About this common law tenancy agreement
Assured shorthold tenancy agreements (ASTs) can only be used when the rent is less than £100,000 a year.
Drawn outside of the Housing Acts and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and therefore not governed by the same law as ASTs, this common law tenancy agreement (sometimes called a contractual tenancy agreement) should be used when the rent exceeds the £100,000 threshold.
The law in this agreement
This contractual tenancy agreement has been drawn by a barrister, who specialises in residential tenancy law. It is a long form version, that gives the landlord maximum control over the terms of the tenancy.
Most versions of this type of agreement found on the Internet are short-form: good enough to provide a basic agreement, but not as thorough in protecting the landlord’s rights.
The purpose of this agreement is to protect you against whatever might go wrong. With a high value investment like your property, the cost of a small dispute can be large. The more comprehensive a tenancy agreement is (being long form rather than short), the more it defines rights (in this agreement, favouring you as a landlord) and leaves less room for subjective interpretation by your tenant or a judge.
When to use this common law tenancy agreement
This agreement should be used when an assured shorthold tenancy agreement cannot be used. It would be used when:
- Rent is over £100,000 per year (£8,334 a month)
- Where a property has been converted from a single property into self contained multiple units (e.g. a house into separate flats)
- Where the property is not the tenant’s principle home
This agreement requires that
- The tenant(s) is a private individual and not a company
- The whole space will be let to one or more tenants under a single agreement
- The property will be used for residential purposes only (not business or agriculture)
The tenancy agreement holds the tenants jointly and severally liable for the tenancy (all tenants are jointly responsible for payment of rent and not individual shares).
Features and contents of this common law tenancy agreement
- Basic provisions
- Agent: should the landlord wish to appoint someone to act on his behalf
- Rent: by default paid monthly in advance, but the terms can be changed
- Deposit by tenant
- Forfeiture;
- Interest;
- Insurance;
- Repairs;
- Landlord's choice of more than 30 tenant's “promises” setting out what tenant can and cannot do
- Landlord's access: to view or show prospective lenders or buyers
- Services of notices on the Tenant
- Services of notices on the Landlord
- Other legal provisions to protect your interests
- Includes sensible, practical provisions
Other versions of this common law tenancy agreement
We have four versions of this common law tenancy agreement. This one covers an unfurnished flat. Options also include agreements for furnished flats and for houses:
Common law tenancy agreement (contractual, non-assured): furnished flat
Common law tenancy agreement (contractual, non-assured): unfurnished house
Common law tenancy agreement (contractual, non-assured): furnished house
As well as providing this as a Word format template that you complete yourself, we offer a web based drafting service that will create a common law tenancy agreement for you without you needing to consider the legal aspects of letting. The final document that the service produces uses the same legal wording as this one (this agreement has been drafted using the same master document that the web based service uses) and, just like this agreement, you have the flexibility to edit it in Word later. The difference is in the time it takes to produce your agreement. Using the service, you could have your final agreement in your hands in 15 minutes. The price is comparable. For more information, visit residential tenancy agreement drafting service.
Reasons to buy from Net Lawman
Full money back guarantee – buy with confidence
This common law tenancy agreement comes with a no questions asked full money back guarantee. You take no risk that it might not be right. Once you buy it, we’ll give you 30 days to evaluate it in any way you want. If for any reason you’re not happy, just e-mail us and we’ll refund your money in full immediately.
Guidance notes included - prior legal knowledge is not required
Comprehensive guidance notes, written by the author of the document, are included. These notes ensure that you don’t need to be a lawyer or have knowledge of the law to understand which paragraphs you should edit to complete the agreement.
Minimal editing required
This agreement has been written specifically in such a way that you don’t need to spend hours editing it. It uses an approach where you remove the sections that aren’t applicable to you, so you don’t have to add any back, write your own, or worry about whether you are using correct legal language.
Paragraphs have been written to stand alone from each other. Removing one that isn’t applicable to your circumstances doesn’t affect the standing of any other in the tenancy agreement.
Plain language minimises future disagreements
Your common law tenancy agreement is real law written in plain language that all parties will understand. This will minimise the likelihood of later disputes.
If a dispute does arise and you find yourself in court, the judge will look more favourably on a legal agreement written in plain language over one peppered with complicated legal jargon. Your case will be stronger if it is clear that both sides understood the agreement when it was signed.
Buy once – re-use again and again
You can use the contractual tenancy agreement as many times as you like – just create a new document from the master version.
Delivered straight to your inbox
As soon as you complete the secure checkout process, we will send your non-assured tenancy agreement straight to your inbox. We will also keep a copy for you for 60 days in our customer area so you can access it even when you are away from your e-mail.
Still unsure whether this is the right document for you?
If you are unsure whether this common law tenancy agreement is suitable for your particular circumstances, then you have two options. The first is to buy now, evaluate the agreement, and use the 30 day, full money back guarantee to obtain a refund if it isn’t suitable. You take no risk in seeing the agreement. The second option is to contact us and ask. We can’t offer you legal advice on your situation, but we can help you find the document you want. We aim to respond to your question within 24 hours. |
