Legislate provides tenancy agreements for all common residential tenancies and we're here to help if you have any questions.
An assured shorthold tenancy agreement (also known as an AST) allows a landlord to let a property to a tenant. The term of an assured shorthold tenancy agreement is usually 6 or 12 months and will usually convert to a rolling periodic tenancy at the end of the initial term.
A rolling tenancy is a tenancy which automatically renews periodically on a rolling basis until either the tenant or the landlord serves notice. The renewal period will depend on the payment frequency of the rent. For example, a tenancy where rent is paid monthly will renew on a monthly basis. A tenancy where rent is paid every 6 or 12 months will renew for 6 or 12 months respectively.
A 6 month term for a tenancy agreement gives the option to the tenant to end the tenancy and leave after 6 months. A 6 month tenancy is suited to young professionals who will work in a location for a short period of time, for example in the context of an internship.
A rolling tenancy is common in teancy agreements as it can give confidence and certainty to both the landlord and tenant after the initial term that the property can be occupied and rent will be paid. However, if the landlrd wants to recuperate the property at the end of the initial term, they should make sure that the tenancy agreement does not automatically convert to a rolling periodic tenancy and serve a notice before the end of the fixed term to recuperate it. This is often the case for private landlords who let out properties to student tenants for 12 month fixed terms at a time.
Under a 6 month rolling assured shorthold tenancy, the landlord and tenant will have obligations, liabilities and consents which need to be clearly spelled out in the contract. For example, a landlord is responsible for keeping the property and its installations in repair whereas the tenant will be responsible for repairing damages caused by them. The other key terms of a tenancy agreement are details about the property and common parts, how the tenancy can be terminated within or after the initial term, as well as the rent, payment frequency and payment dates.