Tenancy agreements: written information for your tenant
- Albert's Estate
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
Although subject to change before the official release date, the government has released a list of information that landlords need to put in their tenancy agreements that will come into force on 1st of May 2026 and must be served to existing tenants no later than the 31st of May 2026.
The government has also confirmed that existing tenancies already in writing will not need to provide a new tenancy agreement, but the aforementioned fact sheet has to be provided to the tenants.
Mandatory information to be included in the tenancy agreement
The name of the landlord/all joint landlords for the tenancy
Names of all the tenants
An address in England / Wales where noticed can be served to the Landlord
The address of the rented property
The rent and it's due date
A statement that the landlord must serve a Section 13 notice to increase rent
Any bills that are included in the rent
Any bills payable to the landlord that are in addition to the rent (e.g. for utilities)
The deposit amount (if one is taken)
Most of the information in the list is already present in the tenancy agreement, but the government has included additional key information needed to be added to the agreement:
A statement that the tenant may request a pet in accordance with Section 16A of the Housing Act 1988 and that the landlord may not unreasonably withhold consent.
The minimum notice period a tenant must give to terminate the agreement (usually two months)
A statement setting out the landlord's obligations under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant act (1985)
If there is gas in the property, there needs to be a statement setting out the landlord's obligations under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations.
[Following is extracted from property 118's report] [ Landlords and letting agents could face fines
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, warns landlords they must provide tenants with the required information or face fines.
He said: “For new tenancies entered on or after 1 May 2026, tenants must be provided with the Written Statement of Terms and Information.
“Also, this applies to any current tenancies that are based on verbal agreements started before 1 May 2026. This will need to be done before a tenancy agreement is signed or otherwise agree the tenancy. The information can be provided within a written tenancy agreement or given separately.
“Failure to provide a compliant written statement can expose landlords and agents acting on their behalf to enforcement action, including a fine.”
“The list of information that will need to be included has been published in a draft Statutory Instrument. This information list is a draft and may change with a final version expected in March.”
Landlords won’t need to change a current tenancy agreement
He added: “Following feedback, we are pleased that the UK government has clarified when and how the information must be provided alongside tenancy agreements. Furthermore, the Written Statement of Terms includes an address where notices can be served on the landlord by tenants.
“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.
“For existing tenancies (created before 1 May 2026), landlords won’t need to change a current tenancy agreement if one is in place or issue a new one. Instead, landlords with existing tenancies will need to provide tenants with a copy of the UK government published ‘Information Sheet’ on or before 31 May 2026.
“This will be published in March 2026. The information sheet must be given to all tenants named on a tenancy agreement. It can be provided electronically or in hard copy.”
Landlords don’t use older, non-compliant agreements
A spokesperson for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) tells Property118 that landlords must not use older-non compliant tenancy agreements.
The spokesperson said: “The Renters’ Rights Act introduces important new requirements on what needs to be included in tenancy agreements from 1 May 2026 onwards.
“It is crucial that landlords take steps to ensure they don’t use older, non-compliant agreements, as failure to comply with these changes means there is a strong likelihood that they will be fined.
“For existing tenancies that are already in writing, landlords won’t need to draft an entirely new agreement or replace the current contract. Instead, they must provide tenants with the Government’s official information sheet outlining the changes.” ]
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