The written statement of terms: what every landlord must now provide

Updated July 2026 · Based on official gov.uk guidance · General information, not legal advice

Under the Renters' Rights Act system that took effect on 1 May 2026, every assured tenancy in England is periodic — it rolls on from one rent period to the next with no end date. Tenants are entitled to their terms in writing. For new tenancies that means providing a written statement of terms from the start. For pre-existing verbal tenancies, a written statement was due by 31 May 2026 — and if that's you and it hasn't happened, read our deadline guide and serve it late rather than not at all.

Why your old AST template no longer works

The assured shorthold tenancy agreement you've used for years almost certainly contains clauses that are now void or wrong. It will have a fixed term, and fixed terms no longer exist. It will have a rent review clause, and all rent-review mechanisms are void — only the statutory notice procedure works. It will refer to Section 21, which is abolished. And it often has deposit or advance-rent arrangements that no longer comply. Handing a new tenant an old AST doesn't just fail the written-statement requirement, it tells them the wrong thing about their rights and yours.

What the statement needs to cover

The parties and the property — full names of landlord and all tenants, the let address, and the landlord's address for service of notices.
The tenancy structure — that it is an assured periodic tenancy with a rent period of one calendar month and no fixed term.
Rent — the amount, the payment day, and that increases can only occur via the statutory Section 13 notice (Form 4A), at most once a year with at least two months' notice.
Deposit — the amount (maximum five weeks' rent), the protection scheme, and the prescribed-information obligation.
How each side ends the tenancy — the tenant's right to leave on two months' written notice ending at the end of a rent period; the landlord's route via Section 8 grounds only.
Pets — the tenant's right to request one, your 28-day written-response obligation, and that refusal requires good reason.
Obligations both ways — repairs, safety certificates, access with notice, tenant care of the property.

Existing written agreements: you don't need tenants to sign a new agreement. The law rewrote the void parts automatically; your job for pre-May tenancies was serving the official information sheet. The written statement matters for tenancies that were verbal, and for every new tenancy you create from now on.

Getting it done

You can draft a statement yourself from the points above, or use a ready-made editable template. Our £29 document pack includes a complete Written Statement of Terms with every mandatory element, highlighted fill-in fields, and a covering letter — alongside the rent-increase kit, pet-response letters and the rest of the post-May essentials.

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More guides

Missed the 31 May deadline? · How to increase rent (Form 4A) · Are fixed-term agreements void? · The 28-day pet rule · Does every tenant need their own information sheet? · One sharer leaves: joint tenancies · Missed the 31 May 2026 deadline?