Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement Template for England

Old AST templates are obsolete. Any template that includes a fixed end date, a contractual rent review clause, or a reference to Section 21 notices now contains void terms under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. If you are letting a property in England from 1 May 2026 onwards, your agreement needs to meet the new rules from the start.

What the Law Requires

Section 16D of the Housing Act 1988 (inserted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025) requires every new assured periodic tenancy to begin with a Written Statement of Terms. This document must be provided to the tenant before the tenancy agreement is signed — not at signing, not after.

The Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/324) prescribe 16 mandatory fields that the Written Statement must contain:

1. Full legal names of all landlords
2. Full legal names of all tenants (including joint tenants)
3. A service address in England and Wales for notices
4. The full property address
5. The date the tenant takes possession
6. The rent amount, frequency, and due dates
7. A statement that rent increases can only occur via Section 13
8. Details of council tax, utilities, and other bills (whether included or separate)
9. The deposit amount and reference to statutory scheme protection
10. A statement of the tenant's two-month minimum notice period
11. A security of tenure statement (possession only via Section 8 court order)
12. A statement of landlord fitness for habitation obligations
13. A summary of statutory repairing duties
14. A statement of electrical safety standards compliance
15. A statement of gas safety compliance
16. A statement on the tenant's right to request disability modifications

Missing any of these fields exposes you to a civil penalty of up to £7,000 from your Local Housing Authority.

Where to Find a Compliant Template

MHCLG model agreement. Check any model agreement against the current 2026 Written Statement requirements. The prescribed fields are set out in S.I. 2026/324; a template should be checked to confirm it covers all 16.

NRLA templates. The National Residential Landlords Association provides updated tenancy agreement templates for members (£99/year). These are regularly reviewed by their legal team when legislation changes.

Commercial template providers. Several legal document services sell updated periodic tenancy agreements. Verify that any template explicitly references S.I. 2026/324, includes all 16 prescribed fields, and does not contain fixed-term provisions.

Whichever template you use, check three things before signing:

• No fixed term. Section 16E voids any clause creating a fixed term. An agreement that says "for a period of 12 months" is unenforceable on that point and risks a penalty.
• No rent review clause. Rent can only be increased via the Section 13 Form 4A process. An RPI-linked escalator, a percentage increase, or any contractual rent review mechanism is void.
• No rent in advance beyond one month. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 (as amended) caps advance rent at one month, collected only after the agreement is executed.

Existing Tenancy Agreements

If you already had a written AST before 1 May 2026, you do not need to replace it with a new template. The existing agreement converted automatically into an assured periodic tenancy. Void clauses become unenforceable by operation of law — you do not need to remove them, though you may want to for clarity.

What you did need to do was serve the official Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026. For oral tenancies that had no written agreement, a full Written Statement of Terms was required by the same deadline.

Practical Tips for Using a Template

Resist the temptation to customise heavily. The more bespoke terms you add, the greater the risk of including something the statute prohibits. Stick to the prescribed fields, add property-specific details (parking, garden access, permitted occupants), and leave the statutory statements exactly as prescribed.

Keep a signed copy in your records alongside proof of when the Written Statement was provided. If the tenant signed electronically, retain the audit trail from your e-signature platform. If you served the statement by email with the tenant's express consent, keep the sent email with the attached PDF — a web link to the document is not sufficient service.

The Assured Periodic Tenancies compliance kit includes a Written Statement of Terms audit checklist that walks through every prescribed field so nothing gets missed.

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