Landlord's always ensure you have fully protected yourself and your property before your tenants move in, by using a legally approved tenancy agreement.

This form will set out clear terms for you and your tenants whilst they occupy your property, but it will also ensure you are fully protected if you had to evict your tenant.

There are two ways in which to find tenants, either do the searching, advertising and viewings yourself or by using the services of a letting agent. If you decide to use the lettings / estate agents services they will normally offer you their own standard tenancy documents. If you are happy to do the work yourself you will need to source your own agreement and ensure it is executed correctly.

There are numerous online legal document stores from which you are able to download and print tenancies. You even have some well known high street shops selling agreements online. So how do you know that the forms you download are worth the paper they are printed on?

In the majority of cases you have no real way of telling the tenancy agreement you are about to purchase is good or bad. Most agreements are pre formatted with no means of changing the clauses or even guidance to allow you to tailor your tenancy agreement to your own circumstances. Many are out of date due to clauses being challenged in court and have been found unfair and non-enforceable. For example you could state No pets allowed in your rented accommodation however if a court case arose due to a pet being kept at the property, the court could rule your agreement clause as being unfair.

A good tenancy that will ensure your investment property is fully protected will include the following:

A full set of guidance notes to allow you to alter the agreement to your own circumstances.

Recently updated clauses.

Legally binding and approved by a solicitor / barrister or other professional body.

New tenancy deposit regulation guide lines, clauses or references to.

Sample / example pages offered to check that the clauses are well written and easily understandable by both the landlord and tenant.

Is delivered via downloadable file in a choice of formats which allows easy editing on screen.

The majority of downloadable tenancies come with a price tag of £5 - £25; these are usually for unlimited personal use. Please check the terms of use before purchasing any legal forms online or if you intend to buy an agreement from a high street retailer. You may find little differences between published tenancies apart from the obvious price tag. Online-lettings.co.uk offers very well written £6.99 forms which are used every day by letting and estate agents when managing landlord's properties across the UK.

The advantages of buying documents online:

Easy storage on your computer.

Easy editing of pages that can be reprinted as often as necessary ensuring you don't have to rush off and buy one from your local store at the last minute.

If you are looking to use the services of a professional agent you may find a directory of local online letting agencies on our website, though you may find clauses within their service agreement stating they supply and prepare necessary documents, so please check before buying as usually once bought, returns are not acceptable under the digital goods clause of online retailers.