A tenancy agreement is a written or oral contract between a tenant and a landlord, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of both parties. The agreement will include information such as the cost of rent and the length of the tenancy. A tenancy agreement must be signed by both the tenant and the landlord and is usually put in place before letting out the property. There are different types of tenancy agreements which affect the rights of the landlord and tenant.
Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST)
Assured short hold tenancies (AST) are the most common forms of agreement for renting property. The tenant is protected under various acts, chiefly the 1998 Housing Act. However this type of tenancy agreement still allows the landlord to regain possession after serving two months’ notice.
In order for an agreement to be an AST it must fulfil certain criteria as there must be a private tenant renting off a private landlord, the tenancy must have begun after the 15th of January 1989, the house or flat is separate to the accommodation of the landlord, and the property is the tenant’s main residence. A tenancy will not be an AST if the tenancy began before the 15th of January 1989, the rent is very high (over £100,000 a year) or very cheap (less that £250 a year or £1000 a year in London), it is a business or holiday let, it is a company let i.e. if a company is a tenant, or the landlord is a “resident landlord”.
Excluded Tenancies or Licences
Another form of tenancy agreement is what is known as excluded tenancies or licences. This is relevant for tenants that share accommodation with their landlords. A tenancy of this type can have a fixed-term tenancy. Alternatively a periodic tenancy is also possible which is done on a week by week or month by month basis.
Excluded occupiers have less tenancy rights than other types of tenancy agreements. Landlords can evict excluded occupiers at any time, only having to give ‘reasonable notice’ and this doesn’t have to be in writing.
In terms of rent, this is agreed between the tenant and the landlord. This cannot be increased during the fixed term, unless this has been previously agreed. As soon as the fixed term has ended, the landlord can increase the rent.
This type of tenancy can be ended by a variety of ways. Both the tenant and the landlord can agree to end the tenancy in what is known as a “surrender”. A tenant can end a tenancy on their own by providing their landlord with valid notice and the landlord is able to evict their tenant at any time.
Assured Tenancies
The assured tenancy was introduced into the private sector in The Housing Act of 1988. Again, to qualify as an assured tenancy, there are certain criteria that the tenancy has to meet, this includes the property being let as a separate dwelling then that of the landlord, the tenant is an individual and the tenant occupies the property as their primary address.
By having an assured tenancy, you have the legal right to live in your accommodation for a period of time. Again with this type of tenancy you can have a fixed term tenancy or a periodic tenancy.
Assured tenants have control over their own home so that the landlord and other people cannot come in whenever they want to.
Regulated Tenancies
If you are a Regulated Tenant then you have stronger rights against eviction than most other private tenants. A landlord cannot evict a regulated tenant unless they receive a possession order from the courts, and the courts can only grant the order in certain circumstances. In terms of rent, once this has been registered, it is the maximum the landlord can charge until it is reviewed or cancelled.
To qualify as a regulated tenancy the property must have been let to the tenant before the 15th of January 1989. There can also be a regulated tenancy if a new tenancy is granted on or after the 15th January 1989 to an existing regulated tenant by the same landlord. Alternatively, a regulated tenancy can come about if it is granted as a tenancy of appropriate alternative accommodation as the result of a court order and the court directed that it should be a regulated tenancy.
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