Tenancy Agreement (Northern Ireland)

What is a Tenancy Agreement?

A tenancy agreement is a contract that sets out the terms and conditions under which a landlord will rent out their property to a tenant. The tenancy agreement makes it clear what the obligations of the parties are and how the tenancy relationship will be managed.

This tenancy agreement is specifically to be used where the residential property is in Northern Ireland. Different residential tenancy agreements should be used in Scotland and England and Wales.

 

What are the different types of Tenancy Agreement?

The main types of tenancy agreements are commercial tenancy agreement and residential agreement.

A commercial tenancy (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) is one where the parties (i.e. the landlord and tenant) are commercial entities (for example, where the landlord is a company and the tenant is a Limited Liability Partnership that rents the property to use as a warehouse).

A residential tenancy is one where the tenant rents the property in order to live in it for the duration of the tenancy. There are different types of residential tenancy agreements, such as:

• Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST): The tenancy usually lasts for a fixed term but can become a periodic tenancy after the expiration of the original term (i.e. the tenancy becomes renewed month-to-month). Landlords will be interested in ASTs because it is more flexible and gives them easier means to repossess their property.
• Assured Tenancy: It is usually for a longer period of time (which can be indefinite). Tenants will be more interested in Assured Tenancies because it grants them more security over their possession of the property over a longer term.

 

What is the difference between a Tenancy Agreement and a Sublease Agreement?

A tenancy agreement is an agreement between the landlord and the tenant who will be residing at the property.

A sublease agreement (England or Scotland) is an agreement between the original tenant and a subtenant (i.e. a new person who will reside in the property). In essence, the original tenant will be renting out the property to the subtenant. The subtenant will pay rent to the original tenant, who will in turn still maintain their obligation to pay rent to the landlord of the property. An example of situations where someone will choose to sublease their property is where a person will be travelling for a long period of time and doesn't want to keep paying rent over a property they will not be staying at. They may choose to sublease the property so that a subtenant will take up the rental obligations of the property.

 

Is it mandatory to have a Tenancy Agreement?

No, it is not mandatory to have a written tenancy agreement. However, it is highly recommended to have one for clarity, certainty of obligations, and legal protection.

 

What is a deposit in a Tenancy Agreement?

A tenancy deposit is an amount of money that a tenant pays to a landlord or letting agent at the start of the tenancy agreement, which serves as security for the landlord to cover potential breaches of the tenancy agreement. These kinds of potential breaches include: damage to the property, unpaid rent, cleaning costs at the end of the tenancy, or other expenses related to the tenant's breach of the tenancy agreement. If the deposit is not used by the landlord to cover potential breaches, then the deposit must be returned in full to the tenant.

A deposit protection certificate is a document that shows that the landlord has protected the tenant's deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme. The deposit protection certificate will contain the deposit amount, the name of the scheme, and the terms for protection of the deposit.

 

What is not allowed in a Tenancy Agreement?

It is not permitted to include any clause that requires the tenant to waive any of their legal rights. Examples of rights that cannot be waived include the right to reclaim deposit after the tenancy and the right to repairs of the property in the event of damage not caused by the tenant.

It is not permitted to include any clause that is discriminatory (based on race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation or any other legally protected characteristic).

 

Who can enter into a Tenancy Agreement?

The parties to the tenancy agreement will be the landlord and the tenant.

The landlord can be a private individual or a business entity which may be a sole trader, a general partnership, an LLP or a company. The landlord will be the owner of the property.

The tenant will be a private individual who will be using the property as their residence for the duration of the tenancy agreement.

 

What can be the duration of a Tenancy Agreement?

There is no maximum duration for a tenancy agreement in law. The length of the tenancy depends on the fixed term agreed by the parties (e.g. 1 year, 3 years etc) and can even continue on a periodic basis (i.e month-to-month) after the expiration of the term (as is the case in an Assured Shorthold Tenancy).

Where the tenancy is up to 5 years, either the tenant or landlord will have to give at least 4 weeks notice to end the tenancy. For a tenancy that is between more than 5 years but less than 10 years, either the tenant or landlord should give at least 8 weeks notice to end the tenancy. For a tenancy that is more than 10 years, the tenant or landlord should give at least 12 weeks notice to end the tenancy.

 

What has to be done once a Tenancy Agreement is ready?

Both parties should read the tenancy agreement carefully and thoroughly before signing and where any term or condition of the agreement is not understood, the advice of a solicitor should be sought. Where a party is not prepared to agree to any term or condition contained within the agreement they should refrain from signing.

Where both parties have read and understood the agreement in its entirety, they should sign and date the agreement in the presence of a witness who should also sign and date the agreement. Each party should sign and date two copies of the agreement with one copy being kept by them and the other copy being provided to the opposite party.

Where the landlord is a company or partnership, the agreement should be signed by an authorised representative.

Which documents should be attached to the Tenancy Agreement?

The following documents can be attached to a tenancy agreement:

• An inventory and record of condition that shows state of the property and its contents;
• Deposit Protection Certificate (this is a document that proves that a tenant's deposit has been properly secured in a deposit protection scheme);
• Energy Protection Certificate for the property;
• Gas Safety Certificate for the property;
• Rent Book (this is a document provided by a landlord to a tenant, to record rent payments and other payments made by the tenant);
• Electrical Safety Certificate for the property;
• Tenant Handbook (this is a document that a landlord or letting agent gives to a tenant to serve as a guide about the property and other aspects of the tenancy); and
• Contact information booklet/sheet for the landlord, letting agent or the property manager(s).

 

Is it necessary to have witnesses for a Tenancy Agreement?

Yes, it is necessary to have a witness for a tenancy agreement.

A valid witness must be at least 18 years old and someone who is not related to either of the parties.

 

What must a Tenancy Agreement contain?

A tenancy agreement must contain:

• The details of the parties (names and addresses);
• Details of the residential property;
• The duration of the tenancy;
• The rent amount;
• The deposit amount;
• Repair obligations;
• Permitted use of the property;
• Termination of the tenancy; and
• Other rights and obligations of the parties.

 

Which laws are applicable to a Tenancy Agreement?

The Housing (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

The Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

The Rent Book Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

The Tenancy Deposit Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

Retained General Data Protection Regulations

Data Protection Act 2018

 

Help from a lawyer

You can choose to consult a lawyer if you need help.

The lawyer can answer your questions or help you through the process. You will be offered this option when you complete the document.

 

How to modify the template?

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.