What if my tenant under an oral tenancy refuses to sign the Written Statement?

Under section 16D of the Housing Act 1988, the duty on the landlord is to give the tenant a written statement of the terms of the tenancy. It does not require the tenant's signature to be valid.

I have a signed AST from 2023. Do I need to buy a Written Statement?

No. If your tenancy started before 1 May 2026 and is already in writing, Schedule 6 paragraph 7(2) of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and Regulation 3 of SI 2026/324 only required you to give the tenant the free official GOV.UK Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026.

Does SignWise's £15 Written Statement include the Bills & Council Tax table required by paragraph 8 of SI 2026/324?

Yes. SignWise generates a structured Bills Annex Table covering all seven categories required by paragraph 8 of the Schedule to SI 2026/324.

Written Statements (s.16D)

Oral Tenancy Written Statement Deadline (31 May 2026): Why the Free GOV.UK Information Sheet Is Not Enough

Have a verbal or incomplete written tenancy in England from before 1 May 2026? Learn why the GOV.UK Information Sheet is not enough under SI 2026/324 and how to remedy a missed 31 May 2026 s.16D deadline.

Last reviewed: 27 October 2026 · About 9 min read · England only

The two transitional tracks under Schedule 6 para 7 & SI 2026/324

When the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (2025 c. 26) commenced on 1 May 2026, every existing private Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) and assured tenancy in England automatically converted into a rolling Assured Periodic Tenancy.

However, Schedule 6, paragraph 7 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/324) split pre-1 May 2026 tenancies into two completely different legal tracks, both sharing a statutory compliance deadline of 31 May 2026:

Pre-1 May 2026 Tenancy Type	Governing Provision	What the Landlord Had to Serve by 31 May 2026	Does the Free GOV.UK Information Sheet Satisfy the Law?
Track A: Wholly or partly written tenancy (you hold a signed written AST or written record of core terms from before 1 May 2026)	`Renters' Rights Act 2025 Sch 6 para 7(2)` & `SI 2026/324 Regulation 3`	The official, unaltered Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 published by MHCLG in March 2026.	YES — do not pay for a standalone Written Statement if you already have a valid pre-1 May 2026 written tenancy agreement; simply serve the official GOV.UK Information Sheet and keep proof of delivery.
Track B: Wholly oral tenancy (verbal arrangement, inherited tenant with no contract, or lost/unsigned paperwork)	`Housing Act 1988 s.16D`, `RRA 2025 Sch 6 para 7(1)` & `SI 2026/324 Regulation 2 & Schedule`	A tailored Written Statement of Terms setting out all 19 mandatory paragraphs of the Schedule to `SI 2026/324`.	NO — serving the generic GOV.UK Information Sheet on a wholly oral tenancy leaves you in breach of `section 16D` and exposed to a civil penalty of up to £7,000 under `section 16I`.

Check Which Track Applies to You: Answer 3 quick questions in our free Renters' Rights Act 2025 Compliance Checker to verify whether your tenancy falls under Track A (Regulation 3) or Track B (Regulation 2).

Why the free GOV.UK Information Sheet does NOT cover verbal or lost agreements

Many long-standing landlords in England let properties to reliable tenants who moved in years ago on a handshake, or acquired a tenanted property where the previous landlord or letting agent lost the signed AST. When the May 2026 headlines announced that landlords had until 31 May 2026 to hand tenants the government's free Information Sheet, thousands of landlords with oral or undocumented tenancies assumed that emailing the GOV.UK leaflet was sufficient.

It is not. Here is why:

The Information Sheet (SI 2026/324 Regulation 3) is a generic explanatory leaflet, not a statement of your tenancy's terms: The GOV.UK Information Sheet explains how existing written terms are modified by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. It does not record the names of your landlord and tenant, your address for serving notices in England or Wales (section 48 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987), the start date of possession, the rent amount and due day, which utilities or council tax are included in or excluded from the rent, the tenancy deposit figure, or the tenant's agreed notice period.
Regulation 2 of SI 2026/324 requires a bespoke Written Statement where there is no written agreement: For any tenancy that was wholly oral before 1 May 2026 (as well as every new tenancy granted on or after 1 May 2026), section 16D of the Housing Act 1988 and Regulation 2 of SI 2026/324 require the landlord to give the tenant a written statement containing the exact property-specific and party-specific information listed in the Schedule to SI 2026/324.
What if the old AST was lost by both parties? If neither you nor the tenant possesses a copy of a written tenancy agreement and you cannot prove that a written agreement was ever executed, local authority enforcement officers will ask you to produce the written terms of the tenancy. Issuing a complete Section 16D Written Statement of Terms (WS) (or agreeing a fresh Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement (TA)) puts all 19 statutory particulars on the record immediately.

