Assured periodic tenancy agreement templates: where to get one, free or paid

In England, new private assured lettings now use assured periodic tenancies rather than ASTs. The practical question is not just “PDF or Word”, but whether the template matches the nation and the post-1-May-2026 tenancy regime.

What is an assured periodic tenancy agreement, and can you still use an AST template?

An assured periodic tenancy agreement is the written contract for England’s new rolling private tenancy, and using an old fixed-term AST template for a new let after 1 May 2026 risks a local-authority civil penalty of up to £7,000, with no prosecution option for a first s.16D/16E breach. GOV.UK describes assured periodic tenancies as rolling tenancies, and separately says: “You cannot create an assured shorthold tenancy (AST).” The key correction is that this is not simply a rebranded “new AST”: Housing Act 1988 Chapter 2 on assured shortholds has been omitted, and a landlord must not “purport to let” a new assured tenancy for a fixed term. If a template still includes an end date, GOV.UK says “the end date will not apply,” so the form can mislead both sides even where the tenancy continues. Wales uses occupation contracts, Scotland uses private residential tenancies, and Northern Ireland still recognises fixed-term private tenancies, so “APT tenancy agreement” is an England term.

Where can you get an assured periodic tenancy agreement template?

No government assured periodic tenancy template exists: GOV.UK’s old model AST page says “The page you're looking for is no longer available,” and it has not been replaced by an official APT PDF or Word agreement. In England, the legal duty is not to use a named government form but to give the required written statement, which can be “in the form of an agreement in writing between the landlord and tenant or a record of terms otherwise agreed.” The market therefore splits between paid landlord-body templates and free commercial ones: NRLA’s landlord membership is advertised at £125 per year, while OpenRent says: “You can download the our Assured Periodic Tenancy agreement for free right here.” For search terms like “assured periodic tenancy agreement template Word”, “periodic tenancy agreement template UK PDF” or “tenancy agreement PDF”, the important filter is jurisdiction: an English APT template is not the right document for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Where can you get a free tenancy agreement template?

You can get a free tenancy document from different places depending on the nation: OpenRent offers a free English APT, Welsh Government publishes free model written statements, Scottish Government provides a free private residential tenancy model, and Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities hosts a free model tenancy-agreement template. For Wales, the free official route is the model written statement for periodic standard contracts, which Welsh Government says landlords can use “as the basis for creating a new periodic standard contract,” although use of the model is optional. For Scotland, the official model private residential tenancy can be created through an online form, and Scottish Government says: “You can create a tenancy using an online form at www.mygov.scot/tenancy-agreement-scotland.” For Northern Ireland, the Department for Communities template is a model agreement, while the legal prescribed paperwork includes a tenancy information notice within 28 days. Abodient can store the signed agreement or written statement against the property, so the landlord can later search the actual tenancy document rather than a filename.

Do you need a separate written statement of terms template?

In England you do not need a separate written statement of terms template if the required information is already included in the tenancy agreement; in Wales the written statement replaces the tenancy agreement rather than sitting beside it. GOV.UK says for England: “You can include this information as part of a written tenancy agreement, or you can give it to your tenant separately.” The statute says the same in different language, allowing the terms to be given either as an agreement in writing or as a record of terms otherwise agreed. Wales is structurally different: Welsh Government says the written statement “must include all the terms” of the occupation contract and “replaces a written tenancy agreement.” In Scotland, a separate written-terms document is required only where the private residential tenancy terms are not already set out in writing, and the official model may be used but is not mandatory. In Northern Ireland, the prescribed-form tenancy information notice is separate from the ordinary written tenancy agreement.

Do you use one agreement for several tenants, or one each?

You can use one agreement for several tenants or separate agreements room by room, but the legal effect changes: one joint tenancy or occupation contract makes the tenants jointly responsible, while separate room agreements usually make each occupier responsible for their own room and shared-area rights. In England, the 2026 written-statement regulations expressly contemplate joint tenants by requiring “the name of each person that jointly constitutes the tenant” where two or more people together are the tenant. Wales has the same basic shape for joint contract-holders: the statute says each joint contract-holder is fully liable to the landlord for every obligation owed under the occupation contract. In Scotland, the private residential tenancy model can be used for the parties to the tenancy; the practical distinction remains whether the occupiers are joint tenants or separate tenants. In Northern Ireland, one agreement or several depends on the letting structure. A “multiple tenancy agreement” is therefore not a special form so much as a choice between joint and room-by-room letting.

Do you need a tenancy application form as well?

