Rental agreements

mikerj

We are renting out an unfurnished/empty house and have tenants in place who we know and are very happy with. Can we draw up our own rental agreement or does a solicitor/letting agent have to be involved for it to be legally enforceable? If we can do our own is there a standard template anywhere?
Thank you in advance for any advice.

greatcrested

You can do your own.Indeed, you don't legally need a written agreement at all.

Your Landlord's Asociation, and the government website, will both have model tenancy agreements.

But the fact you need to ask suggests a worrying lack of knowledge for a landlord. Read

* Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords

Topics covered:

Post 2: Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015) plus the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

Post 3: Deposits: Payment, Protection and Return.

Post 4: Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

Post 5: Rent increases: when & how can rent be increased?

Post 6: Repossession: what if a LL's mortgage lender repossesses the property?

Post 7: New landlords (1):advice & information :see links in next post

Post 8: New landlords (2): Essential links for further information

Post 9: Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

saajan_12

Don't need a letting agent, and solicitors are rarely involved (until things go wrong!). You can write your own or search for templates. Remember:
* Address for serving notices must be given in writing (eg your address) 
* must be clear and fair (otherwise may be considered unenforceable)