Written Statement of Tenancy Terms: What Landlords Must Give Tenants Under the Renters' Rights Act

If you've been a landlord for any length of time, you'll be used to handing a tenant a tenancy agreement — typically an Assured Shorthold Tenancy template downloaded from your letting agent or a stationery website — getting it signed, and filing it away. From 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduces a new statutory duty: you must give your tenant a written statement of tenancy terms containing prescribed information set out in regulations. It sits alongside your tenancy agreement rather than replacing it, and missing it can cost you up to £7,000 per breach.

This guide walks through what the written statement of tenancy terms is, what must be in it, when it must be given, and how to avoid the penalty.

Written by the LandlordReady compliance team. We monitor Renters' Rights Act changes and deadlines in real-time for landlords managing properties under the new regime.

What is the written statement of tenancy terms — and why it exists

The written statement of tenancy terms is a mandatory disclosure of key information about the tenancy, property, and landlord's and tenant's rights. Landlords must provide it in writing before the tenancy begins. It is separate from but often bundled with the tenancy agreement itself.

Section 12 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 inserts a new section 16D into the Housing Act 1988. It places a positive duty on every landlord of a relevant assured tenancy in England to give the tenant a written statement of:

The full duty is set out in section 12 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, and the detail of what must be included lives in The Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026.

Why was this introduced? Until now, as reflected in widespread guidance from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and Propertymark, the quality and content of tenancy paperwork in the private rented sector has been wildly inconsistent. A new tenant might receive a 30-page bespoke contract from one landlord and a one-page PDF from the next — sometimes missing basic information about who owns the property or where to serve notices. The written statement creates a single, prescribed baseline of information every tenant is entitled to receive, in writing, before they move in.

An AST template that worked perfectly well in April 2026 will, by itself, not satisfy the section 16D duty from 1 May 2026.

Traditional AST vs Written Statement: What Changed

Aspect	Traditional AST (pre-RRA)	Written Statement (s.16D Duty)
Legal basis	No statutory content requirement; voluntary contract between parties	Mandatory under s.16D Housing Act 1988 (inserted by s.12 Renters' Rights Act 2025)
When provided	Typically at or after signing; no prescribed timing	Must be given before tenant enters into tenancy (for new tenancies from 1 May 2026)
Content requirements	Free-form; landlord discretion within common law	18 prescribed items in Schedule to SI 2026/324 (rent, repairs, redress, portal registration, etc.)
Prescribed format	None	Must include all statutory items; no exemption for small landlords
Penalty for non-compliance	None (though may affect enforceability of terms)	Civil penalty up to £7,000 per breach
Applies to existing tenancies	N/A	No — existing tenancies need Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 instead

When must you give the written statement of tenancy terms?

New tenancies have the strictest deadline: the written statement must be given before the tenant signs the agreement, not after. Section 16D(4) of the Housing Act 1988 sets this rule.

New tenancies (the default rule)

For a new assured tenancy granted on or after 1 May 2026, section 16D(4) requires that the statement must be given before the tenancy is entered into. Not within 14 days. Not at the key handover. Before the tenant signs.

In practice, this means the written statement should form part of the pre-contract pack you send the tenant alongside the tenancy agreement itself. If you sign the tenancy first and post the statement afterwards, you are already in breach. For example, if you email the statement on 1 May and the tenant signs the tenancy on 2 May, you are in breach — the statement must be in the pre-signature pack.

Tenancies that become assured later

There are three situations where the 28-day rule applies instead. Section 16D(5)–(7) gives a 28-day window where:

• the tenancy arises by succession on the death of a previous tenant (s.16D(5)(a));
• the tenancy is an assured agricultural occupancy (s.16D(5)(b));
• a demoted tenancy changes landlord under s.143C(3) Housing Act 1996 (s.16D(6)); or
• in any other case where a tenancy becomes an assured tenancy after it began (s.16D(7)).

In each case the 28 days run from the relevant trigger date — for a successor tenant, the date you acknowledge their right to the tenancy.

Existing tenancies on 1 May 2026

If you already had an assured or assured shorthold tenancy running before 1 May 2026, you don't need to issue the full written statement of terms retrospectively. Instead, under the transitional provisions in Schedule 6 of the Act and regulation 3 of SI 2026/324, you must give the tenant the government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026. That sheet explains the changes the Act has made to their existing tenancy.

What must be in the written statement

The prescribed content is set out in the Schedule to SI 2026/324. There are 18 paragraphs in Part 1. Some apply universally; others only if the underlying obligation applies to your tenancy.

The core identification items

1. The landlord's name — and the name of every joint landlord if there is more than one.
2. The tenant's name — and every joint tenant if there is more than one.
3. A service address in England and Wales at which the tenant can serve notices on you (including notices in proceedings).
4. The address of the dwelling-house let on the tenancy.
5. The date the tenant is first entitled to possession.

Rent and money

6. The rent payable and when it is due.
7. A statement explaining that any future rent increase requires a section 13 notice under the Housing Act 1988.
8. Any permitted payments you may require beyond rent. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 these are tightly limited — broadly a refundable tenancy deposit (capped at five weeks' rent, or six weeks' where annual rent is £50,000 or more), a holding deposit capped at one week's rent, and a narrow set of default fees. Note that rent in advance beyond the first period is no longer a permitted demand — see our guide to the new rent-in-advance limits.
9. The amount of any tenancy deposit and the scheme protecting it, with the prescribed information about deposit protection.

The property, repairs and standards

10. The landlord's repairing obligations under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 — structure, exterior, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating.
11. Confirmation that the dwelling must be fit for human habitation throughout the tenancy under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, and that serious hazards are subject to Awaab's Law response timescales.

Rights, redress and registration

12. That the landlord is registered on the Property Portal — see how to register.
13. The landlord's membership of the PRS Landlord Ombudsman redress scheme.
14. How the tenancy may be ended — that section 21