Contract signing made simple: online signing solution for UK tenancy agreements

A UK tenancy agreement outlines the specific terms of a residential tenancy. Creating and signing the tenancy agreement is one of the first, and most important, steps in the booking journey. It’s essential that you understand your responsibilities as a property manager, and how to make the process as pain-free as possible for all parties involved. 

To help you, we’re outlining the essential information you need to know about UK tenancy agreements and highlighting the tools you need to make the contract signing process more streamlined, simple, and efficient.

What is a UK tenancy agreement?

A tenancy agreement is a contract between a property manager and tenant(s) which sets out the legal terms and conditions of your tenancy. The tenancy agreement will lay out the rights and responsibilities that each party has to the property and to each other. Technically, tenancy agreements can be either written or oral, but it is highly recommended that you secure a written record of the outlined responsibilities. Typically, a tenancy agreement will be put in place and signed before the property is let. 

Your tenancy agreement should include key information about all parties involved in the contract, the property itself, and any rules, regulations or responsibilities you want to establish before the tenancy begins. As a start, you should include:

• Property address 
• Tenancy start and end date 
• Name and address of landlord
• Name and address of any letting agent or property manager 
• Amount of rent due and the date it should be paid each month
• Method of payment
• Any additional charges
• Deposit information, including when it should be paid, the amount, and what it covers 
• Clause indicating whether the property manager or tenant can end the tenancy early and, if so, how much notice must be given
• If a guarantor needs to be provided
• Who is responsible for minor repairs
• Whether a tenant is allowed to sublet
• Whether a tenant can have lodgers
• Specific property rules regarding smoking, pets etc.

Why do tenancy agreements matter?

Tenancy agreements exist to protect the legal rights of both tenants and property managers. Without a tenancy agreement, property managers and tenants will have no record of the terms of their contract. This opens the door to miscommunications and leaves both parties with reduced legal options if a dispute were to occur. 

What is digital contract signing?

As the name suggests, digital contract signing refers to the process of signing a contract or agreement electronically rather than in person. Using a digital contract signing solution allows you to create, edit, send, and sign contracts electronically.

You can use a digital contract signing solution, like Concurrent, to create and sign branded tenancy agreements and guarantor forms for both student and residential tenancies. 

Benefits of digital contract signing 

Signing contracts digitally is often more efficient and convenient than signing a document in person, as users can sign remotely without needing to be present in person. You can sign a contract electronically from pretty much anywhere, at any time. As digital contract signing eliminates the need for physical signing, scanning, and returning of documents, it is perfect for time-sensitive documents like tenancy agreements.

Digital contract signing solutions also tend to use encryption to ensure that the signature is legitimate. This helps to maintain security and reduce issues of fraud. 

Common UK tenancy agreement models

Fixed-term and periodic tenancy agreements

In the UK, tenancy agreements can be either fixed-term or periodic. A fixed-term tenancy will last for a set period of time (for instance, a year), while a rolling tenancy will renew each month. 

Assured Shorthold Tenancies 

Most UK tenancy agreements In the private rented sector (PRS) are assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) by default. Assured Shorthold Tenancies can be used when:

• The rent is between £250 and £100,000 per year
• The tenants are people rather than an organisation (e.g. a business/company)
• The property will be the tenant’s main home
• The landlord does not live in the property
• The length of the tenancy is between six months and three years

In an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, tenants will have the following basic rights: 

• The right to live in the accommodation without disturbance
• The right to live in a property in good repair
• The right to information about the tenancy
• Protection from unfair eviction

Joint and several liability tenancies

If a group of tenants signs a single tenancy agreement with joint and several liability, this means that they will all be jointly responsible for the terms of the contract. For example, if one tenant doesn’t pay their share of the rent, all the tenants will be held responsible for payment. This is a very common form of tenancy agreement in the student market. 

Managing joint and several liability tenancies 

When property managers are letting HMOs (houses in multiple occupation), it is common to let each room separately, assigning each its own price and rent schedule. It can be extremely time-consuming and challenging to manage the contract when each tenant has different requirements but they have joint and several liability. Additionally, if a tenant then decides to leave the tenancy after signing, this can cause lots of administrative problems. Without the proper solutions at your disposal, it can be very inefficient to cancel the existing contract and write an entirely new one for the new or remaining tenants. 

Concurrent makes it extremely easy to manage joint liable contracts. Our software was originally developed for the HMO market, meaning that we designed our digital contract signing solution to allow you to set up different rent schedules and requirements within one contract. This is practically impossible to do with basic third-party contract-signing software.

If a tenant then chooses to leave the tenancy, Concurrent has a Deed of Assignment feature that allows you to cancel and rewrite the contract in just five clicks. You’ll save time and hassle thanks to our system’s automations. 

Tenancy agreement templates 

If you have never put together a contract for a rental agreement before, it can be challenging to know what to include and how to format it. 

Concurrent allows you to allows you to deliver a visually engaging and on-brand digital signing experience for tenants and guarantors. To speed up the contract signing process, you can use template contracts available in the market within Concurrent, including government templates or those provided by agent or landlord associations. 

The Concurrent software can pull key information about your property directly from your listings to the contract, helping to enhance efficiency and reduce administrative burdens. 

Integrations 

Creating and signing the tenancy agreement is just the first step in the booking journey. Before a prospective tenant can then move into a property, they will need to undergo additional steps such as right to rent checks, referencing, and paying a deposit. 

As we built Concurrent entirely in-house, leveraging our extensive industry expertise, we do not rely on any third-party software for our digital contract signing solution. Therefore, it is easy for us to add integrations and additional features when needed. 

Right to rent and referencing 

We integrate with TrustID to allow you to carry out automated, IDSP-certified right to rent checks from within the platform. We also integrate with Canopy and Homelet for referencing, and mydeposits custodial and insurance for deposit protection. 

Guarantor waiver

Concurrent has a guarantor service from Leap integrated into our offering, allowing you to offer frictionless, affordable guarantor waivers to tenants within the contract signing journey. In exchange, tenants simply pay a higher rental price each month. Tenants will pay the guarantor waiver fee as part of their rent instalments with Concurrent, making the entire process seamless and hassle-free.

Leap’s guarantor product is a B2B offering, which is sold directly to property managers, unlike B2C guarantor products which are sold to tenants. This means property managers can enrol rooms or properties directly into their insurance policy, so tenants don’t have to sign up themselves. This creates a more efficient experience for both property managers and tenants alike.

Utility referrals 

Concurrent partners with two utilities providers: The Student Energy Group and Bunch. Property managers can refer tenants to our partner providers during the booking flow and earn up to £75 + VAT* in referral commission for each of your tenants that signs up. When going through the booking process, tenants will receive a real-time utilities quote. They are then able to select energy, water, and broadband packages offered and continue signing. 

As the bills packages are integrated into the booking flow and referrals are automated, agents can see impressive conversion rates without additional effort.  

With Concurrent’s integrations, you can complete the booking journey entirely in-platform.

Streamline your contract signing experience with Concurrent

Want to find out more about how Concurrent could elevate your booking journey and optimise the contract signing process for both you and your clients? Book a Concurrent demo today.