Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement

Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement

under part 1 of the Housing Act 1988

as amended under part 3 of the Housing Act 1996

If you need to pay a deposit, we will deal with it under one of the government-approved schemes.

Date:

This agreement is between us:

the landlord or landlords

and you (individually and together):

the tenant or tenants

(please tick appropriate box)

The rent is: every: calendar month 4 weeks 2 weeks 1 week

The rent must be paid in advance.

If you are not a tenant but you have paid towards the deposit, please read and sign the following declaration.

If there is more than one tenant, each of us agrees to appointing the tenant representative, as set out in paragraph A9. If there is just one tenant, I authorise the tenant to deal with the deposit.

A We let out the property at:

1 to you (individually and together if there is more than one of you) as well as the furniture, fixtures and household belongings that are on the list that you and we signed. The amount of rent is shown on the previous page and both you and we must keep to the terms below.

2 You will have the property and the furniture for

from to 11 am on

If, at the end of this time, you want to continue the tenancy and you have not already received from us two months’ notice to end the tenancy, it will carry on from month to month as a monthly contractual tenancy. You must give one month’s notice to end it. This notice must end on a rent payment day.

3 This agreement is an assured shorthold tenancy (as defined in section 19A of the Housing Act 1988). The arrangements in section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 for the landlord to repossess the property apply to this agreement. This means that you cannot claim any legal rights to stay on once the tenancy has ended and a court order says you must leave. The landlord giving a section-21 notice must give at least two months’ notice, in writing. For more information, you should consult a housing advice centre, solicitor or citizens’ advice bureau who will tell you what this means.

4 We will let the property to you (individually and together) and only you and will be allowed to live there.

5 No children are allowed to live in the property without our permission, in writing (which we will not unreasonably withhold).

6 No animals are allowed in the property without our permission, in writing (which we will not unreasonably withhold). We can withdraw this permission if we have a good reason.

7 You have to pay a deposit of

You will not receive interest on the deposit unless it is paid into the Government’s custodial tenancy deposit scheme. If it is paid into that scheme, you will receive any interest that may be due under the scheme’s terms and conditions.

You will get the deposit back when this agreement ends and you leave the property, as long as you have kept to all the agreements and conditions and you have paid all the rent and bills for the property. If you do not do so, we may take from your deposit any rent, or other money you owe us, reasonable compensation if you have broken any of your agreements, or the reasonable cost of making good any damage which is not caused by fair wear and tear. We will keep the deposit until you have produced satisfactory proof that you have paid for the utility bills (electricity, gas, water and phone) for the property. If you fail to provide proof, we may pay any charges you owe and claim these from you. If we cannot agree any of these amounts, the matter will be decided by the county court unless we can agree on some other way of sorting out the dispute.

8 You cannot use the deposit to pay rent under this agreement.

9 If there is more than one tenant, is chosen to deal with the deposit on your behalf (jointly and individually) and on behalf of anyone who is not a tenant. That person can be replaced as your representative, by another of the tenants, as long as the majority of you tell us in writing.

10 If you owe rent or any other money you must pay under the agreement, you will have to pay interest on this amount from the date that it should have been paid. The interest rate is 3% above the base rate used by the Royal Bank of Scotland. This rate may apply before, as well as after, a court judgment has been made against you, depending on the terms of the court judgment.

11 We may keep keys to the property.

12 We may remove, store or sell or otherwise get rid of any furniture or goods which you refuse to remove or fail to remove from the property at the end of the tenancy. You will be responsible for all reasonable costs which we may have because of this. We are entitled to take the costs and any money you owe us from any money made from selling the furniture or goods.

13 You must pay our administration fee of for entering into this tenancy.

14 If this applies, you are entitled to use the entrance, stairways, halls, landings and so on to the property but we may come into the property if we need to get to other parts of the building in which the property is based.

B You must do the following:

1 Pay rent on the days and in the way we have agreed.

2 Pay our reasonable costs for sending reminder letters. These will be for each reminder.

3 Pay our reasonable costs for any cheque that does not clear or any unpaid direct debit or debit- or credit-card or standing-order payment. These will be each time this happens.

4 Keep the inside of the property in at least as good a condition as it was when the tenancy started (apart from fair wear and tear).

