Signed before move in

You must never allow a Tenant to move in [or issue them keys], without them having signed the Tenancy agreement.

Where there is no written agreement, disputes over non payment of Utility and Council Tax bills by the Tenant, or even how long they are permitted to stay in the property, cannot be easily resolved as verbal agreements cannot be proven in a Court of law and considered as 'hearsay'.

Not having a signed Tenancy Agreement seriously undermines your chances of regaining possession of your property. Reclaiming possession of your property could become a 'nightmare' , as you may not be eligible to use the accelerated possession process, this is because you are unable to enclose the Tenancy Agreement with your application to the courts.

This means you may be forced to you use the section 8 recovery process to recover possession of your property; this is a more cumbersome process where the Landlord must prove that the Tenant is in sufficient breach that a Judge is prepared to grant you possession. It is not a mandatory process like the accelerated possession process

Where the Tenant requests a copy of their tenancy agreement -You must comply with such request within 28 days

In March 1997 it was granted that all Tenants have the lawful the right to request their Landlord to provide them with a proper statement of the terms and conditions of their tenancy. The information that must be provided, contained in our tenancy agreement, is as follows.