The 19 mandatory items required by the Schedule to SI 2026/324

Under Regulation 2 and the Schedule (Part 1, paragraphs 1–18, and Part 2, paragraph 19) to SI 2026/324, a compliant Written Statement of Terms must set out every one of the following items (where applicable to the tenancy):

`SI 2026/324` Schedule Reference	Mandatory Information Required in the Written Statement	How SignWise `WS` (£15) & `TA` (£19) Handle It
Para 1 & Para 2	Full name of each Landlord and each Tenant	Supports sole or up to 4 joint landlords (`WS-Q020`) and sole or up to 6 joint tenants (`WS-Q030`).
Para 3	Address in England or Wales for serving notices (including legal proceedings) on the landlord (`LTA 1987 s.48`), plus any agreed email address	Validates that the postal service address is in England or Wales (`WS-Q022`).
Para 4	Address and description of the Property (including room description and shared common parts for HMO room lets)	Automatically formats whole-property or shared-house room descriptions (`WS-Q010`–`WS-Q012`).
Para 5	Date the tenant is first entitled to possession (the tenancy start date)	Populates exact possession start date (`WS-Q041`).
Para 6	Rent amount, rent period, and when rent is due	Enforces monthly or ≤28-day rent period rule (`Housing Act 1988 s.4A`) and formats due-day wording (`WS-Q042`–`WS-Q044`).
Para 7	Statutory statement on rent increases (`Housing Act 1988 s.13`)	Inserts mandatory statutory statement that any rent increase must be proposed via a section 13 notice.
Para 8	Bills, council tax, utilities, TV licence, communications, and Green Deal charges (whether included in rent, paid separately to supplier, or paid to landlord in addition to rent with amounts/due dates/notification method)	Generates a complete itemised Bills & Council Tax Annex Table across all 7 statutory categories (`WS-Q050`–`WS-Q057`).
Para 9	Tenancy deposit amount (if a deposit is held or taken)	Checks the deposit against the 5-week or 6-week `Tenant Fees Act 2019` cap (`@signwise/calc`) and prints the exact figure (`WS-Q045`).
Para 10	Tenant's notice to quit period	Validates that tenant notice does not exceed the 2-month ceiling (`Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5(1ZA)`).
Para 11	Ending the tenancy by the landlord (court possession order and prescribed notice of proceedings specifying Schedule 2 grounds)	Inserts the mandatory `SI 2026/324 para 11` statutory wording on court possession orders and section 8 notices.
Para 12 & Para 13	Fitness for human habitation (`LTA 1985 s.9A`) and Landlord's repairing obligations (`LTA 1985 s.11`), including adaptations for RTM companies (`para 13(2)(c)`) or `s.12(2)` court orders (`para 13(2)(b)`)	Dynamically selects standard `s.11` wording, Right-to-Manage (`RTM`) company wording, or `s.12(2)` court-order wording (`WS-Q062`).
Para 14 & Para 15	Electrical safety (`SI 2020/312 reg 3`) and Gas safety (`SI 1998/2451 reg 36`, where gas is installed)	Includes mandatory 5-year EICR and annual Gas Safe check statements (`WS-Q060`).
Para 16	Improvements for disabled people (`Equality Act 2010 s.190`)	Inserts the mandatory `s.190` disability adaptation consent statement (`WS-Q061`).
Para 17	Keeping a pet (`Housing Act 1988 s.16A`)	Inserts the statutory `s.16A` right to request a pet and prohibition on unreasonable refusal.
Para 18 & Part 2 Para 19	Prior notice statements for special possession grounds (`Housing Act 1988 s.16D(3)` & `Ground 4A(c)`) where applicable (`Ground 4A` student HMO, `Grounds 2ZB/2ZD` superior long lease, `Ground 5C` employee accommodation)	Includes exact `[STATUTORY QUOTE]` text for `Ground 4A(c)` and `s.16D(3)` prior notice where selected (`WS-Q070`).

