doesn't allow pets. Does this mean I can't take the flat?

If you're disabled, you can ask a landlord to make changes to their policies which would allow you to live in a property. This would include changing a term in the tenancy agreement which bans pets, so that you can have an assistance dog. By law, a landlord should agree to this unless he has a good reason for not doing so.  What is reasonable depends on the circumstances of each case. If the landlord doesn't agree, this may be disability discrimination, and he could be breaking the law. Try explaining this to the landlord. If he still refuses to change the policy, you should get advice.

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Hello Student! Do You Know How To Deal With Letting Agent?

Student housing – using a letting agent

Many students live in private rented accommodation which they find through a letting agent. A letting agent acts on behalf of a landlord and the landlord generally pays for this service, but they may also charge you fees.

This page summarises some of the key things that you need to be aware of if you are using a letting agent.

What is a letting agent?

A letting agent helps a landlord to find a tenant for their property. Some also manage the property while the tenant is living there. An agent may operate independently or it may be part of an estate agency firm.

How do you choose an agent?

Letting agents are not regulated, which means that anyone can trade as a letting agent without any qualifications or a licence.

It's best to use an agent that has signed up to the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS), or is a member of a self-regulating body such as the:

Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)

National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA).

A letting agent that is part of one of these schemes or bodies offers some protection as they expect member agents to adhere to certain standards, for example, having a complaints procedure in place. Some may also require agents to have money protection arrangements so that if they go out of business, you will not lose your money.

Agents that have the Safe Agent registered mark indicate that they protect your money through a client money protection scheme.

Registering with a letting agent

You can register with more than one agent at a time. Lettings agents aren't allowed to charge you for registering with them or for simply providing a list of properties. If they do, they are committing a criminal offence and you can report them to Trading Standards.

What are you likely to have to pay?

Fees can vary from one letting agent to another, so it's best to shop around and ask letting agents for details of their fees. You should also ask for receipts for any payments you make.

Administration fee

Agents can charge an administration fee. This may cover things like drawing up tenancy agreements, inventories and checking references.

Holding deposit

Agents can charge a holding deposit if you've agreed to take a property but haven't yet signed the tenancy agreement.

If you're asked to pay a holding deposit make sure you're aware of what will happen before you pay any money. It will be useful to know:

in what circumstances the deposit can be returned, for example, if you fail a credit check do you get the deposit back?

in what circumstances are you entitled to withdraw, for example, if you change your mind about the tenancy is the deposit refundable?

if the landlord decides not to go ahead with the tenancy, will you get the deposit back?

if the tenancy doesn't go ahead for whatever reason, are you tied to using that agency because it transfers the deposit to another property?

If you do pay a holding deposit it is usually deducted from the security deposit you pay when you move in.

Security deposit

Agents can require payment of a deposit as security against damage or getting into rent arrears. A typical security deposit is one month's rent.

Security deposits for assured shorthold tenancies paid on or after 6 April 2007, must be protected in a government-approved scheme. You must also be provided with details of the scheme.

A tenancy deposit protection scheme will pay back as much of your deposit as you are entitled to at the end of the tenancy. It also provides an alternative dispute resolution service that can be used if there is a disagreement about the deposit at the end of the tenancy.

More about tenancy deposit protection [ 140 KB]

Rent in advance

Agents can, and often do, ask for one month's rent in advance in addition to the security deposit. If you have to pay rent in advance you should check when the next rent payment is due.

What should you do if you think fees are unfair or illegal?

If you think that an agency is asking for an unfair or illegal charge, you could complain using the agent's complaints procedure if they have one.

If you do complain, the agency may not find you accommodation. So if you can, it may be best to use another agency, or delay complaining and taking action after the agency has found you accommodation and you've moved in.

You can take action for an agent charging an illegal fee, by taking court action for the return of the money. Or you can report them to Trading Standards.

