Landlords' terms of business for a letting agent (template)

TEMPLATE. Check it with your solicitor or trade body before you use it. Fill in every [square bracket] and delete what does not apply.

Landlord's terms of business

Key facts

1. The services

1.1 Let only. The agent will: advise on the rent the property is likely to achieve; advertise it at a stated rent; arrange and carry out viewings; take up references on applicants with their consent; carry out the right to rent checks (clause 9); pass the applicants and their references to the landlord, who chooses the tenant; prepare the tenancy agreement with the written statement of terms; and arrange the move-in.

1.2 Let and rent collection. Let only, and also: collect the rent each month, pay it to the landlord within [number] working days of receiving it, less the fees and costs due, with a statement; tell the landlord promptly when rent is late.

1.3 Full management. Let and rent collection, and also: protect the deposit (clause 6); arrange repairs within the repair limit (clause 7); arrange the safety checks the law requires and keep their records (clause 8); inspect the property every [three / six] months and report in writing; deal with the tenant day to day; check the property and the inventory when the tenant leaves and propose any deposit deductions for the landlord to agree.

1.4 Anything outside the service chosen is charged as set out in the fees schedule, and only once the landlord has agreed to it in writing.

1.5 The agent does not give legal advice and does not conduct court proceedings. For possession, a dispute or a claim the landlord should take advice from a solicitor.

2. What the landlord confirms

2.1 The landlord owns the property (alone or with the others named) and may let it: any mortgage lender, freeholder or head landlord has given consent where it is needed, and the landlord will follow their conditions.

2.2 The landlord is not subject to a banning order and is not on the database of rogue landlords and agents. The agent confirms the same of itself. Either side tells the other at once if this changes.

2.3 The landlord will tell the agent if the property needs a licence (an HMO or selective licence) and give the agent a copy. The landlord will register the property and themselves on the Private Rented Sector Database, and join the landlord ombudsman, when the law requires it.

2.4 The property has buildings insurance that allows letting. The landlord's insurer should be told it is let.

2.5 The landlord will answer the agent's questions and instructions promptly, and confirm in writing any instruction about rent, repairs above the limit, notices or legal steps.

3. Fees

3.1 The landlord pays the fees in the fees schedule for the service chosen. Every fee is shown with VAT included.

3.2 A letting fee is due when a tenant introduced by the agent enters into a tenancy of the property. A management or rent collection fee is a percentage of the rent received during each month the service runs.

3.3 The landlord repays costs the agent pays out for the landlord with the landlord's agreement or within the repair limit, at the cost the agent paid, with the invoice.

3.4 The agent receives these commissions or referral fees from others when it arranges their services: [none / who, and how much]. The agent will not receive any other without telling the landlord in writing first.

3.5 The fees change only if both sides agree in writing, or on two months' written notice from the agent; the landlord may then end these terms before the change without any charge for ending.

4. The tenant and the law on letting

4.1 The landlord chooses the tenant. The agent will not choose for the landlord, and passes on every application with what it found.

4.2 No discrimination. Neither the agent nor the landlord will refuse or treat an applicant less well because they have children or receive benefits, or because of any protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. A term that does so has no effect, and refusing on those grounds is unlawful (Renters' Rights Act 2025, Equality Act 2010).

4.3 The advertised rent. The property is advertised at a stated rent. The agent will not invite, encourage or accept an offer of more rent than that.

4.4 Rent in advance. The agent will not ask a tenant for any rent before the tenancy agreement is signed, or for more than one rent period's rent in advance.

4.5 Tenants' fees. The agent will not ask a tenant or applicant for any payment the Tenant Fees Act 2019 does not permit. A holding deposit is no more than one week's rent, is repaid within 7 days unless the law allows it to be kept, and the reasons for keeping one are given in writing.

4.6 Pets. A tenant may ask to keep a pet; the request is answered in writing within 28 days, and consent is not refused unreasonably. No extra fee or rent is charged for a pet, and the tenant is not made to buy insurance for it.

4.7 The tenancy. Every new tenancy is an assured periodic tenancy with no end date set in advance. The rent can only go up once a year, by a section 13 notice on the official form (Form 4A). The tenant may leave on two months' notice. The landlord can only get the property back with a court order on a ground in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, after a notice on Form 3A.

5. Rent and client money

5.1 Where the agent collects rent or holds a deposit, the money is held in a client account at [bank] in the agent's name and kept separate from the agent's own money.

5.2 The agent is a member of the client money protection scheme named in the key facts and has given the landlord a copy of its certificate.

5.3 If the landlord lives outside the UK for more than six months a year, the agent must take basic rate tax from the rent and pay it to HMRC, unless HMRC has approved the landlord to receive rent without tax taken off (the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme).

5.4 Where rent paid by the council or the Department for Work and Pensions is later found to have been overpaid and is claimed back, the landlord repays it if the agent has already paid it over.

6. Deposits

6.1 Under [full management / let only with deposit protection], the agent protects the deposit in [the Deposit Protection Service / mydeposits / the Tenancy Deposit Scheme] within 30 days of receiving it and gives the tenant the prescribed information within the same 30 days.

