Written Statement of Terms: The 18 Items Every Landlord Must Give
What the written statement must contain from 1 May 2026, who must give it and when, the £7,000 penalty, and what tenancies that began earlier needed instead.
The short answer
The written statement of terms is the document a landlord in England must give a tenant before a tenancy is agreed, and the fine for not doing so is up to £7,000. Its contents are fixed by regulations made under section 16D of the Housing Act 1988 — eighteen items, listed below in plain English — and a landlord can either give it separately or build it into the tenancy agreement.
Who has to give it, and when
Any private landlord (or an agent acting for them) creating a new assured tenancy in England on or after 1 May 2026, before the agreement is signed or otherwise made. The duty sits in section 16D of the Housing Act 1988, inserted by section 12 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, and the list of contents is the Schedule to the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/324). Social housing tenancies are excluded. The council can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a breach, and a tenant can complain to the council directly.
The eighteen items
| Item | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Names | The landlord's name (every joint landlord) and the tenant's name (every joint tenant). |
| 3 | Landlord's notice address | An address in England and Wales where the tenant can serve notices on the landlord, including court documents. A PO box abroad does not satisfy this. |
| 4 | The property | The address of the dwelling let. |
| 5 | Start date | The date the tenant is first entitled to possession. |
| 6 | Rent | The amount and when it is due. |
| 7 | Rent increases | A statement that any increase must be by a Section 13 notice under the Housing Act 1988. |
| 8 | Bills paid to the landlord | If council tax, utilities, a green-deal charge, the TV licence or broadband/phone/cable is paid to the landlord: say so, say whether it is inside or on top of the rent, and if on top, each amount (or how the tenant will be told) and when due. |
| 9 | Deposit | The amount of any tenancy deposit to which the protection rules in section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 apply. |
| 10 | Tenant's notice period | The minimum notice the tenant must give to quit — two months under section 5 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 unless the landlord has agreed to less in writing. |
| 11 | How the landlord can end the tenancy | That the landlord normally needs a court order, and must first serve a notice in the prescribed form stating the ground(s), which fix the notice period. |
| 12 | Fitness for habitation | The landlord's duty under section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. |
| 13 | Repairs | The section 11 repairing duties: structure and exterior; water, gas, electricity and sanitation installations; heating and hot water. Not needed where section 11 does not apply. |
| 14 | Electrical safety | The 2020 Regulations: standards met throughout, inspection at least every five years by a qualified person, and a copy of the report to the tenant. |
| 15 | Gas safety | Regulation 36 duties — only where there is a relevant gas fitting at the property. |
| 16 | Disability improvements | Section 190 of the Equality Act 2010: consent to a disabled tenant's improvement cannot be unreasonably withheld. Required where the tenant may make improvements with consent. |
| 17 | Pets | That the tenant may request to keep a pet under section 16A and consent must not be unreasonably refused. |
| 18 | Supported accommodation | Only where the tenancy is granted as supported accommodation: a statement to that effect and why. |
Items 12 to 17 are statements of duties the landlord already has; the point of the statement is that the tenant is told about them in writing at the start. Items 13, 15, 16 and 18 are conditional — a property with no gas needs no gas paragraph — and the tenancy agreement generator switches them on and off from your answers.
Existing tenancies
A tenancy that began before 1 May 2026 with a written agreement did not need a written statement. Instead the landlord had to give every tenant the government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026 — by hand, post or as a PDF attachment. A tenancy that was wholly verbal before 1 May 2026 needed the full written statement by the same date. The information sheet deadline checker works through which applied.
What it is not
The statement is not the whole tenancy agreement and it does not replace the other start-of-tenancy documents — the How to rent guide, EPC, gas safety record, EICR and the deposit prescribed information all remain separate legal requirements. Nor does it need to be on a government form: there is no prescribed form, only prescribed contents, so a landlord's own agreement that covers all eighteen items complies.
Common mistakes
- Giving the statement after signing — it must come first, and the tenant's dated acknowledgement is worth keeping.
- Using an address outside England and Wales for notices, or an agent's email only.
- Listing bills as "included" without saying which, or charging bills on top of rent without stating the amounts or how they will be notified.
- Copying a pre-2026 template that promises a fixed term or mentions Section 21.
- Leaving out the pets and disability-improvement statements because "we don't allow pets" — they are required regardless.
SI 2026/324 (made 18 March 2026, in force 1 May 2026), Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.12 and gov.uk guidance (published 1 May 2026), read 12 September 2026.
Quick answers
Up to £7,000, imposed by the local council as a civil penalty. The tenant can complain to the council, which investigates.
No. It can be given separately or included in the written tenancy agreement, as long as the tenant has it before the tenancy is agreed.
No prescribed form — only prescribed contents. Any document that includes all eighteen items in the Schedule to SI 2026/324 complies.
Not if the tenancy started before 1 May 2026 and there was a written agreement; those tenants had to receive the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026 instead. Wholly verbal pre-May tenancies needed the full statement by that date.
No. The regulations are England-only. Wales has its own written statement rules for occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
Sources
The primary documents this page is built from. Links checked 5 September 2026.
- Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026, Schedule — legislation.gov.uk
- Tenancy agreements: written information for your tenant — GOV.UK / MHCLG
- Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.12 — written statement of terms — legislation.gov.uk
- The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 (official PDF) — GOV.UK / MHCLG