Every document below has been drafted by Blackwell Advisory specifically for the post-1 May 2026 framework. Each clause is cited to the relevant section of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 or the Housing Act 1988 as amended. Documents are grouped by where in the tenancy lifecycle they apply.
At the start
Setting up a tenancy
A landlord needs six documents to start a new tenancy correctly under the post-RRA framework. The APTA replaces the AST; the deposit prescribed information must be served within 30 days; the inventory protects against deposit disputes at the end; the guarantor agreement must be executed as a deed; and the gas safety cover letter is part of the criminal compliance regime.
Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement
The agreement that replaced the AST on 1 May 2026. Every new tenancy in England now begins as an Assured Periodic Tenancy with no fixed term, terminable by the tenant on two months' notice and by the landlord only on one of the Section 8 grounds.
- ✓Periodic from day one — no fixed term
- ✓Two-month tenant notice period built in
- ✓Drafted to the post-RRA statutory framework, not retrofitted from an old AST
Why it matters: Continuing to use a pre-RRA AST template after 1 May 2026 produces a document that misstates the statutory position to the tenant. Even where the underlying tenancy converts automatically by operation of law, the written agreement still misleads — and creates evidential problems if any term is later contested.
See the Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement →
Tenancy Application Form
The application form a prospective tenant completes before referencing. Captures the information needed to run a right-to-rent check, a credit reference, and a previous-landlord reference, with the consents and data-protection notices the landlord needs in order to do those checks lawfully.
- ✓Right-to-rent fields aligned to current Home Office guidance
- ✓Built-in UK GDPR consent and lawful-basis notices
- ✓Sections for guarantor details where one is being offered
Why it matters: A landlord who runs reference checks without a lawful basis exposes themselves to a UK GDPR complaint. A landlord who skips referencing entirely is materially exposed if the tenant later falls into arrears or is found not to have a right to rent.
See the Tenancy Application Form →
Guarantor Agreement
A separate deed by which a third party guarantees the tenant's obligations under the tenancy. Used by most professional landlords for student lets, young professional lets, and any tenant who cannot meet the income or credit threshold on their own.
- ✓Executed as a deed (witnessed signature)
- ✓Liability period scoped to the tenancy and any statutory continuation
- ✓Notice provisions for variations, renewals, and rent increases
Why it matters: A guarantor obligation that is not properly executed as a deed, or that is silent on what happens at renewal, is often unenforceable. Most off-the-shelf templates fail on one or both points — meaning the guarantee a landlord thinks they have is not the guarantee a court will recognise.
See the Guarantor Agreement →
Tenancy Deposit Prescribed Information
The statutory disclosure document a landlord must serve on the tenant within 30 days of receiving the deposit. Sets out the protection scheme, the dispute resolution procedure, and the prescribed terms required by the Housing Act 2004 as amended.
- ✓All statutory prescribed terms in one document
- ✓Scheme-agnostic — works for DPS, MyDeposits, and TDS
- ✓Designed to be served alongside the tenancy agreement
Why it matters: Failure to protect a deposit within 30 days, or to serve the prescribed information, can result in a claim for between one and three times the deposit, payable to the tenant. The penalty is not discretionary — the court must award it where the requirements are not met.
See the Tenancy Deposit Prescribed Information →
Inventory and Schedule of Condition
The room-by-room record of the property's contents and condition at the start of the tenancy. The document a deposit adjudicator will look at first if a deduction is disputed at the end.
- ✓Structured by room, with condition fields and photo references
- ✓Tenant sign-off section for acknowledgement at move-in
- ✓Compatible with both furnished and unfurnished lets
Why it matters: Without a contemporaneous inventory, a landlord seeking to deduct from the deposit for damage will almost always lose at adjudication. The burden of proof sits with the landlord, and assertion alone is not evidence.
See the Inventory and Schedule of Condition →
Gas Safety Cover Letter
The covering letter served with the annual Gas Safety Record (CP12) at the start of each tenancy and on each subsequent renewal of the certificate. Records the date of service and the period covered.
