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Preparing to rent

There's a lot to prepare before your tenants move in. Find out what documents you must give new tenants and how to set up a tenancy. 

In this section

Setting up a tenancy

You’ll need to think about some practicalities before renting out your property.

Finding tenants

You can appoint an estate agent to find tenants and manage a property on your behalf. Or you can choose to manage the tenancy yourself.

Tenancy paperwork

Once you’ve found tenants, you’ll need to get documents ready to confirm the tenancy details. Some of these documents must be given to tenants within 28 days of the tenancy starting.

Tenancy agreement

Landlords and tenants already have certain rights set out in law. A clearly worded tenancy agreement can add to these rights and help to avoid disputes. 

Protected tenancies

Private tenancies that meet certain criteria are called protected tenancies. You can only charge a fixed rent for this type of tenancy.