Under the new legislation, tenants and licensees will become 'contract-holders'. Tenancy agreements will be replaced with 'occupation contracts'.
Contract-holders will legally need to receive a written contract setting out their rights and responsibilities. There will be an increase in the ‘no fault’ notice period from two to six months and improved succession rights, setting out who has a right to continue to live in a dwelling, for example after the current tenant dies.
The legislation provides more flexible arrangements for joint contract-holders, making it easier to add or remove others to an occupation contract.
For landlords, there will be two types of contracts: ‘Secure’ for the social rented sector and ‘Standard’ for the private rented sector.
There is a stronger focus on ensuring homes are fit for human habitation. This includes electrical safety testing and ensuring working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are fitted.
TecLet has added new functionality within their lettings platform that integrates the new agreements and emails will reference all tenants as contract-holders. Notices can be served from within the platform and written statements and new agreement types are available for current tenancies.
The platform already manages gas and electrical safety certificates and smoke and carbon monoxide legislation requirements.
Alan Blockley, CEO at TecLet, said: “The changes brought about by this new legislation are extensive and I am delighted to confirm that agents using our platform are able to seamlessly operate under the new requirements in a compliant and efficient manner.
"The development of suites of new documents also coincides with a new editing tool within our platform that enables all agents to amend tenancy, terms of business and email documentation. Compliance is strictly maintained via the user permissions set and agreed within the platform.”
