Renting without a written tenancy agreement: do you still have rights?

Many tenants never received a written tenancy agreement. Some landlords never issue one. Others do handshake deals, or just start taking rent with no paperwork at all. If that is you, the worry is natural: no paperwork, no protection?

You are protected. In most cases, a missing written agreement takes away none of your rights.

An oral tenancy is still a tenancy

In English and Welsh law, a tenancy can exist without a written document. Do you pay rent for the sole use of a home? Then a tenancy almost certainly exists. Courts weigh what the deal really is, never whether paperwork exists.

A spoken tenancy under 3 years stands fully valid in law. Writing is not required. Most ordinary tenancies sit in this category.

What type of tenancy do you have?

Without a written agreement, the circumstances decide. Renting from a private landlord, you almost certainly hold an assured tenancy, paperwork or not. Before 1 May 2026 this would have been an assured shorthold tenancy. On that date the Renters' Rights Act 2025 converted existing ones to periodic assured tenancies.

You hold the full rights that come with it:

• Protection from eviction without proper notice, a legal ground, and a court process
• The right to repairs under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
• Deposit protection rights
• Protection from revenge eviction for reporting repairs

What your landlord must give you by law

Even without a written agreement, your landlord must provide certain things:

• A gas safety certificate, where the home has gas
• An EPC, the energy certificate
• The government's "How to Rent" guide, for private tenants
• Deposit protection details, where a deposit was taken. It must sit in a government-backed scheme within 30 days. The Prescribed Information must reach you too.

A landlord who skipped these duties weakens their own position. Under the old rules it invalidated Section 21 notices. Today Section 21 is abolished, and document failures still count against a landlord seeking possession.

Your right to repairs without a written agreement

Repair rights under Section 11 never needed a written agreement. The law reads the duty into the tenancy by itself. It covers:

• The structure and exterior of the building
• Heating and hot water systems
• Sanitation and drainage
• Gas and electrical supplies

Report disrepair, and where the landlord ignores you, bring a claim. Written agreement or not.

The real problem with no written agreement

You have rights, but the missing paperwork creates practical problems:

• Proving the terms. Rows about rent, chores and length settle harder without paper. Bank payments, texts and emails become your evidence.
• Proving when things happened. The disrepair clock runs from when the landlord knew. Evidence of when you moved in, and when you first reported, matters.
• Possession proceedings. Since the Renters' Rights Act 2025, possession needs a specific legal ground. A landlord who never provided the required papers starts from a weaker footing.

Gathering evidence when you have no written agreement

Lacking the paperwork other tenants hold, build your own record:

• Keep proof of every rent payment: screenshots or bank records
• Keep all texts, WhatsApp messages and emails with the landlord
• Keep a copy of every message about repairs
• Note who else knows you live there: neighbours, visitors
• Keep letters and papers addressed to you at the home

What if your landlord claims you are not a tenant?

Some landlords claim a person without a written agreement is just a "lodger" or a "guest" with no rights. Often wrong. Do you hold exclusive possession, meaning the landlord cannot walk in at will? Do you pay a regular amount? Does the arrangement look like a tenancy? Then the courts likely treat you as a tenant, whatever the landlord calls you. The principle comes from the House of Lords case Street v Mountford (1985).

Is a landlord throwing you out without a court order, claiming you hold no rights? That may be illegal eviction. It is a criminal offence under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

Renting without a written agreement, in a home with disrepair? Call us on 0800 030 4669. You almost certainly hold rights. Let us help you use them.

No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Act 1988 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (legislation.gov.uk)

Related articles

• Assured tenancy vs assured shorthold tenancy
• What is Section 11?
• Can I be evicted for complaining?
• Landlord harassment and illegal eviction
• What evidence do I need?