6.2 Under any other service the landlord protects the deposit and gives the prescribed information within 30 days, and gives the agent proof. A deposit not protected in time can lead to a penalty of up to three times the deposit.

6.3 The deposit is no more than five weeks' rent (six weeks where the yearly rent is £50,000 or more).

6.4 At the end of a tenancy only unpaid rent or damage beyond fair wear and tear can be deducted, with evidence. The landlord agrees every deduction; a dispute goes to the scheme's free dispute service.

7. Repairs and maintenance

7.1 The landlord keeps the property fit for human habitation and in repair as the law requires (sections 9A and 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985).

7.2 Under full management the agent arranges repairs up to the repair limit without asking first, and asks before anything above it. In an emergency that threatens safety or the property, the agent may act above the limit when the landlord cannot be reached, and tells the landlord as soon as it can.

7.3 The agent uses reasonable care in choosing contractors but is not responsible for a contractor's work unless the loss is caused by the agent's own negligence.

8. Safety and energy

8.1 Before a tenancy starts, and throughout it, the landlord makes sure: an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer where there is gas, with a copy to the tenant; an electrical inspection at least every five years, with a copy of the report to the tenant; a smoke alarm on every storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a fixed combustion appliance (other than a gas cooker), working on the first day; a valid Energy Performance Certificate of E or better (or a registered exemption); and furniture supplied meets the fire safety rules.

8.2 The landlord assesses the risk of legionella in the water system.

8.3 Where the landlord does not have a certificate the law requires, the agent may arrange it at the landlord's cost as set out in the fees schedule.

8.4 The landlord repays any penalty or cost the agent suffers because the property did not meet these rules, unless the agent caused it.

9. Right to rent

9.1 The agent carries out the right to rent checks on every adult who will live in the property before the tenancy starts, and the follow-up checks for anyone with a time-limited right while the agent manages the property (Immigration Act 2014). The agent agrees in writing to take on this duty for the landlord.

10. Inspections and the inventory

10.1 An inventory and schedule of condition is made at the start of each tenancy and checked when the tenant leaves, at the landlord's cost as set out in the fees schedule.

10.2 Inspections give at least 24 hours' notice to the tenant. They are visual checks, not a survey.

11. Notices and legal steps

11.1 On the landlord's written instruction the agent will prepare a notice on the official form (a Form 4A rent increase or a Form 3A notice of possession proceedings) for the landlord. The landlord decides whether to give it.

11.2 The agent will tell the landlord within [7] days when rent is late and try to recover it. The agent cannot take court action for the landlord and is not responsible for unpaid rent or for a tenant's damage where it acted properly under these terms.

12. Complaints

12.1 A complaint goes to the agent first, under its complaints procedure (a copy is given with these terms). If it is not settled within eight weeks, or the landlord is unhappy with the final answer, the landlord may refer it to the agent's redress scheme named in the key facts.

13. Personal data

13.1 The agent and the landlord each handle the tenant's and the landlord's personal data under UK data protection law, use it only to let and manage the property, and share it only where needed for that or where the law requires.

14. Ending these terms

14.1 Either side may end these terms by the notice in the key facts, in writing.

14.2 Either side may end them at once if the other commits a serious breach and does not put it right within 14 days of being told in writing, or if the agent is made subject to a banning order.

14.3 On ending, the agent pays over any money it holds for the landlord, less fees and costs due up to that day, passes on the deposit and its records, and tells the tenant who to pay. A letting fee already earned stays due. No fee is charged for ending these terms beyond the fees earned for work already done.

14.4 Ending these terms does not end the tenancy.

15. General

15.1 These terms, with the fees schedule, are the whole agreement between the agent and the landlord. A change counts only in writing.

15.2 If a clause has no effect because of the law, the rest still applies. Nothing in these terms takes away a landlord's rights as a consumer.

15.3 These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales decide any dispute.

Fees schedule (every fee includes VAT at [20]%)

Signatures

The landlord chooses: [ ] Let only [ ] Let and rent collection [ ] Full management

[ ] I ask the agent to start work within the 14-day cancellation period. I understand that if I cancel I must pay for the work done up to then.

Landlord: [name], [signature], [date]

Landlord: [name], [signature], [date]

For the agent: [name and position], [signature], [date]

The property schedule

Notice of the right to cancel (where the landlord is an individual and signed away from the agent's office or at a distance)

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period ends 14 days after the day the contract was entered into.

To cancel, tell us, [agent's name, address, phone and email], of your decision by a clear statement (for example a letter sent by post or an email). You may use the model cancellation form below, but you do not have to.

To meet the deadline, it is enough to send your message before the cancellation period ends.

If you cancel, we will repay any payment received from you without undue delay and not later than 14 days after we are told. If you asked us to start work during the cancellation period, you pay an amount in proportion to what has been done until you told us you were cancelling.

Model cancellation form (complete and return this form only if you wish to cancel the contract)

To [agent's name, address and email]:

I/We hereby give notice that I/we cancel my/our contract for the supply of the following service: [service], ordered on [date].

Name of landlord(s): [names]

Address of landlord(s): [address]

Signature of landlord(s) (only if this form is sent on paper): [signature]

Date: [date]