The government reveals that under the Renters’ Rights Act new details must be added into tenancy agreements as the implementation of the RRA inches closer.
The new published details containing the guidance has been brought out as a draft, but it is thought that the information is “unlikely” to change. As a result, landlords and agents have been told they are being given time to prepare to make these new additions.
What must tenancy agreements now include?
The following details must be included in some form, whether as a written statement or given separately to the tenant:
- The landlord(s)’ names
- The tenant(s)’ names
- The property address
- The earliest date the tenant can occupy the property
- Rent amount
- Rent due date
- Any bills that are included in the rent
- Any bills not included in the rent that need to be paid in addition to the landlord e.g. utilities
- Deposit amount if needed.
Whilst most agreements already state this information, additional new information has also been mentioned:
- The notice period a tenant must give
- The landlord can normally only end the tenancy by obtaining and executing a possession order, as such they must serve a notice seeking such possession before they commence with proceedings.
On top of this, Landlord Zone says that a few summaries must be included stating the “obligations imposed on landlords by the electrical and gas safety regulations,” as well as a summary of “the landlord’s obligations to allow tenants to make reasonable adaptations for disability under the Equality Act”, and a summary of “the new pet provisions.”
The statutory leaflet
In the published draft it also says that any existing tenancies with written agreements will not have to comply with this. Alternatively, they can provide a leaflet to be published by the government alongside secondary legislation.
Due to the leaflet being promised to be released in March, Smith at Spector, Constant and Williams told Landlord Zone that this led him to the belief that the final version of the draft would also be published then.