You do not need a tenancy application form as a prescribed tenancy document in England; it is screening paperwork, not part of the assured periodic tenancy agreement regime. GOV.UK’s prescribed assured-tenancy forms are for formal steps that may affect the tenancy, such as succession, possession, rent and agricultural notices, and GOV.UK explains that prescribed forms are used where a landlord or tenant proposes an action affecting the tenancy agreement. A tenancy application form can still be useful before signing because it records employment, income, references, proposed occupiers and guarantor details, but landlords must not turn that into a tenant fee: the Tenant Fees Act guidance says landlords are responsible for referencing, administration, inventory, renewal and check-out costs. In England, the mandatory pre-tenancy legal check is right to rent, not an application form. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own tenancy paperwork regimes, but no separate rule requires a tenancy application form as a statutory document.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• GOV.UK Renters' Rights Act overview for tenants — “Assured periodic tenancies run on a rolling basis, for example, weekly or monthly.” Source
• GOV.UK assured tenancy agreements guide for landlords — “You cannot create an assured shorthold tenancy (AST).” Source
• Renters' Rights Act 2025 section 2 — “(b)omit Chapter 2 of Part 1 (assured shorthold tenancies).” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16E — “(a)purport to let a dwelling-house on the tenancy for a fixed term (see section 4A),” Source
• GOV.UK assured tenancy agreements guide for landlords — “If you do this, the end date will not apply.” Source
• GOV.UK civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — “The term ‘breach’ is used to refer to non-compliance by landlords where the local authority may impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 and there is not an option to prosecute.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16I — “The amount of a financial penalty imposed under this section is to be determined by the authority imposing it, but must not be more than £7,000.” Source
• Welsh Government standard occupation contracts guidance — “From 1 December 2022, everyone who rents a home in Wales will have an ‘occupation contract’.” Source
• Scottish Government private residential tenancy model agreement — “Your tenancy is open-ended, which means it doesn't have a fixed length or a set date it will end.” Source
• Housing Rights Northern Ireland tenancy agreement guidance — “A fixed term tenancy has a clear start date and end date.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 section 16D — “(a)such terms of the tenancy as are specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State, whether in the form of an agreement in writing between the landlord and tenant or a record of terms otherwise agreed, and” Source
• Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms and Information) (England) Regulations 2026 — “For the purpose of section 16D(2) of the 1988 Act, the terms and information which must be included in a written statement are set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.” Source
• GOV.UK model agreement for a shorthold assured tenancy — “The page you're looking for is no longer available” Source
• NRLA landlord membership — “This option is ideal for individual landlords and costs £125 per year.” Source
• OpenRent assured periodic tenancy agreement — “You can download the our Assured Periodic Tenancy agreement for free right here.” Source
• Welsh Government model written statement for periodic standard contracts — “Landlords can use this document as the basis for creating a new periodic standard contract.” Source
• Welsh Government standard occupation contracts guidance — “Landlords are not required to use model written statements, so the written statement they give a contract-holder might look different to the model written statement that is published on the Welsh Government’s website.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 section 31 — “The landlord may not charge a fee for providing a written statement under subsection (1) or (2).” Source
• Scottish Government private residential tenancy model agreement — “You can create a tenancy using an online form at www.mygov.scot/tenancy-agreement-scotland” Source
• Department for Communities Northern Ireland model tenancy agreement — “This is a template of a tenancy agreement between the private landlord, tenants, agent and guarantor (if applicable).” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 article 4A — “The landlord under the tenancy must, within 28 days after the date on which the tenancy is granted, give to the tenant a notice—” Source
• GOV.UK written information guide for assured tenancies — “You can include this information as part of a written tenancy agreement, or you can give it to your tenant separately.” Source
• Welsh Government standard occupation contracts guidance — “This must include all the terms (the do’s and don’ts) of the occupation contract and it replaces a written tenancy agreement.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 section 10 — “Where the terms of a private residential tenancy are not set out in writing between the parties, the landlord must, before the end of the day specified in subsection (2) or (as the case may be) (3), provide the tenant with a document which sets out all of the terms of the tenancy.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 explanatory notes — “Section 10 does not apply if the agreement between the parties is already in writing, even if it is not in formal writing and even if it is not expressed in a single document (for example, an exchange of emails may constitute written tenancy terms).” Source
• Scottish Government model private residential tenancy agreement — “This is the Scottish Government's Model Private Residential Tenancy Agreement ("Model Tenancy Agreement") which may be used to fulfil this duty.” Source
• Private Tenancies (Forms) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 regulation 2 — “A notice under Article 4A(2) of the Order and paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 1 to the Act shall be in the form set out in Schedule 1.” Source
• nidirect private rent and tenancies — “The landlord should give their tenant a written tenancy agreement at the start of a new tenancy.” Source
• Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms and Information) (England) Regulations 2026 — “The name of the tenant under the tenancy and, where two or more persons jointly constitute the tenant in relation to the tenancy, the name of each person that jointly constitutes the tenant.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 section 48 — “If there are two or more joint contract-holders under an occupation contract, each joint contract-holder is fully liable to the landlord for the performance of every obligation owed to the landlord under the contract.” Source
• OpenRent assured periodic tenancy agreement — “This is the classic setup where all tenants sign a single tenancy agreement and share equal responsibility for the rent.” Source
• OpenRent assured periodic tenancy agreement — “In this setup, each tenant signs their own agreement for their bedroom, while sharing communal areas such as the kitchen and bathroom.” Source
• NRLA Renters' Rights Act FAQs — “This will depend on whether you have a joint and severally liable tenancy, or rent your property on a room-by-room basis.” Source
• GOV.UK assured tenancy forms — “In some cases, it may be necessary for landlords or tenants to complete a form called a ‘prescribed form’ that proposes an action that may affect the other party to the tenancy agreement.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance for landlords and agents — “Landlords are responsible for the costs associated with setting up, renewing or ending a tenancy (i.e. referencing, administration, inventory, renewal and check-out fees).” Source
• NRLA pre-tenancy guidance — “Before you can sign a tenancy in England, you are legally required to check the right to rent status of any potential occupiers aged 18 or over to establish they have a right to rent in the UK.” Source