Advice on existing AST agreements if Statutory period tenancies
Tenancy Types and Management

Richard Crowe
Richard Crowe
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7 Posts
3 years ago
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Following a enquiry I have become aware of the quite important differences between a statutory periodic tenancy and a contractual periodic tenancy.
I used the RLA Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement c 2016 for one tenancy and the c 2015 version for another earlier one. Both state in section 2a that they will continue after the initial 6 months as a statutory periodic tenancy. The current NRLA AST clearly however states that it is a contractual periodic tenancy following a court case involving responsibility for council tax.

This difference however extends beyond just council tax. According to your published guide the essential difference is that a statutory periodic tenancies (SPT's) differ from contractual periodic tenancies (CPT's )in that the SPT is regarded as a new agreement following the original AST so renewing month to month while the CPT is a continuation of the original AST agreement.
I had always assumed that my existing AST's after the initial 6 month period were essentially continuations and so like CPTs. Turns out though that the wording on them specifically states they are SPT's. So I have two existing tenancies on the SPT basis.
This as your guide indicates raises issues with not just council tax but also with the new Electrical safety regulation of 2020. It would appear that under SPT basis I need the new certificate for both as of now not by July next year as I had assumed! Plue constant updates of How to Rent etc. In fact a whole series of issues arise.

So as the new AST template you issue is on the CPT basis can I or should I be trying to redo the currently existing ASTs in this revised CPT form? Is this even possible without further difficulties?
I am making this public as I am quite certain many landlords with tenancies existing prior to 2016 or whenever the new NRLA AST was introduced will be in the same boat.

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