Assured shorthold tenancy

The Assured Shorthold Tenancy is the default tenancy for most dwellings in England and Wales. It is a form of Assured tenancy with limited security of tenure, which was introduced by the Housing Act 1988, with important changes made by the Housing Act 1996. The assured shorthold tenancy is now the most common form of arrangement which involves a private Residential Landlord renting a property to a Tenant.

Requirements to create an Assured Shorthold Tenancy

In order to create an Assured Shorthold Tenancy all of the following need to apply:-

1. The Tenant is renting from a Private Landlord

2. The tenancy started on or after 15 January 1989

3. The property is the Tenant's main accommodation

4. The landlord does not live in the property - i.e. If the Tenant has rights to have privacy in the property where the Landlord cannot enter without mutual agreement before hand

5. The rent is less than £100,000.00 a year

Security of tenure

The landlord has the right to terminate the tenancy by using a "section 21 notice", which in practice results in a minimum notice period of 2 months. There is no minimum length for which an assured shorthold tenancy may be granted and a section 21 notice can be served at any time. However, when court proceedings are based on the Section 21 Notice the court cannot order the tenant to give up possession earlier than six months from the beginning of the tenancy. Where one assured shorthold tenancy follows another, the tenant is protected for only 6 months from the beginning of the first tenancy under which the premises were occupied.

Exclusions

There are a number of exceptions set out in the Housing Act 1988 which exclude a tenancy from being an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, for example:

• The Landlord is a resident landlord (eg. Annexes or some conversions)
• the rent was greater than £25,000 per annum - increased to £100,000.00 from 1st October 2010
• none of the tenants occupying the property do so as a principal home
• the tenant is not an individual (for example, it is a limited company)
• the landlord is a local council

See also

• Buy to let

External links

• Simple Tenancy Agreements: Advice for Landlords
• Assured and Assured Shorthold Tenancies: A guide for tenants from DCLG
• Assured Shorthold Tenancies
• Free AST Template