Why a short term assured shorthold tenancy agreement of only six months? Isn't it just less hassle to do a 12 month one? That way, you can forget all about it for another year.

Landlords who use letting agents are often persuaded by their agent that a 12 month (or longer) term is the better option.

And yet, they are badly mistaken.

Having a six month fixed term agreement is always better than a 12 month one for very valid legal reasons should your tenant turn out to be a "wrong 'un", which I will come to in a minute.

A lot of the confusion arises because of the word "fixed", which is actually a bit misleading.