What Should Go in a Tenancy Agreement When You Rent Out Properties?

One of the most important aspects to renting out properties is drawing up a tenancy agreement that protects the letting agent, landlord and tenant. It is the legal document that is usually referred back to in the event of any disagreements during the time in which the tenant is resident. But what should go in a tenancy agreement?

Here are some of the essential items that make up a watertight rental agreement.

Basic information That Should Go in a Tenancy Agreement

It seems obvious, but you should include the full names of everyone involved in the rental. This includes the landlord and all tenants. Without this comprehensive detail, it makes it much more difficult to enforce the agreement if someone does not fulfil their obligations.

The address of the property is another essential item for the agreement, and the landlord’s full name and address must be present within the document. As a tenancy agreement has to comply with statutory law, it is a requirement that tenants know the landlord’s contact details.

You should also be sure to set the start and end date of the tenancy.

Rent Information

A tenancy agreement must include all details of the rent for the property. This includes the amount tenants must pay every month and how they will pay it. In addition, there should be a section that states when the rent will be reviewed and how any increase (or decrease) will be decided.

Deposits

Tenants need to know the value of the security deposit they are required to pay, as well as how you will protect it. This is also the section in which to state the situations in which you may retain part or all of the deposit. This is likely to be in the case of damage caused by the tenant to the property, non-payment of rent or other similar issues that leave the landlord out of pocket due to the actions of the tenant.

Landlord and Tenant Obligations

You should also state clearly if the landlord or tenant are responsible for any other particular duties during the course of the tenancy. This might include upkeep of the garden, cleaning the windows, or anything else that you want to be defined before the tenant moves in.

It should also feature details of the bills that the tenants and landlord are expected to pay. For instance, the landlord might opt to pay the council tax, but leave the utilities to the tenants. In many rental properties, the tenants are expected to handle all of the bills. Whatever the situation for a particular property, it needs to be made clear in the tenancy agreement that both parties sign up to.

What Else Could Go in a Tenancy Agreement?

The previous points are all items that should be in any tenancy agreement, but there are also other optional items you might choose to add in, depending on the property and landlord. If the landlord has a strong opinion on pets in rental properties, this could be covered by the document. They may want no pets in the property at all, or they might allow pets on the condition the tenant has the carpets professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy. It is a very good idea to have this in writing in the rental agreement.

Other elements to consider are a clause detailing when and how the tenant can end their rental early, which repairs the landlord is responsible for outside of their legal obligations, and the rules on subletting or taking in lodgers.

What Should Go in a Tenancy Agreement - Still Need Help?

If you want help drawing up the perfect tenancy agreement for a property on your books, contact Executive Property Management Solutions today on 0208 5757630. Our professional and experienced team are experts in the field and can create a document that suits letting agent, landlord and tenant alike.