Assured shorthold tenancy agreements were abolished — here is what to use instead
If you are looking for an AST template for a property in England, the honest answer is that you should not use one. Assured shorthold tenancies ceased to exist on 1 May 2026, when section 2 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 removed them from the Housing Act 1988. What the law requires now is a written statement of terms — and not giving one carries a penalty of up to £7,000. The builder below produces it.
Which duty applies to you?
There is no assured shorthold tenancy agreement to sign any more. What you owe the tenant depends on when the tenancy started and whether it was ever written down.
You must give a written statement of terms — before the tenancy is entered into.
This is the duty in section 16D of the Housing Act 1988. In a few specific cases (a succession tenancy, a change of landlord on a demoted tenancy, or a tenancy that becomes assured later) the deadline is instead 28 days from that event. The required content is prescribed — build it below.
Not complying is a civil penalty of up to £7,000 (section 16I).
Build the written statement
The statutory explanations — security of tenure, repairs, gas, electrical, pets — are pre-written from the regulations, because those are the parts you cannot draft yourself. Fill in the facts and copy the result.
Must be in England or Wales.
Editable on purpose — check it against your tenancy and the current rules rather than trusting a default.
WRITTEN STATEMENT OF TERMS
Assured tenancy — given under section 16D of the Housing Act 1988
Required content prescribed by the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector)
(Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026
(SI 2026/324), Schedule, Part 1.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1. Landlord
[landlord name(s)]
2. Tenant
[tenant name(s)]
3. Address for service of notices on the landlord
[to complete]
(Notices, including notices in proceedings, may be served on the landlord at this address.)
4. The property
[to complete]
5. Date the tenant is first entitled to possession
[date]
6. Rent
£[amount] per month, due the 1st of each month.
7. Rent increases
If the landlord makes a new proposal to increase the rent under the tenancy, the
landlord must serve a notice on the tenant in accordance with section 13 of the
Housing Act 1988 (increases of rent under assured tenancies other than relevant
low-cost tenancies).
8. Tenancy deposit
£[amount].
The deposit is protected in accordance with the requirements of section 213 of the
Housing Act 2004.
9. Notice to quit — minimum period from the tenant
two months.
10. Security of tenure
In accordance with the Housing Act 1988:
(a) in most circumstances the landlord can only bring an end to the tenancy by
obtaining an order of the court for possession of the property and the execution
of the order; and
(b) if the landlord seeks to obtain such an order, the landlord (or, in the case of
joint landlords, at least one of them) must usually serve on the tenant a notice
of proceedings for possession which, amongst other requirements, is in the
prescribed form and specifies the ground or grounds of possession; and the ground
or grounds of possession will determine the minimum period of notice, if any,
that the landlord must give before proceedings are begun.
11. Fitness for human habitation
The landlord is under an obligation to ensure the property is fit for human
habitation, to the extent required by section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
12. Repairing obligations
To the extent required by section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the
landlord is under an obligation:
(a) to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the property;
(b) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the property for
the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation; and
(c) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the property for
space heating and heating water.
13. Electrical safety
In accordance with regulation 3 of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private
Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, the landlord is
under an obligation:
(a) to ensure that relevant electrical safety standards are met during any period
when the property is occupied under the tenancy;
(b) to ensure relevant electrical installations in the property are inspected and
tested by a qualified person at least every five years or, if required by the
most recent report, earlier; and
(c) to obtain a report from the person conducting that inspection and test, giving
the results and the date by which the next inspection and test is required, and
to supply a copy of that report to the tenant.
14. Gas safety
In accordance with regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use)
Regulations 1998, the landlord is under an obligation:
(a) to ensure that there is maintained in a safe condition any relevant gas fitting
and any relevant flue which serves a relevant gas fitting;
(b) to ensure that each appliance and flue to which that duty extends is checked for
safety by, or by an employee of, a member of a class of persons approved at the
time of the check by the Health and Safety Executive, at intervals determined in
accordance with those Regulations; and
(c) to ensure that a record in respect of any appliance or flue so checked is made
and, subject to exceptions, that a copy of that record is given to the tenant.
15. Improvements for a disabled occupier
Section 190 of the Equality Act 2010 has the effect that a landlord may not
unreasonably withhold consent to a tenant’s application to make an improvement to
premises where a disabled person occupies or intends to occupy the premises as their
only or main home, and the improvement is likely to facilitate that person’s
enjoyment of the premises having regard to their disability. The rights and
obligations conferred by section 190 do not apply in so far as provision of a like
nature is made by the tenancy.
16. Keeping a pet
In accordance with section 16A of the Housing Act 1988:
(a) the tenant may keep a pet at the property if the tenant asks to do so in
accordance with section 16A and the landlord consents; and
(b) such consent is not to be unreasonably refused by the landlord.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Given by the landlord on: [date]
Signed: ...................................... (landlord / agent)
Nothing you type here leaves your browser. This produces the prescribed information — it is not a full tenancy agreement, and it is not legal advice. Where a paragraph depends on your circumstances the regulations put that judgement on you, which is why those are checkboxes above.
