Landlord AST agreements - where to get one

gordano_2

With the recession hitting everyone i thought it would be good to share resources found .... one here for landlords, a FREE AST tenancy agreement. http://www.credit-check-services.co.uk/resources-property.asp

I used to buy them from WH Smiths for about £9. Some online sites charge as much as £29 for a template agreement .... its great to see someone offering these for FREE

Now all I need to find is a tenant :-)

caljoemor

www.makeurmove.co.uk also do free agreements for download. We used them as an agent but I know they have this feature.

tbs624

caljoemor wrote: »

www.makeurmove.co.uk also do free agreements for download. We used them as an agent but I know they have this feature.

That's definitely not a tenancy agreement on which I would rely There are several clauses in there which will be unenforceable: some are downright wrong and some would clearly be open to challenge as unfair contract terms.

Any LL who wants to protect their investment , and the legal rights of both parties, should get a decent AST from the start.

tbs624

The one linked to by the OP isn't much better: it includes clauses such as

"To use the Premises for residential use only and not for any political or religious gatherings"

How big is a gathering, and who decides whether it is political or religious, or even a mixture of the two?

2.5 Not to do or suffer to be done anything which may be or become a nuisance, annoyance or inconvenience to the Landlord or the occupier of any neighbouring or adjoining Premises or which may vitiate any insurance of the Premises or increase the premium payable for such insurance.

It's time LLs and their advisers stopped using terms such as "vitiate", and, in any event, unless the LL provided the policy details to the T this one would not stand up.

To yield up the Premises and all fixtures, fittings, furniture, effects and windows herein at the end of the tenancy in a clean and tidy condition, cleaned by professional cleaners and to make good or pay for the repair or replacement of any fixtures, fittings, furniture, effects and windows which may have been broken lost damaged or destroyed during the tenancy and to leave all items at the end of the Tenancy in the positions in which they were at the beginning of the tenancy. ..........


The Tenant will have to pay for and provide proof of a professional clean at the end of the tenancy, if this is not arranged by the tenants then the Landlord maintains the right to deduct the cost of the clean from the Security Deposit.

The LL can only ask for the property to be cleaned to "a professional standard" and Ts only have to pay for damage to glass if they or their own visitors were responsible for the damage.

The Tenant is obliged to arrange Contents insurance for any of their own possessions which are introduced to the Property, this policy should also include Accidental Damage to the Landlords possessions.

The LL cannot insist that the T takes out their own insurance - they may only recommend that s/he does so.

Let's have more free templates for ASTs.

anotherpaul_2

Interesting (in general).

tbs624 wrote: »

The LL can only ask for the property to be cleaned to "a professional standard"

Can they even require that? Surely the requirement is that the property should be no worse (barring normal wear and tear) then it was when the tenancy started and the condition would be recorded in the inventory (or the landlord didn't bother with one of those and doesn't expect to be able to defend their claim on the deposit).

So far, I've not rented a place (out of three) that started off professionally cleaned.

tbs624

anotherpaul wrote: »

......Can they even require that? Surely the requirement is that the property should be no worse (barring normal wear and tear) then it was when the tenancy started and the condition would be recorded in the inventory (or the landlord didn't bother with one of those and doesn't expect to be able to defend their claim on the deposit).

Yes, you're right: I should have made that clearer. I was being generous and assuming that the LL had provided the property to the T as "cleaned to a professional standard", given that they were trying to impose such precise wording

Obviously, only a court can determine any clause to be an unfair term but a LL who starts off in the letting business with a contract which appears to have been drawn up without taking adequate heed of the OFT guidelines runs the risk of leaving things open to interpretation/challenge, which can be both time-consuming and costly.