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

Now I have the source material. Let me write the article.

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 that is no longer enough.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduces a new statutory duty: you must give your tenant a **written statement of 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 statement is, what must be in it, when it must be given, and how to avoid the penalty.

## What the written statement is — and why it exists

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:

<LegalBlock citation="Section 16D(2), Housing Act 1988 (as inserted by s.12 Renters' Rights Act 2025)">
(a) such terms of the tenancy as are specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State, whether in the form of an agreement in writing between the landlord and tenant or a record of terms otherwise agreed, and

(b) any other information in writing about any of the following which is required to be given by regulations made by the Secretary of State—

(i) the tenancy;
(ii) the dwelling-house let on the tenancy;
(iii) the tenant;
(iv) the landlord;
(v) the rights of the landlord or the tenant in relation to the tenancy or the dwelling-house let on it.
</LegalBlock>

The full duty is set out in <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/section/12/enacted">section 12 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025</a>, and the detail of what must be included lives in <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/324/made">The Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026</a>.

Why was this introduced? Until now, 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.

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

## When the statement must be given

The timing rules in section 16D are stricter than many landlords realise.

### New tenancies (the default rule)

For a new assured tenancy granted on or after 1 May 2026, <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/section/12/enacted">section 16D(4)</a> 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 that 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.

### 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.

<Callout variant="warning">
If you have a tenancy that was an AST on 30 April 2026 and rolls into a periodic assured tenancy under the new regime, the Information Sheet — not the full written statement — is what you owe the tenant by 31 May 2026. Don't confuse the two duties.
</Callout>

## What must be in the written statement

The prescribed content is set out in the Schedule to <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/324/made">SI 2026/324</a>. 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 "relevant bill payment"** the tenant owes you — council tax, utilities, green deal payments, TV licence or a communication service (telephone, internet, cable, satellite). The statement must say whether it's part of the rent or in addition, and if in addition, the amount and due date (or how the tenant will be notified).
9. **The tenancy deposit amount**, if a deposit is taken and the Housing Act 2004 protection requirements apply.

### Notice and possession

10. **The tenant's minimum notice-to-quit period** under section 5(1) Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (where that section applies).
11. **A plain-English explanation of security of tenure** — that in most circumstances you can only end the tenancy by court order, and that this requires a properly served section 8 notice specifying the ground(s) relied on.

### Property condition and statutory duties

12. **A fitness-for-human-habitation statement** under section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, where it applies.
13. **A repairing obligations statement** explaining your duties under section 11 of the 1985 Act — to keep the structure and exterior in repair, and to keep installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water in repair and proper working order. (There are narrow exceptions, e.g. where a Right To Manage company has taken over.)
14. **Electrical safety obligations** — explaining the five-yearly EICR duty and the requirement to give the tenant a copy of the report, where the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020 apply.
15. **Gas safety obligations** — explaining the duties under regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, where there's a relevant gas fitting on the property.

### Tenant rights

16. **Disabled tenant improvements** — information about section 190 Equality Act 2010 (you cannot unreasonably withhold consent to a disabled person's improvement), where the tenant is entitled to make improvements with consent.
17. **Pets** — a statement explaining the new section 16A right: a tenant can ask to keep a pet, and the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse.
18. **Supported accommodation** — if the tenancy is granted as supported accommodation under paragraph 12(1) of Schedule 2 to the 1988 Act, the statement must say so and explain why.

<Callout variant="tip">
You don't have to deliver the statement as a separate document. Regulation 2 and section 16D(2)(a) both make clear it can take the form of an agreement in writing — i.e. your tenancy agreement itself, provided it actually contains every prescribed item. A well-drafted post-Renters' Rights Act tenancy agreement can do both jobs.
</Callout>

## The penalty: up to £7,000 per breach

This is not a "best efforts" duty. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/enforcement-measures-for-landlords-renters-rights-act-2025">GOV.UK enforcement guidance</a> confirms that local authorities can impose a financial penalty of up to **£7,000** for a first breach of the written statement duty — and the same maximum applies to failing to give existing tenants the Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.

