Written Statement of Terms 2026: Landlord's New Legal Duty
In short: The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 created a new legal duty: landlords must give every assured tenant a written statement of the terms of their tenancy. For new tenancies, you must provide it within 28 days of the tenancy becoming an assured tenancy. For tenancies already running when the regime began on 1 May 2026, the required written information had to be provided by 31 May 2026. The content is set by the Written Statement of Terms etc Regulations 2026 and includes the rent, the property, repair rights, and eviction protections. Miss it and you face a civil penalty, a £4,000 starting point, up to a £7,000 maximum for the breach. You do not need to reissue valid existing agreements; if you already hold a written record, you only had to provide the government information sheet.
One of the quieter but legally significant changes under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is the duty to provide a written statement of terms. It is easy to overlook beside the abolition of Section 21, but it carries a real financial penalty, and it applies to every assured tenancy.
This guide explains exactly what the statement must contain, the government information sheet you must attach, how to deliver it, the penalty for getting it wrong, and how it differs from the old assured shorthold tenancy (AST) agreement. For the wider reforms, see the complete Renters’ Rights Act guide.
What Is the Written Statement of Terms?
The written statement of terms is a written record of the key terms of an assured tenancy. The duty was inserted into the Housing Act 1988 by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, and the detail of what it must contain is set out in the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/324).
The statement can take one of two forms:
- A written tenancy agreement between you and the tenant, or
- A separate record of the terms that have otherwise been agreed
Alongside the terms, you must also give the tenant certain prescribed information, including a government-produced information sheet explaining the tenant’s rights under the new regime.
The point is simple: every tenant should have the essential terms of their tenancy in writing, in a standard form, so they know where they stand. There is no longer any room for purely verbal lettings with nothing on paper.
What the Written Statement Must Include
Under the Written Statement of Terms etc Regulations 2026, the statement must cover the key terms of the tenancy and the prescribed information. In practice that means:
- The names of the landlord and the tenant, and the landlord’s contact address
- The property address
- The date the tenancy started
- The rent, the amount, and when and how it is payable
- How rent increases work under the new Section 13 / Form 4A process
- Who is responsible for utility and other bill payments
- Statements about safety and fitness standards the property must meet
- Electrical safety information
- The tenant’s rights regarding repairs and their protection from eviction
- References to relevant legislation, including the Housing Act 1988 and the Protection from Eviction Act 1977
Because the tenancy is now a periodic assured tenancy with no fixed term, the statement reflects that structure, there is no end date, no break clause, and no rent review clause (those are void). For how the underlying tenancy type changed, see the periodic tenancy guide and the guide on converting an existing AST.
The Government Information Sheet: A Separate Obligation
The written statement of the tenancy terms is not the only document you must provide. You are also legally required to give every tenant the government-produced information sheet specified in the Written Statement of Terms etc Regulations 2026. This is a prescribed document, not something you write yourself.
Where to get it: Download the current version from the GOV.UK assured tenancy forms page. Download a fresh copy each time rather than reusing a saved version, because the government may update the document.
What it contains: The information sheet explains, in plain language for tenants, how the periodic tenancy regime works under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, the tenant’s right to challenge rent increases at the First-tier Tribunal, their rights around repairs and maintenance, eviction protections now that Section 21 has been abolished, and how the new Section 8 possession grounds operate.
Why it matters: A landlord who provides the written terms but forgets the information sheet has not fully discharged the duty. The civil penalty applies to the whole package. Give the sheet every time you start a new tenancy.
For existing tenancies that converted on 1 May 2026: If you already held a written tenancy agreement, you did not need to reissue it, but you did need to provide the information sheet by 31 May 2026. If you missed that, issue it now with a covering note explaining the date, and keep dated proof of delivery.
The Deadline: 28 Days
The timing depends on whether the tenancy is new or pre-existing.
New tenancies. You must give the written statement within 28 days of the tenancy becoming an assured tenancy, in most cases, 28 days from the tenancy coming into existence. Build this into your onboarding process so it is never missed.
Tenancies already running on 1 May 2026. When the new regime began, every existing assured shorthold tenancy converted to a periodic assured tenancy. For those, the GOV.UK overview for landlords confirms the required written information had to be provided by 31 May 2026. If you already held a written record of the agreement, you did not need to change it, you only needed to give the tenant the government information sheet by that date.
If you let property and have not yet provided this information to a tenant whose tenancy converted in May 2026, you are already in breach. Provide it now and keep dated proof that you did.
How to Deliver the Written Statement
The Regulations do not prescribe a single delivery method, which gives landlords flexibility, but also shifts the burden of proof onto you if the tenant later denies receipt.
Email is acceptable provided the tenant has given an email address for correspondence and you keep the sent email with its timestamp. Ask the tenant to reply confirming receipt, a simple “thanks, received” reply dated before move-in is adequate evidence. Attach the written statement and government information sheet as PDF documents in the same email.
Hand delivery with a signed acknowledgement from the tenant is the most secure method. Have a simple one-line receipt form (“I confirm I received the written statement of terms and the RRA information sheet on [date]”) and keep the signed copy.
First-class post is legally effective but creates risk: the tenant can deny receiving it, and you have only a sending record, not a receipt. Use tracked post if you send by mail.
Through the property’s own letterbox is not recommended for initial delivery to a new tenant, there is no independent evidence of who received it or when. Use it only as a backup alongside a documented primary method.
Whatever method you choose, retain your proof indefinitely. If the council investigates a complaint, your delivery record is your primary defence.
The Penalty for Not Providing It
This is not a guideline you can quietly ignore. Failing to comply is a civil breach that local authorities can enforce.
