Short-term and holiday let agreement templates: what a valid one has to say

In England, short-term and holiday let agreements are ordinary contracts first: the label on the template matters less than possession, duration, rent and consumer-law clarity. The points below distinguish the UK-wide tenancy/licence status question from the England-and-Wales content and template questions.

Is a short-term or holiday let agreement a tenancy or a licence?

Tenancy-or-licence turns on exclusive possession, term and rent, not on the letting being a holiday — sites claiming a holiday-let occupier is automatically not a tenant are wrong on the law. The House of Lords test in Street v Mountford is still the starting point: “the traditional distinction between a tenancy and a licence of land lay in the grant of land for a term at a rent with exclusive possession.” A genuine holiday purpose can keep the arrangement outside particular statutory tenancy regimes: England and Wales’ assured-tenancy exclusion covers “a tenancy the purpose of which is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy the dwelling-house for a holiday,” Scotland excludes holiday-purpose lets from private residential tenancies, and Northern Ireland has a matching holiday exclusion. Wales is different under Renting Homes: a holiday tenancy or licence is outside the occupation-contract regime unless the landlord gives written notice saying it is to be an occupation contract.

What does a short-term or holiday let agreement have to say?

A short-term or holiday let agreement in England and Wales has no official mandatory clause checklist, but every written term must be transparent. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states: “A trader must ensure that a written term of a consumer contract, or a consumer notice in writing, is transparent,” so a short term let agreement template UK landlords use should set out the commercial deal in plain language rather than burying charges, cancellation rules or guest duties. A practical short term rental agreement UK or short term holiday let agreement normally covers the property, booking dates, price, deposit, payment dates, cancellation, permitted guests, check-in and check-out, pets, smoking, damage, access, complaints and house rules, but that is a drafting list, not a statutory content list. Abodient can store the signed agreement against the relevant property or letting period, which matters because holiday-let paperwork is often needed later to show the dates, price and terms agreed.

Where can you get a free holiday let agreement template?

You can get a free holiday let agreement template online from private template providers, but there is no current government model holiday-let agreement for England and Wales. GOV.UK’s former model agreement page says: “The page you're looking for is no longer available,” and that document was for assured shorthold tenancies rather than holiday bookings. One free downloadable option is Doxuno’s “professionally drafted holiday let agreement for property owners in England and Wales,” but a free download is not the same thing as legal advice on your specific property, booking model or house rules. The contrast is PASC UK’s paid, solicitor-drafted trade-body version: its single-property holiday-let terms were advertised at £90 plus VAT per year from 1 January 2025. For Scotland or Northern Ireland, use a jurisdiction-specific template or advice, because this template research only checked England-and-Wales free-template availability.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Street v Mountford [1985] AC 809, via e-lawresources case report: “My Lords, there is no doubt that the traditional distinction between a tenancy and a licence of land lay in the grant of land for a term at a rent with exclusive possession. Source
• Housing Act 1988, Schedule 1, paragraph 9: “A tenancy the purpose of which is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy the dwelling-house for a holiday. Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, Schedule 1, paragraph 6: “A tenancy cannot be a private residential tenancy if the purpose of it is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy the let property for a holiday. Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, Article 3: “(c)a tenancy the purpose of which is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy a dwelling-house for a holiday. Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, schedules: “The notice condition is met if, before or at the time when the tenancy or licence is made, the landlord gives a notice to the person with whom it is made stating that it is to be an occupation contract. Source
• Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 68: “A trader must ensure that a written term of a consumer contract, or a consumer notice in writing, is transparent. Source
• GOV.UK, letting out a self-catering holiday home in England: “Regulations you need to follow when letting out a self-catering, short-term holiday home in England. Source
• GOV.UK, model agreement for a shorthold assured tenancy: “The page you're looking for is no longer available. Source
• Doxuno, short-term holiday let agreement template: “A professionally drafted holiday let agreement for property owners in England and Wales. Source
• PASC UK newsletter, January 2024: “These are almost complete and will offer Members legally written T's and C's (Terms and Conditions) for holiday lets. Source