Private sector tenancies
This information applies to England and Wales
The tenancy began on or after 15 January 1989 but before 28 February 1997
If your tenancy is a private or a housing association tenancy which began on or after 15 January 1989 you may be:-
- an assured tenant
- an assured shorthold tenant
- an occupier with basic protection (see under heading
The tenancy began before 15 January 1989)
Assured tenants
An assured tenant will not normally have a resident landlord and the landlord will not provide food or services. As an assured tenant you will be paying rent for accommodation which you occupy as your only or principal home.
You will not be an assured tenant if your accommodation is:
- a student let
- a holiday let
- a company let
- a business premises
- a Crown tenancy
- private accommodation arranged by the local authority because you are homeless.
Rights of assured tenants
As an assured tenant you have the right to stay in your accommodation unless your landlord can convince the court there are good reasons for eviction, for example rent arrears or damage to the property, or that another of the terms of the agreement has been broken.
As an assured tenant you can enforce your rights, for instance, to get repairs done without worrying about getting evicted.
As well as the right to stay in your home as long as you keep to the terms of the tenancy you will also have other rights by law including:-
- the right to have the accommodation kept in a reasonable state of repair
- the right of a partner of the opposite sex to take over the tenancy on your death (‘the right of succession’).
Assured shorthold tenants (before 28 February 1997)
You will be an assured shorthold tenant if your tenancy is for a fixed period of not less than six months.
This is a less secure type of tenancy than an assured tenancy. It is granted for a fixed period of not less than six months. After this ends, your landlord can apply to the court for possession as long as they have given two months’ notice. If your landlord does not renew the agreement, you can stay on until your landlord serves notice that they want to repossess the property.
If you were not given a Notice of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy or were given it after the tenancy started you will be an assured tenant. If you are not sure of your position you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB .
You will not be an assured shorthold tenant if the accommodation:-
- is a holiday let
- is a company let
- is rented by you and you are a student from a university or college
- is private temporary accommodation in which you are housed because you are homeless
- has a resident landlord
- is accommodation for which you pay no rent.
Rights of assured shorthold tenants
As an assured shorthold tenant you have the right to stay in the accommodation until the fixed term ends unless your landlord can convince the court there are reasons for eviction, for example, rent arrears, damage to property, or that one of the other terms of the agreement has been broken. You can stay on after the end of the fixed term, even if the agreement is not renewed, until your landlord gives you notice.
As an assured shorthold tenant you can enforce your rights, for instance to get repairs done, but if you do, your landlord may decide not to renew the tenancy agreement at the end of the fixed term.
As well as the right to stay in your home for the fixed period as long as you keep to the terms of the tenancy, you will also have other legal rights including:-
- the right to have the accommodation kept in a reasonable state of repair
- the right to carry out minor repairs yourself and the right to deduct the cost from the rent. If you are considering doing this you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB .
- the right of a partner of the opposite sex to take
over the tenancy on your death (the right of ‘succession’).
You may have a written tenancy agreement which may give
you more rights than the minimum provided by law.
The tenancy began on or after 28 February 1997
Any new tenancy created on or after this date is automatically an assured shorthold tenancy, unless:-
- it was created following a contract made before 28 February 1997; or
- your landlord serves a notice on you stating that the tenancy is to be an assured tenancy; or
- there is a clause in the tenancy agreement stating that it is to be an assured tenancy; or
- the tenancy is one created by the death of a former protected tenant; or
- the tenancy was previously a secure tenancy and became an assured tenancy
- .you are an occupier with basic protection (see under heading The tenancy began before 15 January 1989).
The list of exceptions is not exhaustive. Only the most important exceptions are given.
If the tenancy is not an assured shorthold tenancy for one of the reasons given above, it will be an assured tenancy. You will have the same rights as other assured tenants whose tenancy began before 28 February 1997 but after 15 January 1989.
Assured shorthold tenancies created on or after 28 February 1997 do not have to have a fixed-term period at the beginning of the tenancy, although your landlord may give a fixed-term if they want. If no fixed-term is agreed, the tenancy will be what is called a periodic tenancy. No written agreement or notice is needed to create an assured shorthold tenancy on or after 28 February 1997. An oral agreement is sufficient.
Rights of assured shorthold tenants (on or after 28 February 1997)
The rights are the same as for other assured shorthold
tenancies. However, there is one additional right to a statement from your
landlord of the terms of the agreement. Your landlord must provide a
written statement of the basic terms of the tenancy which are not already
provided in writing. Failure to provide the statement is a criminal offence.
The tenancy began before 15 January 1989
If your tenancy began before 15 January 1989 you could be either:-
- a protected tenant (see below); or
- an occupier with basic protection (see below).
Protected tenants
If you are a protected tenant you will:-
- be paying rent for the accommodation; and
- not normally have a resident landlord; and
- not be provided with food or services by your landlord.
