New Tenancy Forms, Letters and Checklists for Residential Landlords
Before granting a tenancy, landlords in England should gather important information about prospective tenants. Having clear processes and the right paperwork is essential. Not only does this help landlords meet their legal obligations, but it also minimises the risk of tenancy disputes.
By using clear paperwork at the start of the tenancy process, landlords and lettings agent can verify the tenant's identity, suitability and financial stability, ensure compliance with the relevant laws and regulations, and create a professional and transparent relationship with tenants from the outset.
Application Forms
The Application Form for a Residential Tenancy is a key document that landlords and lettings agents will use before granting a tenancy. It captures important information from the tenant, including personal details, employment history and references. Collecting this information helps landlords and lettings agents carry out tenant referencing checks.
Consent Letters
If the property being let is subject to a mortgage, landlords will be required to seek the consent of the mortgage company prior to entering into a tenancy agreement. Failure to obtain lender consent could result in a breach of the mortgage terms. In some cases, landlords must also serve a tenant with a notice of grounds of possession. This ensures that tenants are made aware of the landlord and/or lender's rights over the property, especially if the property is subject to repossession proceedings.
Using these templates ensures that landlords remain compliant with both their mortgage terms and wider property law requirements.
Landlords and letting agents should refer to the Guidance Notes Landlords Residential Tenancy Compliance for a comprehensive range of guidance notes on matters such as right to rent checks, tenant fees, renters' rights act, and a range of other housing law compliance.
You can explore the full range of ready to use tenant referencing templates in the list below:
New Tenancy Forms, Letters and Checklists for Residential Landlords is part of Property. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Property for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use a tenancy application form to capture the tenant's identity, current and previous addresses, employment and income, plus referees and consent to reference. You must separately check every adult occupier's right to rent before the tenancy starts. Only collect what you genuinely need, because you become responsible for that data under data protection law and ensure you provide a Privacy Notice.
Yes. Most residential mortgages require the lender's written consent to let. Letting without it can breach your mortgage terms and let the lender demand repayment. Use a consent to let letter to ask the lender before you commit to a tenant. Keep the reply, because it may also affect what you must tell the tenant about the lender's rights.
No. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 prohibits landlords and agents from charging most fees to tenants, including application fees referencing fees and inventory fees. Landlords can only request payments that are permitted under legislation, such as rent, a permitted tenancy deposit (subject to the statutory limit) and other specific permitted charges. Charging a prohibited fee can result in a financial penalty of up to £5,000 for an initial breach, with higher penalties of up to £30,000 for repeat breaches.
A holding deposit is a payment taken from a prospective tenant to reserve a property while the landlord carries out the required checks and prepares the tenancy. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, a holding deposit is limited to a maximum of one week's rent. If the tenancy proceeds, the holding deposit will usually be put towards the first rent payment or the tenancy deposit ( and must then must comply with tenancy deposit protection rules). If the tenancy does not proceed, the holding deposit must generally be returned, unless a permitted reason applies, such as the tenant providing false information etc.
Incorrectly retaining a holding deposit may result in a financial penalty.