Before you sign a tenancy agreement: a checklist
Read the whole agreement, including the extra terms at the end. Check the basics are right, ask about anything unusual before you sign, and keep a signed copy.
A tenancy agreement is a contract, and you’re often asked to sign it quickly. Ten minutes with this list is worth it.
1. The basics are right
Tenancy Services lists what every agreement must include. Check that these are there and correct:
- everyone’s full name and contact details, landlord and tenants;
- the address of the place you’re renting;
- the date the tenancy starts and, for a fixed term, the date it ends;
- the rent: how much, how often, and how you pay it;
- the bond amount;
- a list of what the landlord provides, like appliances, curtains or furniture (the “chattels”).
2. The statements from the landlord
New agreements must come with signed statements about the property’s insurance, its insulation, and whether it meets the healthy homes standards. Read the insurance one closely: it says what you could have to pay if you accidentally damage the place.
3. Fixed term or periodic?
A fixed-term tenancy runs to an end date. A periodic one carries on until someone gives notice. Know which you’re signing, because it changes how and when you can leave. If it’s fixed term, ask what happens if you need to leave early.
4. Every additional term
Most of what’s unusual in an agreement is in the additional terms: the conditions the landlord adds to the standard form. Read each one and ask yourself whether you could live with it for the whole tenancy.
Tenancy Services says landlords can add conditions that are reasonable and consistent with the Residential Tenancies Act, and that tenants can’t sign away their rights under the Act.
5. Who else is signing
If you and your flatmates all sign one agreement, Tenancy Services explains that if one tenant causes damage or falls behind on rent, the others can be held responsible. Sign with people you trust. If a parent or someone else is signing as a guarantor, make sure they read the whole agreement too.
6. Ask, and get answers in writing
If anything is unclear or unusual, ask before you sign. Email is best, so you both have a record. If the landlord agrees to change or remove something, make sure the change is on the agreement itself, initialled by both of you, not just said out loud.
7. Keep a signed copy
The landlord must give you a signed copy before the tenancy starts. Keep it, with any emails about changes, for as long as you live there and a while after.
Not sure about something in yours? Paste or photograph your agreement and Flatwise points out the clauses worth asking about, with a question for each.
Check your agreementWhere to get help
Tenancy Services explains the rules, or call 0800 TENANCY (0800 83 62 62). Community Law centres, Citizens Advice Bureaux and students’ associations give free advice too.