Written Statement of Terms (Tenancy)
Sets out the terms of a tenancy in writing, in the form England now expects landlords to provide.
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This statement sets out the agreed terms of the tenancy of the property named below. It is given to the tenant by the landlord and should be kept for the length of the tenancy.
1. The property
[property address]
2. The parties
| Landlord | [landlord name] |
| Landlord address | [landlord address] |
| Contact for the tenant | [email and phone] |
| Managing agent | None — the landlord manages the property directly |
| Tenant(s) | [tenant names] |
3. When the tenancy begins
The tenancy begins on [date] and runs from period to period until it is properly brought to an end. The tenant may end it by giving the notice the law requires; the landlord may seek possession only on a ground the law allows, using the prescribed notice for that ground.
4. Rent
| Rent | £ [amount] per calendar month |
| Due on | [when rent is due] |
| Paid by | [how rent is paid] |
Rent may be increased only by the method the law allows, using the prescribed notice, and no more often than the law permits. Nothing in this statement allows the landlord to raise the rent by simply asking for more.
5. Deposit
No deposit has been taken for this tenancy.
6. What the rent includes
| Paid by the landlord | Paid by the tenant |
|---|---|
| — | [list the bills the tenant pays] |
7. Condition and furnishing
The property is let unfurnished. The landlord is responsible for the structure and exterior, and for keeping the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and water heating in repair and proper working order. The tenant is responsible for keeping the property reasonably clean and for reporting disrepair promptly so it can be put right.
8. Pets
No request to keep a pet has been made. If the tenant asks, the landlord will consider the request and reply in writing within the period the law allows.
9. Safety and information given to the tenant
The landlord confirms that the documents a landlord must give a tenant have been provided, or will be provided before the tenancy begins. These commonly include the gas safety record where there is a gas supply, the energy performance certificate, an electrical installation condition report, and the government information sheet for the tenancy type. The tenant should keep them with this statement.
What is a Written Statement of Terms (Tenancy)?
A written statement of terms sets out, in one document, what a tenant is renting, what they pay, when they pay it, and what each side is responsible for. England now requires landlords of assured tenancies to give tenants a written statement, and there is no official form for it — which means the quality of the document is entirely down to whoever writes it. A vague statement is still a breach if it leaves out something it should cover.
The change came with the reform that ended Section 21 in England on 1 May 2026. Assured shorthold tenancies became periodic assured tenancies, fixed terms in the old sense went, and possession now runs through the statutory grounds and the prescribed notices that go with them. A great deal of published tenancy material has not caught up: any template still promising a Section 21 compliant agreement is describing a regime that no longer applies to new lettings in England.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run separate systems with their own documents and notice periods, so a statement written for England does not transfer. Nor does the statement replace everything else a landlord must hand over. Where there is a gas supply there is a gas safety record; there is an energy performance certificate; there is usually an electrical installation condition report; deposits must be protected and the prescribed information given; and a government information sheet must be provided in the exact published form and must not be edited or retyped.
The statement records terms. It does not create powers the law does not give. A landlord cannot raise rent by writing a clause allowing it, cannot end a tenancy by writing a clause allowing that either, and cannot contract out of repairing obligations. Where a clause in a statement conflicts with the statutory position, the statutory position wins, and the clause simply makes the landlord look as though they were trying something.
