What is Tenancy Agreement?

A tenancy agreement is a written agreement between a tenant and a landlord. It is a set of legal terms and conditions by which you can live in a property as long as you wish until you abide by them. Both the tenant and landlord have rights and responsibilities given by law. The agreement is can be in written form or oral too. There are fixed term and periodic tenancy agreements. The fixed term runs for a specific period of time while the latter is updated on weekly or monthly basis. One of the terms for example in the tenancy agreement is the right of a tenant to live in an accommodation and the landlord’s right to receive rent monthly.

A tenancy agreement can either be made up of expressed terms or implied terms. The former includes tenancy agreement, if there is one, in the rent book, and/or what was agreed orally while the latter includes rights given by law or arrangements established by custom and practice.

A tenancy agreement includes:

·         Name and address of the tenant, and agent, provider, owner or manager

·         Starting and ending date of the agreement.

·         Amount of rent to be paid and the method of payment.

·         Some standard details

·         Any special terms like keeping a dog or a landscape management

Period of tenancy agreement:

·         Fixed term agreement – a property is rented for a fixed amount of time (for example, 6, 9 or 12 months)

·         Periodic agreement - when a tenant/resident lives there for an indefinite period

·         For caravan parks – short term lasts for less than 42 days and long term lasts for more than 42 days  

Before signing the tenancy agreement make sure to read the agreement carefully and understand and agree with the terms and condition.