Assured shorthold tenancy agreement

Create a tenancy agreement for a room in a shared property

Using an AST agreement is usually the safest way of letting a room in a house or a flat where the other tenants are not renting together.

Many landlords grant a licence to occupy instead in the belief that the tenants will have fewer rights to stay or be given notice when the landlord wants to regain possession. However, in law, licensing is only suitable if the landlord lives at the same property. If there was a problem that required you to go to court, a judge would rule that the situation on the ground is a tenancy and not a licence, and it would be more difficult to remove him or her than if an AST agreement was used in the first place.

This document cannot reduce the rights of the tenant regarding security of tenure, but does protect the landlord as far as possible.

For example, we give you a large choice of over 35 tenant promises and restrictions so that you can control what he or she can do in the property.

Of course, you can choose to keep in or take out terms that you do not need. There is a choice of which of the deposit protection schemes you will use.

Our use of plain language means that your tenant can never say he or she didn't understand what the conditions of living at the property were.

No need for a separate guarantor agreement

Often you will need to buy a separate agreement to bring in a guarantor. We include provisions for a guarantor within this document making a separate agreement unnecessary.

Additional included letters and forms make management even simpler

To make property management easier, we have included additional commonly used forms and letters:

• Draft inventory form (provided in the document, with explanatory notes on how to use)
• Cold weather letter to remind tenants to ventilate and heat the property
• Smoke and carbon monoxide detector release letter and form

Is the let an AST?

The basic qualifying conditions for an AST are:

• rent between £1,000 and £100,000 per year
• short tenancy period: 6 months to a maximum of 6 years
• the tenant is a private individual and not a company
• the property will be used for residential purposes only
• the tenant has exclusive occupation of the room let under the agreement

Alternative documents

AST agreements for other types of property

This agreement has been customised for a single room. There is a standard agreement for any type of property on which this one is based (a good choice if you rent several properties), and also an agreement to let a room where a deposit is not taken. This is most likely to be used where the tenant is a student, and not living in the property for some of the year.

If you live in the same property

If the property is your full-time home, you can let using a residential licence to occupy and not an AST.

Other tenancy agreements

We also stock a full range of less commonly used tenancy agreements for situations where an AST is not appropriate. See our article on which agreement to use.

Content

Some of the most notable provisions in this agreement are:

• Guarantor: essential if the tenant is not in full employment
• Provision for you to use an agent (perhaps you are the agent)
• Rent deposit provisions and explanation for the tenant
• Landlord's access: to view or show prospective lenders or buyers
• Choice of over 40 tenant's covenants (promises) setting out what he or she can and cannot do
• Additional forms and letters to help you manage the letting

The law relating to this tenancy agreement

This agreement complies with:

• the Housing Acts (1988 and 1996)
• the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme introduced in April 2007 and updates since then, including the availability of new insurance based tenant deposit protection schemes in April 2013
• the Tenant Fees Act 2019