We sell tenancy templates, so you might expect this guide to conclude that free ones are dangerous. They are not, some of the best tenancy documents in the UK are free, published by governments. The real question is which free options are actually current, and whether your situation is one where a paid template earns its price. Here is the honest breakdown, nation by nation.
The free options that are genuinely good
- Scottish Government model PRT. A complete, maintained model tenancy agreement with statutory notes. If you let in Scotland and are comfortable self-serving, this is the benchmark, and it is free.
- Welsh Government model written statements. Free model occupation contract statements for Wales, including the fundamental terms. Authoritative by definition, though the guidance assumes some familiarity with the 2016 Act.
- GOV.UK prescribed forms for England. The statutory forms themselves, Form 4A for rent increases, the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet, are free and official. What England does not have is a complete government model tenancy agreement for the post-2026 periodic regime.
- NRLA and association libraries. Well-maintained England templates, free at the point of download once you pay the annual membership, which is really a paid option with extra benefits.
Where free falls short
The gaps are consistent across the free market. First, currency: outside the government models, most free England downloads still create a fixed-term AST and reference Section 21, which has been wrong for every new English let since 1 May 2026. Second, completeness: a bare agreement without the deposit prescribed information, the pet-request mechanism or the Information Sheet acknowledgement leaves you to source and cross-reference those separately. Third, guidance: government models are accurate but assume you know the regime; nobody walks you through the boxes. Fourth, updates: no free site emails you when the law moves. We reviewed the most popular free England downloads clause by clause in our free template review, and the pattern was the same in every one.
When free is the right answer
- You let in Scotland or Wales and are happy working from the government model with the official guidance
- You are an experienced landlord who tracks the law and can verify a document against the current statute
- You only need a single prescribed form, England's statutory forms are free on gov.uk, use them
- Your let is simple, low-rent and low-risk, and you have access to advice if something goes wrong
When a paid template earns its money
A paid pack is worth it when the cost of an error dwarfs the price of the document. A failed possession claim means re-serving notice and re-queueing for court; a deposit prescribed-information failure can cost up to three times the deposit; letting in England on an obsolete AST document means your paperwork misdescribes the tenancy from day one. Against that, £29 for a maintained periodic tenancy agreement template, or £49 for the full new landlord pack with all eight documents, is insurance priced like a takeaway. The same logic applies in Wales, where the free model statement is excellent but a guided occupation contract template for Wales adds the completion notes and the registration header the model leaves to you.
The honest decision rule
Ask two questions. Can you personally verify the document against the law in force this month? And if you get it wrong, can you absorb the cost? Two yeses, use a good free source and spend nothing. Either no, a maintained paid template, from us or a competitor, is the cheaper mistake. For how to judge any template you are considering, free or paid, use the tenancy agreement template checklist.
If the free route fits your situation, take it. We would rather you bought nothing than bought something you did not need.