If you continue not to comply after a penalty has been imposed, a second breach can be treated as an offence — at which point you're looking at either prosecution or a civil penalty of up to **£40,000**, in line with the broader Renters' Rights Act enforcement regime.

There's no defence of "the tenant didn't ask for it" or "they already knew". The duty is on you to provide it, in writing, before the trigger date.

## How this differs from a tenancy agreement

It helps to be clear about what the written statement is *not*.

- A **tenancy agreement** is the contract between you and the tenant. It can run to many pages and contain anything not prohibited by statute (note: the Act bans certain clauses outright — see our guide to <a href="/blog/banned-tenancy-clauses-renters-rights-act">banned tenancy clauses</a>).
- A **written statement of terms** is a statutory minimum disclosure. It tells the tenant the things Parliament has decided every tenant has the right to know in writing.

The two can sit inside the same document. They can also sit in two documents. What matters is that every prescribed item in the Schedule to SI 2026/324 is actually somewhere in what you hand the tenant before they sign.

## Practical steps to comply

<StepList>
<Step number={1}>**Audit your current tenancy template.** Go through the 18 prescribed items in the Schedule and tick off each one. Most pre-2026 AST templates will be missing several — particularly the rent-increase explanation, the security-of-tenure explanation, and the pet-request statement.</Step>
<Step number={2}>**Update or replace your tenancy agreement.** Either rebuild your template to include every prescribed item, or use a separate written statement document that sits on top of your existing agreement.</Step>
<Step number={3}>**Fix your service address.** You must give an address in England or Wales where the tenant can serve notices on you. A PO Box won't do. If you live abroad or use an agent, decide whose address goes on the document — and tell the tenant in writing if it changes.</Step>
<Step number={4}>**Issue the statement before signing.** Build it into your pre-tenancy pack so the tenant has it before they're contractually bound. Get a dated acknowledgement (email confirmation is fine).</Step>
<Step number={5}>**For existing tenancies, diary 31 May 2026.** Download the government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 and send it to every existing tenant before that deadline. Keep proof of sending.</Step>
<Step number={6}>**Store proof securely.** A penalty defence relies on you being able to show what you sent, when, and how. See our guide on <a href="/blog/storing-tenancy-documents-securely">storing tenancy documents securely</a>.</Step>
</StepList>

## A worked example

Consider a landlord in Leeds letting a two-bed flat to a new tenant from 1 June 2026. The rent is £1,150 pcm with council tax payable on top, billed monthly by the landlord. There's a gas boiler, an in-date EICR, and a £1,200 deposit going into a custodial scheme.

To comply with section 16D, before the tenant signs:

- The tenancy agreement (or a separate statement document) must name the landlord and tenant, give the landlord's England/Wales service address, the flat's address, the date possession starts (1 June 2026), the £1,150 rent and its due date, the section 13 rent-increase explanation, the council tax pass-through (amount, payable in addition, monthly), the £1,200 deposit, the tenant's notice-to-quit minimum, the security-of-tenure explanation, the fitness-for-habitation and section 11 repair statements, the EICR and gas safety statements, and the pets statement.
- The disabled-improvements statement is only required if the agreement entitles the tenant to make improvements with consent — most won't, so it can be omitted.
- The supported accommodation paragraph doesn't apply.

If the landlord hands all that over before signing on, say, 25 May 2026, they are compliant. If they sign the agreement on 25 May and email an "updated tenancy pack" on 28 May, they're not.

## Where to go for help

The Schedule to SI 2026/324 is the source of truth for what must be in the statement, and the GOV.UK enforcement guidance is the source of truth for the penalties. For anything genuinely contested — for example, whether a particular pass-through charge counts as a "relevant bill payment", or whether your existing template already does the job — get a property solicitor to look at it. A one-off review now is much cheaper than a £7,000 civil penalty later.

The written statement is, on paper, an admin task. In practice it's the moment Parliament decided to standardise what every English private tenant should know in writing before they sign. Get the template right once, build it into your onboarding, and it stops being a compliance risk and starts being a routine part of letting.