If you paid a fee which you think was unreasonably high, or you weren't given details of the charge in advance, you may be able to challenge it on the grounds that it's unfair. The local authority's Trading Standards Officer, Tenancy Relations Officer or a housing specialist may be able to help you with this.

Getting a guarantor

Many letting agents will ask you to provide details of someone who can act as guarantor for you. The guarantor generally covers the rent in case you don't pay it.

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House Hunting Tips For Students

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Are You A Student in Oxford? Best Top 10 Tips to Find A House

Always view the house where possible and try to speak to the current housemates. They’ll be able to tell you the things that you won’t find out otherwise such as whether the property suffers from damp, and whether the landlord or letting agent is easy to get in touch with if issues arise.

Never to rush. Look out for when your institution and students’ union advertise the start of house-hunting and never, under any circumstances rent a property before Christmas for the next academic year. The idea that the best houses will get snapped up is one encouraged by landlords and letting agents who are scared their house won’t get rented if they leave it until later. Owners of good quality and decent value houses are likely to wait longer before trying to rent the property as they’re confident they’ll find students who are interested later on.

Be very cautious if you experience any pressure to sign a contract. If the property is so great, why do you need to sign right now? Always make sure that you’ve had the time to make a considered decision and a chance to discuss it properly with everyone you’re going to live with.

Read your contract thoroughly and if possible, get it checked by your students’ union or institution. If there is anything within it that you’re not happy with, you can go back to the landlord or letting agent and suggest changes.

Find out if the contract is going to be joint with other tenants. If it is, this means that you’re all both jointly and individually responsible for the rent. That means if one person does a runner or even if someone drops out and moves back home, they could chase any of you for the money, or your parents if they’re listed as your guarantor. Make sure you’re happy with this arrangement before you sign on the dotted line. Shelter provide some useful information on this topic for tenants in England, Scotland and Wales.

Find out if there’s an accreditation scheme in your local area. These offer a kind of ‘kitemark’ to show that any houses registered with it will meet certain standards, and offer an independent route for raising complaints if you believe the standards haven’t been met during the tenancy.

It’s not just the rent level you need to think about to make a budget. Ask to see a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate to find out how energy efficient the property is. The higher rated the property is, the cheaper it’ll be to keep warm. You should also consider the location and how much travel is likely to cost you as this can make a big difference to your budget. If you’re renting from a letting agent, ask what fees they’ll be charging as well. If you’re in Scotland, letting agents aren’t allowed to charge any fees to the tenant, so refuse to pay them if asked.

Try putting together a budget with different rent levels to see how much disposable income you’ll be left with. TheStudent Calculator website lets you add up all your income (e.g. student loan, wages) and subtract your expenditure (e.g. rent, bills, food) to work out what you’ll have left each month.

Ask your new landlord or letting agent where they’ll be protecting your deposit. It is against the law to take a deposit and fail to place it within a government scheme in all parts of the United Kingdom. You should receive evidence that it is protected, and if you’re in England and aren’t sure, you can check using Shelter’s website.

Remember, safety first! Ask to see the Gas Safety Certificate, and find out if the property will be fitted with a smoke alarm and Carbon Monoxide detector.

TO LET:

Banbury Road, Oxford

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Who Are We?

1966 was a great year - not only did England win the World Cup, but the Beatles continued to ride high in the charts with hit after hit. In the same year a partnership was formed by two estate agents Mike Allen and D.R. Harris who opened their first branch of Allen & Harris in Didcot.

Today the Allen & Harris estate agency network has over 40 offices and is part of the award-winning national estate agency group Sequence.

Every year we help thousands of customers to buy, sell, rentor let their properties as well as deal with the behind the scenes necessities such as mortgages, conveyancing,surveys, energy performance certificates and much more...it can all be done through us!

When choosing an estate agent, make sure you are with the right one, it could be the difference between selling or letting your home quickly for the right price...choose Allen and Harris.