5 Repair any damage that you have done deliberately or that was caused by the neglect or carelessness of you or anyone else living in or visiting the property.

6 Pay for all electricity, gas and phone, water and council tax bills relating to the property that apply during the tenancy.

7 Take reasonable precautions to prevent frost or similar damage to the property.

8 Whenever you leave the property unattended, you must lock all the doors and windows and put the burglar alarm on (if there is one).

9 If you give us notice that you are going to leave the property before this agreement has ended, you must pay our reasonable costs for reletting the property and pay the rent until a new tenant moves in.

10 Allow us or our agents to come into the property at all reasonable hours of the day to inspect the condition of the property, to carry out repairs or to do other work which we must carry out by law.

11 Tell us about any repairs or faults that we are responsible for in the structure or outside of the property, in any installation or, if it applies, in the shared areas.

12 Park vehicles in your garage (if there is one) or on your parking space only and without causing an obstruction.

13 Pay the reasonable costs for replacing locks if you fail to return any key.

14 Pay any reasonable cost for getting replacement keys.

15 Allow possible new tenants and buyers to look at the property (on at least 24 hours’ written notice) during the tenancy.

16 Be jointly and individually responsible for paying all the rent you have to pay under this agreement and keep to all the terms of this agreement.

17 Defrost the fridge when necessary.

18 Be responsible for looking after the garden.

19 Pay our reasonable charges (including our costs) for preparing and checking any inventory or condition schedule at the beginning and end of the tenancy.

20 At the end of the tenancy, leave the property and our fixtures and fittings in as good a condition as at the start of the tenancy (apart from fair wear and tear) and free from rubbish.

C You must not do the following:

1 Alter or add anything to the outside or structure of the property, or the furniture, fixtures and household belongings that are on the list that you and we signed.

2 Anything which may be a nuisance or annoy us or the neighbours.

3 Bring bicycles, motorcycles, and prams into the property without our permission, in writing (which we will not unreasonably withhold).

4 Bring any furniture into the property without our permission, in writing (which we will not unreasonably withhold).

5 Tamper with any fire precautions.

6 Hang pictures or posters on the walls without our permission, in writing (which we will not unreasonably withhold).

7 Use Blu-Tack or any similar type of adhesive on the walls.

8 Sublet the property or any part of it, or give up the property or any part of it to someone else.

9 Transfer the tenancy to someone else without our permission, in writing (which we will not unreasonably withhold).

10 Carry on any profession, trade or business in the property.

11 Display any permanent notice on the property.

12 Use the property as anything other than a private home.

13 Block, or allow guests to block, any of the shared areas, if this applies.

14 Dry washing inside the property, except in a ventilated room suitable for such purposes.

15 Use any paraffin or portable gas heater.

D We agree to do the following:

1 Keep the property insured against fire and other usual comprehensive risks as long as insurance cover is available on reasonable terms.

2 Let you have free access to the steps, entrance hall, stairs and all shared areas, if this applies.

3 Be responsible for servicing and maintaining any gas heating system and making sure that all gas appliances in the property are checked each year by an engineer registered with Gas Safe, in line with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.

4 Be responsible for making sure that any furniture we provide keeps to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations.

5 Give you back any part of the rent that you have paid for any period that the property could not be lived in because of fire or any other damage that we are insured for.

6 Keep the structure and outside of the property in good repair.

7 Keep the gas, water, electricity, space-heating and water-heating installations in good repair and proper working order.

8 Refund any rent you have paid which relates to a rental period which starts after the tenancy ends.

E Notices

If we need to serve any notice on you, including any notice which the law tells us we must give, we will deliver it by hand or send it to you by first-class post to the property address.

If you need to serve any notice on us, you must deliver it by hand or send it by post to the following address.

This address may change.

F Repossession

We may repossess the property if:

• you fail to pay us rent 14 days after it is due, whether you have been asked for it or not;

• you (or any of you) become bankrupt;

• any of the grounds listed in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended under the Housing Act 1996 apply; or

• the arrangements for us to repossess the property in section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 apply.

We need a court order to repossess the property. You should contact a solicitor, citizens’ advice bureau or legal advice centre who will tell you what this means.