Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement Template: What Must Be Included

1. The core structure: what an APT actually is

An assured periodic tenancy has no fixed end date. It rolls from period to period, with the period length determined by how rent is paid. Under the Act, rent periods cannot exceed one calendar month, so in practice almost all APTs will be monthly or 28-day tenancies. Any clause in a tenancy agreement that purports to create a fixed term of any length is of no effect.

This has direct drafting consequences. Template language borrowed from AST precedents, such as “the Term shall be six months from the Commencement Date”, needs to be removed entirely. The same applies to “renewal” clauses, “break clauses” tied to a fixed term, and any reference to the tenancy ending automatically on a specified date.

2. The written statement of terms

Section 12 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 requires landlords to provide a written statement of terms to the tenant before the tenancy is entered into. The detailed content of the statement is prescribed by secondary legislation, with a draft statutory instrument having been published in January 2026.

The statement can either be a standalone document or embedded within the tenancy agreement itself. In practice, incorporating the required information into the tenancy agreement is cleaner and avoids the risk of contradictory documents. The statement must cover matters including:

• the names of the landlord and the tenant
• the address of the dwelling
• the rent, the rent period and the date the rent is payable
• the amount of any deposit and the scheme it is protected in
• the tenant’s rights to request a pet
• the grounds on which the landlord may seek possession
• the procedure for rent increases under Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988

3. Mandatory clauses that cannot be excluded

Several provisions apply by operation of law and cannot be displaced by the tenancy agreement, even with the tenant’s agreement. A compliant template either reflects these provisions accurately or omits them entirely (on the basis that the Act applies regardless of what the agreement says).

Tenant’s notice to quit. The tenant has a statutory right to end the tenancy by giving at least two months’ written notice. The agreement can provide for a shorter notice period if both parties agree, but cannot extend it beyond two months or require payment of a penalty for early departure.

Rent in advance. No more than one month’s rent can be required before the tenancy begins, and in-tenancy clauses requiring more than one month’s rent in advance are void. A holding deposit of up to one week’s rent remains permitted under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

Rent review. Contractual rent review clauses (including RPI-linked, CPI-linked, or fixed-uplift mechanisms) have no effect. Rent can only be increased once in any 12-month period, by the landlord serving a Section 13 notice giving at least two months’ notice. A template that contains a conventional rent review clause is misleading at best and, depending on how it is framed, potentially a breach of the consumer protection rules on unfair terms.

Bidding wars. The landlord cannot accept rent offers above the advertised rent. Clauses that purport to reserve the right to accept higher offers are unenforceable.

Pets. The tenant has a statutory right to request permission to keep a pet. The landlord must consider the request and can only refuse on reasonable grounds. Blanket “no pets” clauses are of no legal effect in the face of a pet request under the Act.

4. Deposit protection and prescribed information

The deposit protection regime under the Housing Act 2004 continues in full force. The template should record:

• the amount of the deposit (capped at five weeks’ rent, or six weeks’ rent where annual rent is £50,000 or more)
• the scheme into which the deposit will be protected (DPS, MyDeposits, or TDS)
• the timing of protection (within 30 days of receipt)

5. Possession grounds

Because all possession now proceeds under a reformed Section 8, it is sensible (though not strictly mandatory) for the tenancy agreement to set out the grounds on which the landlord may seek possession and the applicable notice periods. This avoids later argument about whether the tenant was aware of the grounds.

6. Compliance documents that must accompany the agreement

The tenancy agreement itself is only part of the compliance picture. At the start of the tenancy, the landlord must also provide:

• a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• a current Gas Safety Certificate (where applicable)
• an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), valid for five years
• the How to Rent guide, in its current edition
• deposit protection prescribed information

7. What a compliant template looks like in practice

A well-drafted APT template is substantially shorter than a typical AST because large sections of the old precedent are now either redundant or legally ineffective. The core components are:

• parties and property
• rent, rent period and payment method (no rent review clause)
• deposit details and scheme reference
• written statement of terms (integrated or cross-referenced)
• tenant’s covenants (use, repair, behaviour)
• landlord’s covenants (statutory repairing obligations, quiet enjoyment)
• termination provisions reflecting the statutory position
• possession grounds summary
• pet request procedure
• data protection and service of notices

8. Final word

An assured periodic tenancy agreement is a simpler document than the AST it replaces, but the margin for error is narrower. Several of the most familiar clauses from traditional ASTs are now void by operation of law, and the new compliance regime is enforced by local authorities with substantial civil penalty powers. Templates used from 1 May 2026 onwards should be built from the ground up against the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, not patched from AST precedents.