What to do now if you missed the 31 May 2026 deadline (£7,000 penalty risk)

Under sections 16D to 16I of the Housing Act 1988 (inserted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025), failing to provide a required Written Statement of Terms—or failing to comply with the transitional duty by 31 May 2026—exposes a landlord to a local housing authority financial penalty of up to £7,000 (and up to £40,000 for persistent or repeat breaches).

If you have a pre-1 May 2026 oral tenancy (or a new post-1 May 2026 tenancy where you have not yet handed over the written statement) and the deadline has already passed, do not ignore the gap:

Serve the complete SI 2026/324 Written Statement of Terms immediately: Under local housing authority civil penalty enforcement policy guidance, whether a landlord voluntarily remedied a documentary omission before a complaint or local authority investigation began is a central mitigating factor in both the decision to take enforcement action and the level of any financial penalty.
Never backdate the service date: State the true date on which you give the Written Statement to the tenant (WS-Q040) while accurately recording the original historical date on which the tenant first became entitled to possession (WS-Q041). Backdating a statutory document is dishonest and can turn an administrative oversight into a far more serious offence.
Obtain a signed acknowledgement of receipt or retain contemporaneous proof of delivery: SignWise's standalone Written Statement (WS) includes a Tenant Acknowledgement of Receipt block plus a Landlord Certificate of Service & Section 16D Compliance Checklist so you can prove the exact date and method of service (by hand, by email, or by post).

Should you issue a standalone Written Statement (£15) or a fresh Tenancy Agreement (£19)?

Use the Standalone Written Statement (WS — £15 one-off) if:
You have a pre-1 May 2026 wholly oral tenancy and your tenant is happy for you to serve the unilateral statutory record of the agreed terms without negotiating or signing a brand-new contract; or
You are using a third-party tenancy agreement that omits one or more of the 19 SI 2026/324 Schedule items and you want to serve a compliant s.16D statement before the tenant signs.
(Remember: under section 16D, a standalone Written Statement is a unilateral statutory notice given by the landlord—its validity does not depend on the tenant agreeing to sign a new contract.)
Use the Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement (TA — £19 one-off, or £39 Landlord Pack) if:
You are setting up a new tenancy in England; or
Both you and your existing tenant want a clean, mutually signed post-1 May 2026 contract that includes Part A (SI 2026/324 Written Statement), Part B (full operational covenants on property care, utilities, keys, and repairs), and Part C (Move-in Statutory Audit & Deposit Schedule).

Fix Your Paperwork in 10 Minutes: Generate a Standalone Section 16D Written Statement (£15) or Create a Full Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement (£19).

Frequently asked questions

What if my tenant under an oral tenancy refuses to sign the Written Statement?: Under section 16D of the Housing Act 1988, the duty on the landlord is to give the tenant a written statement of the terms of the tenancy. It does not require the tenant's signature to be valid.
I have a signed AST from 2023. Do I need to buy a Written Statement?: No. If your tenancy started before 1 May 2026 and is already in writing, Schedule 6 paragraph 7(2) of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and Regulation 3 of SI 2026/324 only required you to give the tenant the free official GOV.UK Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026.
Does SignWise's £15 Written Statement include the Bills & Council Tax table required by paragraph 8 of SI 2026/324?: Yes. SignWise generates a structured Bills Annex Table covering all seven categories required by paragraph 8 of the Schedule to SI 2026/324.

SignWise is a self-serve document preparation service operated by Ditra (established in Spain). SignWise is not a law firm, is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), does not provide legal advice, and does not carry on reserved legal activities under the Legal Services Act 2007 (section 12 and Schedule 2, paragraph 5). You prepare your document from your answers, review it carefully, and sign it yourself. SignWise is not responsible for legal outcomes. Seek independent legal advice if you are unsure whether a document suits your property or circumstances.

This guide is general information for landlords in England. It is not legal advice. Laws and official forms change; check the linked GOV.UK and legislation pages for the latest position.