When is my tenancy not an assured shorthold tenancy?
Introduction
There are a number of different types of tenancy that exist in the private rented. Each type places different rights and obligations on the tenant and you as a landlord.
By far the most common is the assured shorthold tenancy. First introduced in the Housing Act 1988, the AST was made the 'default' type of tenancy in the Housing Act 1996. This means that as of February 28 1997 almost any tenancy created in the private rented sector will be an assured shorthold tenancy.
These tenancies confer a number of additional obligations on landlords, such as having to protect a deposit in a government-approved scheme, but they also confer rights such as the ability to seek possession through a Section 21 notice. In contrast, tenancies that are not assured shorthold tenancies have their own rules and obligations that must be followed on the rare occasion you do not have an AST.
Renters’ Rights Bill
The Renters' Rights Bill is expected to come into force in summer 2025, making the most significant changes to the private rented sector in over 30 years.
Amongst other things, the Bill will -
• Abolish Section 21;
• Change the type of tenancy you can offer;
• Introduce a new Decent Homes Standard to the PRS;
• Change advertising practices; and
• Significantly strengthen local authority enforcement powers.
The advice and resources on this page will be outdated once the Bill comes into force. The NRLA is currently preparing a suite of replacement guides and documents to help you manage the transition smoothly.
For further information on the passage of the Bill and its details, please see our dedicated campaigns hub
The remainder of this guide discusses the different types of tenancy you may encounter in the private rented sector, including how to create them, how to identify them and when it is possible to switch between these types of tenancy.
It also contains a number of downloadable tenancy agreements for use where the agreement is not an assured shorthold tenancy agreement.