According to the GOV.UK civil penalties guidance:
- Failing to issue a written statement of terms within 28 days of an assured tenancy coming into existence carries a starting point of £4,000.
- Failing to provide an existing tenant with the prescribed information about the changes the Act made also has a starting point of £4,000.
- The maximum civil penalty for a breach under the Renters’ Rights Act is £7,000. (More serious matters classed as offences can reach £40,000.)
A starting point is just that, the actual penalty is set by the local authority within the maximum, taking the circumstances into account. But £4,000 for a piece of paperwork that takes minutes to issue is a poor trade. Issue the statement on time, every time.
How the Penalty Is Enforced
Civil penalties under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 are enforced by local authority housing teams, typically the housing enforcement or private sector housing team at your district, borough, or unitary council. This is a civil process, not a criminal prosecution.
How enforcement typically starts: A complaint from a tenant is the most common trigger. The local authority investigates, reviews any evidence the landlord provides, and issues a penalty notice specifying the proposed amount and the reasons. The notice gives the landlord a period (stated in the notice) to make written representations against the proposed penalty.
The appeal route: If the council issues the final penalty notice and you disagree with it, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The Tribunal can confirm, reduce, vary, or set aside the notice. Appeals must be made within the time limit stated in the penalty notice, do not delay.
Repeat breaches: A second civil penalty offence within five years of a prior penalty can attract a higher financial penalty. Under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 framework, serious or repeat breaches can also result in a banning order that prohibits you from letting or managing residential property in England.
Your protection: Keep dated proof of delivery for every statement you issue. If a tenant or council investigates, the burden falls on you to demonstrate compliance. A signed acknowledgement or a timestamped email chain is far more useful than a verbal claim that you handed something over.
How It Differs From an Old AST Agreement
If you are used to the pre-2026 world, the written statement looks superficially like a tenancy agreement, but the substance differs because the tenancy itself changed.
| Old AST agreement | Written statement of terms (2026) |
|---|---|
| Often included a fixed term | Periodic only, no fixed term |
| Could include a break clause | No break clause, void |
| Could include a rent review clause | Void; rent rises only via Form 4A |
| Referenced Section 21 for ending the tenancy | Section 21 abolished, possession via Section 8 grounds |
| Content largely at the landlord’s discretion | Prescribed information is mandatory |
| No standard deadline to provide | Must be provided within 28 days |
The change is not cosmetic. An old AST template, used unchanged, will misstate the law, it may reference fixed terms, break penalties, rent review clauses, and Section 21, none of which apply. Using such a template risks both an invalid statement and confusion that can surface in an Ombudsman complaint or a possession dispute.
Update your template to a current periodic-tenancy version. The free tenancy agreement template on this site reflects the post-2026 regime and can serve as the written statement, provided you also give the tenant the prescribed government information sheet. If you need a standalone statement, for example where terms were agreed without a full written agreement, download the free written statement of terms template.
Practical Steps for Self-Managing Landlords
- Audit your current tenants. For every tenancy that converted on 1 May 2026, confirm you provided the prescribed information by 31 May 2026. If not, do it now and keep dated proof.
- Update your onboarding checklist. Every new tenancy needs the written statement within 28 days, make it a fixed step before or at move-in. Pair it with your right-to-rent check and tenancy deposit protection to build a single compliance moment at the start of each tenancy.
- Use a current template. Strip out fixed-term, break clause, rent review, and Section 21 references.
- Download a fresh government information sheet from GOV.UK for each tenancy. Staple it to the written statement or attach it to the same email.
- Keep dated proof of delivery, email timestamps or a signed acknowledgement, as your defence against an enforcement claim. Store it alongside the tenancy agreement for as long as the tenancy runs plus six years.
- Set a diary reminder for 28 days from each new tenancy start date so the deadline never silently passes.
A compliant written statement is one of the cheapest pieces of protection you have. It costs minutes; the alternative costs thousands.
For every document this guide references in one editable bundle, including the proof-of-service log that defends you against the penalty, see the RRA Compliance Pack. For how the underlying tenancy changed, read the periodic tenancy guide and the Renters’ Rights Act timeline.
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Compare landlord insuranceFrequently Asked Questions
What is the written statement of terms?
It is a written record of the key terms of an assured tenancy that landlords must give tenants under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It can be the written tenancy agreement itself or a separate record of the terms otherwise agreed, plus certain prescribed information. The detail of what it must contain is set by the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026.
What is the deadline to provide a written statement of terms?
You must provide it within 28 days of the tenancy becoming an assured tenancy. For tenancies that already existed when the new regime began on 1 May 2026, landlords had to provide the required written information by 31 May 2026. For any new tenancy, the 28-day clock runs from when the tenancy comes into existence.
What is the penalty for not providing a written statement of terms?
Failing to issue a written statement of terms within 28 days is a breach with a civil penalty. GOV.UK guidance sets a starting point of £4,000, and the maximum civil penalty for a breach under the Renters' Rights Act is £7,000. The same applies to failing to give an existing tenant the prescribed information about the changes the Act made.
Do I have to reissue my existing tenancy agreements?
No. GOV.UK confirms landlords do not need to change or reissue existing written tenancy agreements. If you already hold a written record of the agreement, you only needed to provide tenants with the government information sheet by 31 May 2026. The written statement duty is about ensuring the tenant has the key terms in writing, not about rewriting valid agreements.
How does the written statement differ from an old AST agreement?
An old assured shorthold tenancy agreement was a contract that often included a fixed term, a break clause, and a rent review clause. The written statement of terms reflects the post-2026 regime: the tenancy is periodic, there is no fixed term, rent reviews run only through the Form 4A process, and the statement must include prescribed information such as repair rights and eviction protections. The substance changed because the underlying tenancy type changed.