Deadline: 31 May 2026. All existing tenancies in England require a Written Statement of Tenancy Terms by this date. Penalty for non-compliance: up to £7,000 per tenancy.
Compliance guide
Written Statement of Tenancy Terms: Template GuideWhat Every Valid Document Needs
If you are looking for a Written Statement of Tenancy Terms template, this guide covers every field the document must contain — and the common errors that make a self-drafted or generic template non-compliant under the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Is There an Official Template?
There is no single government-issued template for the Written Statement of Tenancy Terms. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 and its accompanying regulations prescribe the categories of information that must be included, but you can use any written format that contains all required information clearly and legibly.
You have three options:
Draft the document yourself using the required fields listed below
Use a solicitor or letting agent to prepare the document
Use an automated service like RentCompliant (£15, 2 minutes)
The risk with DIY or generic templates is that they often miss required fields or use incorrect terminology — and a defective statement may still attract a civil penalty of up to £7,000.
Required Fields: The Complete List
The Written Statement must contain all eight sections below. Each section has specific fields. Omitting any field creates a risk that the document is non-compliant.
1
Landlord details
Full legal name of the landlord
A postal address in England or Wales (required under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 — rent is not lawfully due without this)
Contact email and phone number
Common template gap: Missing the landlord postal address means rent is not legally due. This is one of the most commonly overlooked fields.
2
Tenant details
Full name of each tenant
Contact email address for each tenant
Common template gap: For joint tenancies, all tenants must be named individually. A statement naming only one tenant on a joint tenancy may be non-compliant.
3
Property information
Full address of the rental property
Tenancy start date
4
Rent terms
Rent amount
Payment frequency (monthly or weekly)
Rent due date (day of month or week)
Common template gap: The rent due date is often omitted from DIY templates. Its absence may make the statement non-compliant.
5
Deposit information
Whether a deposit has been taken
Deposit amount (in pounds)
Name of the tenancy deposit protection scheme
Common template gap: If you hold a deposit and do not name the scheme, the statement is incomplete. This is also relevant to your section 48 compliance.
6
Notice periods
Minimum notice required from the tenant to end the tenancy (at least 2 months under current guidance)
7
Bills and utilities
Whether any bills are included in the rent, and if so which ones
Whether the landlord collects utility payments separately from rent
8
Other terms
Whether the property has a gas supply
Whether the tenancy is a joint tenancy
Any Section 8 grounds the landlord has agreed to waive advance notice for
Common template gap: The gas supply field is required because it determines Gas Safety Certificate obligations. Omitting it is a common oversight on generic templates.
Why Generic Templates Fail
Most generic tenancy agreement templates were written for assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) under the Housing Act 1988. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished ASTs and created the Written Statement as a new, separate compliance document.
Common problems with downloaded or purchased templates:
Missing the landlord's England or Wales postal address (required for section 48 compliance)
No field for the rent due date (day of month)
No field for the name of the tenancy deposit protection scheme
No gas supply field
Designed for fixed-term tenancies, not the periodic assured tenancy now required under the RRA 2025
No provision for joint tenancies with multiple named tenants
A template that was accurate before the Renters' Rights Act came into force is almost certainly missing required fields.
The Delivery Requirement
Creating the document is only half the obligation. You must also be able to demonstrate that the document was provided to the tenant. This means:
Delivery by email to the tenant's confirmed email address (acceptable under the Act)
Delivery in person with a dated record
Delivery by post to the property
If you draft the document yourself, you will also need to create and retain evidence of delivery. A timestamped email from your own account to the tenant's email is acceptable, but it places the burden of record-keeping entirely on you.
The Case for Using a Professional Service
At £15, RentCompliant is not a premium product — it costs less than an hour of a letting agent's time, and significantly less than a solicitor.
What it removes:
The risk of missing a required field
The need to source and maintain a template
The burden of creating your own delivery record
The uncertainty of whether your DIY document is fully compliant
The document is generated automatically from the details you enter, emailed directly to your tenant, and a timestamped delivery record is stored in your compliance dashboard. You receive a confirmation email immediately.
For landlords managing a single property, £15 is the cost of compliance certainty. For portfolio landlords, the per-tenancy price and joint-tenancy support mean the cost scales predictably.
Skip the template. Generate it correctly in 2 minutes.
All 8 sections. Emailed to your tenant. Delivery record included. £15.
Is there an official government template for the Written Statement?
No. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 prescribes the categories of information that must be included, but there is no single official government-issued template. You can draft the document yourself, use a solicitor, or use a service like RentCompliant to generate a compliant document automatically.
Can I use my existing tenancy agreement as the Written Statement?
No. The Written Statement is a separate, specific compliance document — it is not the same as a standard assured tenancy agreement. It must contain the eight categories of prescribed information in a clear written format. An existing AST agreement will not satisfy the requirement on its own.
What happens if my Written Statement is missing a required field?
A Written Statement that is incomplete may be treated as non-compliant. Local housing authorities can still issue a civil penalty of up to £7,000 even if a document was provided, if it does not satisfy the statutory requirements.
Does the Written Statement need to be signed by the tenant?
No. The landlord is required to provide the document — the tenant does not need to sign it. You are required to demonstrate that the document was provided, not that it was acknowledged. However, getting a confirmation record (as RentCompliant provides) is advisable.
How much does RentCompliant cost compared to using a solicitor?
RentCompliant costs £15 per tenancy with no subscription. Solicitors typically charge £50–£200+ per document, often as part of a broader tenancy documentation package. Letting agents may include it in a management service, typically costing 8–15% of monthly rent.
All 8 sections. Generated correctly. Delivered to your tenant.
RentCompliant generates a compliant Written Statement from your tenancy details, emails it to your tenant, and stores a timestamped delivery record. No template required. £15 per tenancy.