NRLA's James Wood warns landlords could face local authority penalties of up to £4,000 if they keep using outdated AST-era agreements after new rules come into force in May.
21st Jan 20260 1,898 1 minute read Simon Cairnes
The Government has published draft secondary legislation confirming the text and the mandatory information that must be included in new assured periodic tenancy agreements from 1st May onwards.
It is a significant expansion from the old AST system. With ASTs, tenants could request a basic written statement covering rent and dates. Under the new rules, landlords are required to provide comprehensive mandatory information.
That includes details on rent increases, eviction processes and notice periods, landlords’ repair and safety obligations, tenant rights around pets and disability adaptations, and bills coverage. Full details can be found here. This information will typically be incorporated into the tenancy agreement template itself, although it can be provided as a separate written statement.
Using an older tenancy template from 1st May not only means you are giving the wrong information, but you could also face fines from your local authority.”
The wording of the agreement itself is much as expected, but James Wood (pictured), the NRLA’s Head of Policy, warns: “Using an older tenancy template from 1st May not only means you are giving the wrong information, but you could also face fines from your local authority.
“Normally this civil penalty will be around £4,000 but can be higher, particularly for repeated failures.”
Compliance riskWood adds that the biggest compliance risk is during the handover period, where landlords and agents have agreements in the pipeline and may assume a familiar contract pack can simply be rolled forward.
Existing tenancies will follow a different process. Wood says: “If your tenancy is already in writing, then you don’t need to provide a new written tenancy agreement or a separate written statement.”
Instead, landlords must serve a separate Government information sheet to existing tenants outlining the changes. The NRLA says this sheet will be published in March and must be served on existing tenants no later than 31 May.
Reacting to the release of the text, Propertymark says: “We are pleased that the UK Government has clarified when and how the information must be provided alongside tenancy agreements,” but adds, “However, the document should include the agent’s details if one is used and be future-proofed to include space for the landlord’s unique identifier to match information on the PRS Database.”
Tagsassured short term tenancy (AST) agreements NRLA renters' rights act 21st Jan 20260 1,898 1 minute read Simon Cairnes Share Facebook X LinkedIn Share via Email