What is a Student Tenancy agreement?
A student tenancy agreement is a legal agreement between a landlord and a Full Time Student that permits the student to let an identified residential property, for a specified term, at an agreed rate.
Student tenancy agreements are often assured shorthold tenancy agreements (that have been tailored to reflect the typical use of the property by the student. For example, covenants might be in place in relation to parties and times with reasonable times outlined. Where accommodation is provided by the University, the student might have a licence agreement to occupy a certain room within a hall.
This page discusses the former type of student accommodation agreement and covers the rights and obligations of landlord and tenant in detail to act as a reference for when a disagreement arises.
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Key features of a Student Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement
- Details of the landlord and occupiers/housemates
- Start date and end date for a fixed term (usually the academic year)
- Full rent or monthly rent (and interest of late payments)
- Tenancy deposit and details of the deposit protection scheme
- Property and common areas/communal areas
- Service of notices for the end of the tenancy
- Terms of the tenancy, such as the right to sublet
- Bill payments and the responsibility to notify the council of council tax exemptions
- Joint and several liability
- Existence of a guarantor and their details
Under an assured shorthold tenancy agreements, student tenants will typically have a joint tenancy and will be joint tenants. Where this is the case, each tenant will be jointly and severally liable for one another meaning that Tenant A will be liable for Tenant B if they have any outstanding rent or if they fail to pay for any damage (minus fair wear) to the property. The tenant's obligations are 'joint' and if one tenant defaults their responsibilities fall onto the other tenants and the entire house might be at threat of eviction or court orders. Student tenants, where one tenant fails to pay or leaves the property, might therefore have to find a replacement tenant to cover the payment of rent.
Benefits of using Legislate
- Lawyer-approved agreements that are robust and fair, clearly defining each party’s obligations
- Terms tab gives a break down of key clauses
- Users can add guarantors to the contract at a touch of a button
- Users can access their contracts in 30 seconds, from any device, at any time.
- When managing multiple properties, Legislate’s tenancy statistics allow real time insights into your contracts.
- Legislate’s document upload feature, rent arrears and increase letters and section 8 and 21 notices ensure all the additional documents you need to manage your properties are in one place.
- Legislate’s Activity Tab ensures that you are notified at all stages of the contracting process- where you have multiple tenants in a property it is important to keep on top of it!
How to create a Student Tenancy agreement with Legislate
Creating a Student Tenancy agreement with Legislate is straightforward. The landlord simply needs to specify the contract's terms, such as its duration and the deposit payable, to create their agreement. They can invite the student(s) when they are happy with it.
Once the student has reviewed the preview and accepted the terms they can sign.
For more information on how to create your agreements with Legislate, sign up, read our Student Tenancy Agreement tutorial or book an introductory call with one of our team members.
The opinions on this page are for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice on which you should rely.