Tenancy agreements

A tenancy agreement is a contract between you and a landlord.

It lets you live in a property as long as you pay rent and follow the rules. It also sets out the legal terms and conditions of your tenancy. It can be written down or oral.

A tenancy can either be:

fixed-term (running for a set period of time)
periodic (running on a week-by-week or month-by-month basis)

Rights and responsibilities

Both you and your landlord have certain rights and responsibilities, whether or not you have a tenancy agreement.

Tenancy types

Assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs)

The most common form of tenancy is an AST. Most new tenancies are automatically this type.

A tenancy can be an AST if all of the following apply:

the property you rent is private
your tenancy started on or after 15 January 1989
the property is your main accommodation
your landlord doesn’t live in the property

A tenancy can’t be an AST if:

it began or was agreed before 15 January 1989
the rent is more than £100,000 a year
the rent is less than £250 a year (less than £1,000 in London)
it’s a business tenancy or tenancy of licensed premises
it’s a holiday let
your landlord is a local council

Other tenancies

There are other tenancies that aren’t as common as ASTs, including:

Excluded tenancies or licences

If you lodge with your landlord and share rooms with them, like a kitchen or bathroom, you may have one of these. You’ll usually have less protection from eviction with this type of agreement.

Assured tenancies

Tenancies starting between 15 January 1989 and 27 February 1997 may be assured. You’ll have increased protection from eviction with this type of agreement.

Regulated tenancies

Tenancies starting before 15 January 1989 may be regulated. You’ll have increased protection from eviction and can apply for a ‘fair rent’ .

Shelter has information on the different types of private tenancies and a tenancy checker so you can check which tenancy you have.

What should be in a tenancy agreement

If you have a tenancy agreement, it should include:

the names of all people involved
the rental price and how it’s paid
information on how and when the rent will be reviewed
the deposit amount and how it will be protected
when the deposit can be fully or partly withheld (eg to repair damage you’ve caused)
the property address
the start and end date of the tenancy
any tenant or landlord obligations
which bills you’re responsible for

It can also include information on:

whether the tenancy can be ended early and how this can be done
who’s responsible for minor repairs
whether the property can be let to someone else (sublet) or have lodgers

The terms of the tenancy must be fair and comply with the law.

If you’re unsure of any terms in the agreement, get legal advice before signing. Once you’re happy with it, sign the agreement and get a copy of it.

Citizens Advice has a guide on tenancy agreements.

Changes to tenancy agreements

Both you and your landlord must agree in order to change the terms of the tenancy agreement.

Preventing discrimination

Unless your landlord has a very strong reason, they must change anything in a tenancy agreement that might discriminate against you on the grounds of:

sex
sexual orientation
disability (or because of something connected with your disability)
religion or belief
being a transsexual person
having just had a baby or being pregnant

Example

You might need a guide dog in the house but a term in the tenancy says no pets are allowed. Your landlord must change the terms to allow guide dogs in the property, unless they have a very strong reason not to (eg another tenant in the property has a serious allergy to dogs).

How to end your tenancy

Tenancies

Your tenancy agreement should say how much notice you need to give your landlord before you leave the property.

You can usually end a fixed-term tenancy by giving your landlord written notice up to 2 months before the tenancy ends. Your tenancy will then finish at the end of the fixed-term.

You can end a periodic tenancy by giving notice at the end of a rent period. The period varies according to the rent term. For example, if you pay rent monthly, you’ll need to give a month’s notice.

Licence agreements

If your licence automatically runs out after a specific date and you want to end the agreement, you should let your landlord know this before your licence runs out.

Shelter has information about ending a tenancy or licence.

Ending a tenancy early

Unless there’s a break clause in your tenancy agreement, your landlord can insist you pay rent until the end of the tenancy.

Download ‘Notice that you must leave - a brief guide for landlords and tenants’ (PDF, 229KB)

Your landlord wants to end your tenancy

If your landlord wants you to leave, they must give you notice in a particular way, including certain information and warnings. This depends on the type of tenancy agreement and its terms.

Assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs)

In some circumstances, your landlord can take back their property without giving any reason. To do this, all of the following must apply:

they’ve protected your deposit in a deposit protection scheme
they’ve given you at least 2 months’ written notice that they want the property back (‘notice to quit’) and the date you must leave
the date you must leave is at least 6 months after your original tenancy began (the one you had on first moving in)
you have a periodic tenancy – or you have a fixed-term tenancy and your landlord isn’t asking you to leave before the end of the fixed term

During the fixed term

If you’re still in the fixed term, your landlord can only ask you to leave if they have a ground (reason) for wanting possession that’s in the Housing Act 1988.

Examples of the grounds include:

you’re behind with your rent payments (‘in arrears’)
you’ve used the property for illegal purposes (eg selling drugs)
your landlord wants to move back into the property

The notice period they must give varies from 2 weeks to 2 months, depending on the ground they’re using.

Assured tenancies

Your landlord will need to use one of the reasons or ‘grounds’ for possession in the Housing Act 1988.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published a guide for tenants on assured and assured shorthold tenancies.

Download ‘Assured and assured shorthold tenancies: a guide for tenants’ (PDF, 370KB)

Excluded tenancies or licences

You’ll often have an excluded tenancy or licence if you live with your landlord as a lodger and share rooms with them.

Your landlord only needs to give ‘reasonable notice’ to quit. Usually this means the length of the rental payment period – so if you pay rent weekly, you’ll get 1 week’s notice.

The notice doesn’t have to be in writing.

Non-excluded tenancy or licence

Your landlord can end the let at any time by serving a written ‘notice to quit’. The notice period will depend on the tenancy or agreement, but is often at least 4 weeks.

Break clauses

If there’s a break clause in the tenancy agreement, your landlord can give you notice after this. However, your landlord doesn’t have a guaranteed right to possession during the first 6 months of the tenancy.

If you don’t leave the property

If the notice period expires and you don’t leave the property, your landlord may start the process of eviction through the courts.

Your landlord can’t forcibly remove you without an eviction order.