Tenancy agreements

Tenancy agreements are one of the more common forms of contract in English law.

A tenancy agreement is a contract between a land or property owner and one or more persons interested in living in the property or conducting a business there. Tenancy agreements are one of the more common forms of contract in English law and, because they deal with homes and business premises, one of the more important.

History

Tenancy agreements have existed in one form or another, be it verbal or contractual, since time immemorial. The modern form of tenancy agreement, in which a contract is formed that binds both the landlord and the tenant under the force of law, has developed alongside modern contract law and allows all of the standard contractual terms to be implied into it.

Function

The purpose of a tenancy agreement is to lay out the terms and conditions by which an agreement has been reached where one party will allow the use of land and property by another. In the event of a dispute, the tenancy agreement will often allow a court or other body of arbitration to determine which party, if either, is correct and what measures to undertake to remedy the problem.

Time Frame

Tenancy agreements can be for any period but often fall into two camps: fixed and rolling. A fixed period tenancy is an agreement that expires after a certain amount of time and is often used by landlord renting to students on a yearly basis. Rolling contracts are tenancy agreements with no given end date but with provisions for how both parties can terminate the agreement by giving notice a set amount of time before ending the contract.

Benefits

The benefits of a tenancy agreement are the same as those for a standard contract, be it for goods or services. By signing a tenancy agreement, each person who is party to the contract is aware of what his rights and obligations are with respect to the tenancy; e.g. the landlord has a right to a set amount of rent at a set interval, while the tenant has the right to occupy the premises for a given period.

Misconceptions

Although they may appear as something different, a tenancy agreement is a standard contract under English law and is therefore subject to the principles of English contract law. To this end, although the agreement may contain clauses that purport to provide fewer rights to a tenant than the law requires, it is not possible to forfeit your statutory rights by signing a tenancy agreement.

References

• DirectGov: Private rent and tenancies
• Citizens Advice Bureau: Tenancy agreements