- ✓Records date of service and certificate validity period
- ✓Template covers both initial service and annual renewals
- ✓Sits with the tenancy file as evidence of compliance
Why it matters: A gas safety failure is a criminal matter and a regulatory one, not just a civil one. Documented service of the certificate at the right point in the tenancy is part of the landlord's defence.
See the Gas Safety Cover Letter →
During the tenancy
Changing the rent
Post-RRA, rent can only be increased through the statutory Section 13 procedure. Contractual rent review clauses in old AST templates no longer serve the same function. Rent can only be increased once in any twelve-month period.
Section 13 Rent Increase Notice
The statutory notice a landlord serves to increase rent on an Assured Periodic Tenancy under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988. Under the post-RRA framework this is the route to increase rent on a periodic tenancy — contractual rent review clauses in old AST templates no longer serve the same function.
- ✓Prescribed form aligned to current statutory requirements
- ✓Minimum notice period and effective date calculated for you
- ✓Cited to s.13 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the RRA
Why it matters: A rent increase implemented outside the section 13 procedure is not legally effective. The tenant can refuse to pay the increase, and the landlord has no contractual route to enforce it. A tenant can also refer the proposed increase to the First-tier Tribunal.
See the Section 13 Rent Increase Notice →
Ending the tenancy
The revised Section 8 grounds
Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026. Possession in England now runs only through Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The grounds, notice periods, and evidential requirements were all revised. Using a pre-RRA Section 8 template will produce a defective notice.
Section 8 — Ground 1 (Landlord or family moving in)
The notice served where the landlord or a close family member intends to occupy the property as their only or principal home. Carries a four-month notice period and is subject to a twelve-month protected period from the original tenancy start date.
- ✓Sets out the specific family member and the basis of intention
- ✓Notice period and earliest possession date calculated correctly
- ✓Drafted to the post-RRA evidential standard
Why it matters: Ground 1 cannot be relied on within the first twelve months of the original tenancy. Serving a Ground 1 notice during the protected period is not just procedurally defective — it can constitute the offence of knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground.
See the Section 8 Ground 1 Notice →
Section 8 — Ground 1A (Intent to sell)
The notice served where the landlord intends to sell the property with vacant possession. A new ground introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Four-month notice period, twelve-month protected period running from the original tenancy start date — not from the date of conversion or renewal.
- ✓Twelve-month protected period applied correctly to converted tenancies
- ✓Marketing-evidence framing set out in the cover letter
- ✓Drafted to the new statutory wording
Why it matters: Ground 1A carries a discrete offence framework. A landlord who serves Ground 1A and then re-lets the property within twelve months of recovering possession, or who never genuinely marketed it for sale, can face prosecution and a Rent Repayment Order of up to two years' rent.
See the Section 8 Ground 1A Notice →
Section 8 — Ground 8 (Rent arrears)
The mandatory ground for possession on the basis of accrued rent arrears. The arrears threshold and notice period were revised by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — the post-RRA notice period is four weeks, not the two weeks that applied previously.
- ✓Four-week notice period applied correctly
- ✓Arrears calculation aligned to the current threshold
- ✓Tenant payment-record schedule included
Why it matters: Using a pre-RRA template will state the wrong notice period and the wrong arrears threshold. The notice will be defective on its face, and the proceedings will fail at the first hearing — costing the landlord four to six months of further delay before they can serve a corrected notice.
See the Section 8 Ground 8 Notice →
Section 8 — Ground 14 (Anti-social behaviour)
The discretionary ground for possession where the tenant, a person residing in the property, or a visitor has engaged in anti-social behaviour, nuisance, annoyance, or illegal use of the property. The Ground 14 framework was revised by the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
- ✓Post-RRA wording reflecting the revised ground
- ✓Incident schedule with date, description, and evidence-reference fields
- ✓Cover letter setting out the discretionary considerations the court will weigh
Why it matters: Ground 14 is discretionary — the court can refuse possession even where the conduct is proved. The way the conduct is documented in the notice and the supporting schedule materially affects the outcome at the hearing.
See the Section 8 Ground 14 Notice →