What to put in a Written Statement of Terms (Tenancy)
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Landlord — name | For example: Helen Okafor |
| Landlord — address | For example: 22 Wentworth Road, Sheffield S6 3AA |
| Contact details for the tenant to use | For example: helen.okafor@example.co.uk · 0114 496 0182 |
| Managing agent, if any optional | For example: Bellhouse Lettings, 4 Division Street, Sheffield S1 4GF |
| Tenant(s) — full names, one per line | For example: Aisha Rahman |
| Property address | For example: Flat 2, 118 Crookes Valley Road, Sheffield S10 1BE |
| Tenancy start date | Free text |
| Rent | For example: 995 |
| Rent period | Free text |
| Rent is due on | For example: the 1st of each month |
| How rent is paid | For example: standing order to the account notified to the tenant |
| Deposit taken optional | For example: 1148 |
| Deposit protection scheme optional | Free text |
| Deposit scheme reference optional | For example: DPS-2026-004471 |
| Furnishing | Free text |
| What the rent includes, one per line optional | For example: Water charges |
| What the tenant pays separately, one per line optional | For example: Gas and electricity |
| Pets | Free text |
| The pet agreed optional | For example: One neutered indoor cat |
| Any other agreed terms, one per line optional | For example: The rear garden is for the exclusive use of the ground floor flat. |
How to write a Written Statement of Terms (Tenancy)
Identify the property and everyone renting it
Give the full address including the flat number, and name every adult tenant who will be a party to the tenancy — not only the one who replied to the advertisement. Joint tenants are jointly liable, and a person living there who is not named has a different and murkier status. If a permitted occupier is not a tenant, say so explicitly rather than leaving the position to be worked out later.
State the rent, the day, and the method
Write the amount, the period it covers, the day it falls due and how it is paid. Do not write a clause that lets the landlord increase the rent at will: rent increases run through the statutory route and the prescribed notice, with limits on frequency. A statement that promises otherwise misleads the tenant and gives the landlord nothing enforceable.
Set out the deposit and the scheme protecting it
Give the amount taken, name the scheme it is protected in, and give the scheme reference. Deposit caps apply, and the prescribed information about the scheme has to be given separately within the statutory window. Getting this wrong has consequences beyond the deposit itself, so check the current cap and the current deadline rather than copying figures from an older agreement.
Split the bills line by line
Say exactly which costs sit with the landlord and which with the tenant: water, council tax, energy, broadband, service charges, garden maintenance. A single sentence saying the tenant pays all utilities produces an argument the first time a service charge or a standing charge arrives. Two columns, itemised, removes it.
Answer the pet question in writing
Under the reformed regime a tenant may ask to keep a pet and the landlord must consider the request and respond within the statutory period, and a blanket ban is no longer a safe clause. Record whether a request has been made, what was agreed, and any reasonable condition. Silence in the statement will not stop the request arriving; it just means there is no record of what was said.
Common mistakes
- Reusing a pre-May 2026 assured shorthold agreement, which describes fixed terms and a Section 21 route that no longer exist for new lettings in England.
- Retyping or editing the government information sheet instead of handing over the published version unchanged.
- Writing a blanket no-pets clause, which no longer reflects how pet requests must be handled.
- Leaving the deposit scheme name and reference blank, so the tenant cannot check that their money is protected.
- Using an England-drafted statement for a property in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, where the tenancy regime is different.
Frequently asked questions
Is a written statement of terms the same as a tenancy agreement?
They overlap heavily and in practice one document usually does both jobs. The tenancy agreement is the contract; the written statement is the set of terms the landlord is required to put in writing and give the tenant. If your agreement already sets out everything the statement must cover, in writing, given to the tenant, you are not obliged to produce a second document — but check what the requirement actually lists.
Is there an official form for the written statement?
No. That is the point of difficulty and the reason quality varies so much: landlords may use their own document provided it covers what it must. This is different from the information sheet that accompanies it, which must be given in the exact published form. Do not confuse the two, and never edit the sheet.
What happened to Section 21?
Section 21, the no-fault possession route in England, was abolished on 1 May 2026. Possession now runs through the statutory grounds, using the prescribed notice for the ground relied on. Existing tenancies converted to periodic assured tenancies on the same date. Anything still describing Section 21 as available for a new letting in England is out of date.
Do I need one for an existing tenancy?
The reform brought existing tenancies into the new regime, and landlords of tenancies that had nothing in writing were given a deadline to provide a statement. If your tenancy predates the change and you never issued written terms, do not assume you are outside the requirement. Check the current position, because the deadlines were short and the penalty for failing to provide a statement is a civil one.
Does this cover Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
No. Scotland uses the private residential tenancy with its own statutory terms and notice regime; Wales uses occupation contracts and written statements under its own legislation; Northern Ireland runs a separate system again. Each has its own documents, its own notice periods and its own deposit rules. Use a document written for the nation the property is in.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.