Any form of verbal or oral agreement made between tenant and a landlord, in accordance with all the terms mentioned in Tenancy Agreement, is referred to as oral tenancy agreement.

The main aspects of this type of agreement is first discussed in great details and understood by all the involved parties, primarily tenant and a landlord. It doesn’t matter if the tenancy agreement is discussed orally or they are mentioned in written; following conditions are included in this type of contract.

• Property Details: This part contains all the details about the address of the property that is being rented out.

• Term: This part is used to specify starting and ending date of tenancy period; also known as  “fixed term”
• Rent: This is referred to as the amount of rent to be paid by the tenant to the landlord. This may also contain the method and the exact date of payment of rent.
• Deposit: This part contains the total amount of the deposit, and what are the things that this deposit will actually cover.
• Deposit Scheme: This consists of Tenancy Deposit Scheme in which the deposit is usually secured.
• Landlord’s Obligations: This usually contains the responsibilities and duties of the Land owners.
• Tenant’s Obligations: This usually contains the responsibilities and duties of the Tenant towards his landlord and property.
• Other Special Provisions: This part usually contains other special provisions that are agreed upon between tenant and landlord, for instance pets, sub-letting, and smoking, etc.

Oral/Verbal Tenancy Agreements are absolutely legal. However, they are not usually recommended because there is no way of knowing and proving anything at the time of the dispute. For instance; if a dispute arises between the tenant and the landlord about the amount of money in rent, it can become quite difficult for making a ruling about who is right or wrong without any written document.

There can also be legitimate issues where the landlord or tenants genuinely don’t remember about the agreed terms and conditions. The types of problems that usually occur with verbal or oral agreements are not always serious; but they can still cause major complications. Therefore, it is always recommended having a written tenancy agreement in order to avoid all these problems.

As in case with assured shorthold tenancy, proper statutory rights are given to both tenants and landlords; it doesn’t matter if the agreement is written or oral. All these rights are mentioned in the Housing Act 1988, Housing Act 1996, and Housing Act 2004.