Put a tenancy breach in writing, in minutes

Something is going on at the property that should not be. You have mentioned it, nothing has changed, and you want it in writing now rather than at the weekend. This letter records what the breach is, which part of the tenancy agreement it sits under, what you are asking the tenant to do, and the date by which you are asking them to do it.

What this letter does

It turns a complaint into a record. The finished document is headed as a notice of breach of tenancy agreement and lays out, for each breach: the type, the clause it relates to, the date it happened, a description in your own words, the remedy you require, and the deadline. Then it says what you may have to do if the deadline passes, and it tells the tenant where to get independent advice.

That combination is the point. A letter that only complains gives you nothing later. A letter that names the clause, describes the facts, asks for a specific fix and gives a real date is a document that speaks for itself months afterwards.

Build yours in minutes

Pick the type of breach from the list: noise or anti-social behaviour, unauthorised alterations, subletting without consent, damage to the property, failure to maintain the garden, unauthorised occupants, illegal activity, or something of your own wording. Pick the clause it sits under: rent payment, property condition and care, damage, anti-social behaviour, subletting, alterations, access for repairs and inspections, permitted occupants, pets, garden and external areas, or your own reference.

Then add the date it happened, describe what actually occurred, say what you need the tenant to do, and set the deadline. If more than one thing is going on, add another breach and the letter numbers them and gives each its own table and its own deadline.

The property address, the tenant names and your contact details fill themselves in from the property record, or you type them if you have not set one up. Previewing is free and unlimited with no account and no card. £9 buys this document type at this property permanently, with free regeneration, and Pro is £9.99 a month or £89 a year.

When to send one

The common ones are all in the list. A pet that arrived without consent. Someone living there who is not on the agreement. Subletting. Noise that neighbours have complained about. Damage that is not wear and tear. A garden that has been left. Alterations nobody asked about. Bills or charges the agreement makes the tenant responsible for that are not being paid.

The test is simple: there is a term in the agreement, and the tenant is not keeping it. If a pet request is what started it, answer that properly first with a pet consent letter rather than treating a request as a breach.

Send it once you have asked informally and nothing has changed, or immediately where the thing is serious enough that an informal word is not appropriate. Keep the description factual. Dates, what happened, who reported it. Leave adjectives out of it.

What goes in the letter

The document has a fixed spine so nothing gets forgotten.

The header block carries who it is from, your email and phone, who it is to, the property and the date. Then a short opening line saying that you are formally notifying the tenant of a breach, or of breaches, of the tenancy agreement for that property.

Each breach gets a small table with the type, the clause reference and the date. Below it, your description of what happened, then the required remedy in bold with the deadline date, then the specific steps you want taken.

After the breaches come the consequences. The letter says that if the breach is not remedied by the deadline you may have no alternative but to take further action, and names the possession ground for the property jurisdiction along with the possibility of seeking compensation for damage or loss.

The last section is the tenant's rights. It tells them they can take independent advice and points them at Citizens Advice and Shelter. Then it signs off with a signature block for you and a date.

England and Scotland

The letter exists for both, and it changes the ground it names based on the property jurisdiction. For an English property it refers to possession under Ground 12 of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988, breach of any obligation of the tenancy. For a Scottish property it refers to an application to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland under Ground 13 of Schedule 3 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, breach of a term of the tenancy agreement. The Shelter link points at the Scottish site for a Scottish property.

If the breach continues, the notice that follows is the Section 8 notice in England and the Notice to Leave in Scotland. If the problem is unpaid rent rather than a term of the agreement, the rent arrears letter is the better starting point. See all 47 templates for the rest.

One letter, two legal frameworks, chosen for you. The letter reads the jurisdiction on the property and writes the right consequence paragraph.

England. The consequences section refers to seeking possession under Ground 12 of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988, breach of any obligation of the tenancy. Ground 12 is discretionary, which in practice means a court decides whether possession is reasonable in the circumstances, and the record of what you asked for and when is exactly the material that question is decided on. The Section 8 notice page covers the grounds and the notice periods.

Scotland. The same paragraph refers instead to applying to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland for an eviction order under Ground 13 of Schedule 3 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, breach of a term of the tenancy agreement. The notice that follows is the Notice to Leave, which is a prescribed form.

The letter is not a notice, and it is not the eviction step. It is correspondence with a deadline in it. That is its value: it is the paper that shows the tenant was told exactly what was wrong, exactly what to do about it, and exactly how long they had.

Keep it factual. The description field is yours to write. Dates, what happened and who reported it carry weight. Characterisation does not.