Why every AST template you can find is wrong now
The tenancy type itself is gone. Assured shorthold tenancies were created by Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988. Section 2 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 omitted that entire chapter. This is not a change of paperwork — the category no longer exists, so a new tenancy simply cannot be an AST however the document is headed.
The fixed term at the top of the template is void. The new section 4A of the Housing Act 1988 requires every assured tenancy to be periodic, with a rent period of a month or less, and a term purporting to create a fixed term has no effect. The familiar “six month term” or “twelve month term” opening clause is therefore not just stale, it is unenforceable — and clauses that depend on it go with it.
Section 21 is not available to end it. The no-fault route was abolished on the same date, so the break clause and end-of-term logic in an old template describes a mechanism that no longer exists. Possession now runs through the grounds in Schedule 2.
And the document you actually owe is a different one. The requirement is no longer “sign an agreement” but “give a written statement of terms” under section 16D, containing eighteen prescribed matters. You can still have a tenancy agreement as well, and most landlords will want one — but the statement is the part with the penalty attached.
What the statement must contain
Set out in the Schedule to the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026, which came into force on 1 May 2026. Some are simple facts about your let; most are statutory explanations you have to reproduce for the tenant.
- Names of every landlord and every tenant, and an address in England or Wales for serving notices on the landlord
- The property, the date the tenant is first entitled to possession, the rent and when it is due
- An explanation that a rent increase requires a section 13 notice
- Any relevant bill payments — council tax, utilities, TV licence, communication services — and whether they sit inside or on top of the rent
- The deposit amount, where the Housing Act 2004 deposit rules apply
- The minimum notice to quit the tenant must give
- An explanation of security of tenure — that possession generally needs a court order and a prescribed-form notice specifying the ground
- Fitness for human habitation, and the section 11 repairing obligations
- Electrical safety and gas safety duties, where they apply
- The disabled-occupier improvements right under section 190 of the Equality Act 2010
- The right to request to keep a pet under section 16A, and that consent is not to be unreasonably refused
- Whether the tenancy is supported accommodation, and why
Official sources: the Regulations (SI 2026/324) · GOV.UK: written information you need to give your tenant · Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.2 (abolition of ASTs).
England only
This page is about England. Wales moved to occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 in December 2022 — assured shortholds ended there years ago and the replacement is different. Scotland uses private residential tenancies, and Northern Ireland has its own system. Do not use the statement below outside England.
Questions
Can I still use an assured shorthold tenancy agreement?
No — not for a tenancy in England created on or after 1 May 2026. Section 2 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 omitted Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988, which is the chapter that created assured shorthold tenancies. They no longer exist as a category, so there is no such thing as a new AST to sign. Any “AST template” you download is a document for a tenancy type that has been abolished.
What happened to my existing AST?
It converted automatically. On 1 May 2026 existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies under the new section 4A of the Housing Act 1988 — you did not need to do anything to make that happen, and the tenancy continued without a break. What you did need to do was give your tenant the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026.
So what do I give a new tenant instead?
A written statement of terms, under section 16D of the Housing Act 1988. It has to be given before the tenancy is entered into (with a 28-day deadline instead in a few specific cases, such as a succession tenancy or a tenancy that becomes assured later). Its content is prescribed by the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026 — eighteen matters, most of which are fixed statutory explanations you have to reproduce.
What is the penalty for not giving the written statement?
A civil penalty imposed by the local authority of up to £7,000. Section 16I of the Housing Act 1988 puts it plainly: the amount is for the authority to determine but “must not be more than £7,000”. This is not a court fine you have to be prosecuted for — it is an administrative penalty.
Can I still have a fixed term — a 6 or 12 month tenancy?
No. The new section 4A of the Housing Act 1988 requires assured tenancies to be periodic, and a term purporting to create a fixed term is of no effect. Rent periods must be a month or less. This is why an old AST template is not merely out of date but actively wrong: the fixed term at the top of it is void, and so is anything that hangs off it.
Do I need to rewrite the tenancy agreement for tenants I already have?
No. The government’s guidance is that where you already have a written record of the agreement, you do not need to change the tenancy agreement. The obligation was to give those tenants the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026. If the tenancy was entirely verbal, you had to give written information about the key terms by the same date.
Can I take rent in advance to secure the tenancy?
Not before the agreement is made. The government’s landlord guidance states that you cannot ask for, encourage or accept a payment of rent before you and your tenant have signed the tenancy agreement. This closes off the large up-front payment that was often used in place of a guarantor, so it is worth checking your pre-tenancy process rather than assuming it still works.
Does this apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 applies to England, and the written statement regulations are England-only in effect. Wales replaced tenancies with occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 back in December 2022, Scotland uses private residential tenancies, and Northern Ireland is different again. Assured shorthold tenancies were always an England-and-Wales concept and this change is about England.
One place for the documents you now have to keep
The reform added paperwork with penalties attached — the written statement, the information sheet, gas and electrical certificates, and a section 13 notice every time the rent moves. LandlordHub stores them per property with the tenancy dates alongside, so you can show what you gave and when.
Try it freeIncreasing the rent on one of these tenancies? See the section 13 rent increase checker · more in the UK toolbox · all countries on the tools hub.