You will not be a protected tenant if your accommodation is:-
- a bed and breakfast letting
- a ‘company’ let.
Protected tenants have the strongest rights of any private tenants. If you think you are a protected tenant and your landlord asks you to move or to sign a new agreement, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB .
Rights of protected tenants
As a protected tenant you have the following rights:-
- security of tenure. Your landlord can only repossess the accommodation in certain specified circumstances - see under heading The right to stay in the accommodation
- the right to have the rent fixed by the rent officer - see below
- the right to have rent increased only in certain circumstances - see under heading Fixing and increasing the rent
- the right to have the accommodation kept in a reasonable state or repair - see under heading Repairs
- the right of a partner or another family member to take over the tenancy on your death.
Occupiers with basic protection
If you are not an assured tenant, assured shorthold tenant, or protected tenant, you may be an occupier with basic protection. You will be an occupier with basic protection if you have:-
- a ‘company’ let (where a company holds the tenancy and provides accommodation for you as a member of staff)
- a student let granted by an educational institution
- a resident landlord who does not share living accommodation with you, the accommodation is your landlord’s only or main home and your landlord has been living there since the tenancy began and lives there when the tenancy ends. If your landlord shares living accommodation with you, you will not have basic protection - see under heading The right to stay in the accommodation
- accommodation provided by the Crown or a government department
- accommodation provided by some housing co-ops and almshouses
- accommodation provided by your employer in order for you to carry out your job. If you occupy accommodation because of your job (for example, a launderette assistant or a caretaker) you may not necessarily have to give up the accommodation if you leave the job.
The above list is not exhaustive and if you think you
may have basic protection you should consult an experienced adviser because
people who have basic protection have limited rights. A person in this
situation can contact an experienced adviser at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To
search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give
advice by e-mail, click on
nearest CAB .
Fixing and increasing the rent
If you cannot afford to pay your rent, you may be able to apply for housing benefit. You may also be entitled to other benefits if you are unemployed or on a low income.
For more information on housing benefit, see Housing benefit. First, however, you should check below to see whether the rent has been fixed correctly.
You should consult an experienced adviser, for example a Citizens Advice Bureau, to check whether you are entitled to benefits or whether your rent has been fixed correctly. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB .
Rent: assured tenants
As an assured tenant you must pay whatever rent you agreed with your landlord when the tenancy began. Your landlord cannot normally increase the rent unless you agree or the tenancy agreement allows it. If the tenancy agreement allows your landlord to increase the rent, it should contain information about when and how the rent can be increased.
If a rent increase has not been agreed with your landlord or if the tenancy agreement does not allow an increase, you may have the right to appeal to a local Rent Assessment Committee if you think the rent increase proposed by your landlord is too high. You can only do so if your tenancy is not fixed term (that is, it does not run for a specific period only, for example, six months or a year) and if your landlord uses a special procedure to increase the rent. If the tenancy agreement allows the rent increases, you cannot apply to a Rent Assessment Committee. Also, a Rent Assessment Committee can set a rent which is higher than that proposed by your landlord.
The situation is complicated and if you want to take a proposed increase to a Rent Assessment Committee you should consult an experienced adviser, for example a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB .
Rent: assured shorthold tenants
As an assured shorthold tenant you must pay whatever rent you agreed with your landlord when the tenancy began.
Your rent cannot normally be increased unless you agree or the tenancy agreement allows it.
In certain cases, your landlord can instead use a special procedure to increase the rent, which involves giving you a formal notice, the details of which are set down by legislation. It is in theory possible for certain types of assured shorthold tenants to appeal to a Rent Assessment Committee like assured tenants can (see above), but assured shorthold tenants have very little protection from eviction, and antagonising your landlord can put you at risk of losing your home.
If you wish to challenge a rent increase you must consult an experienced adviser, for example a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Rent: protected tenants
As a protected tenant you must pay the rent which you agreed with your landlord when the tenancy began. However, either you or your landlord can subsequently ask the Rent Officer to fix a ‘fair rent’.
If you intend to take action about your rent, you should make sure you are a protected tenant. You should first consult an experienced adviser, for example a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB .
Your landlord cannot increase your rent if it has been registered as a fair rent by the Rent Officer. If no fair rent has been registered, your landlord cannot increase the rent unless you agree formally in writing, or either you or your landlord apply to the Rent Officer and the Rent Officer fixes a fair rent.
Rent: occupiers with basic protection
As an occupier with basic protection you must pay the
rent which you agreed with your landlord when you moved into the
accommodation. You cannot apply to the Rent Officer or to the Rent
Assessment Committee to have the rent reduced. If your landlord wants to
increase the rent you could try and negotiate. If you refuse to pay the
increase this could lead to your landlord evicting you.
Repairs
The landlord’s general responsibilities
By law, your landlord has a number of repairing responsibilities, including repairing and keeping in working order:-
- the structure and exterior of the premises, including drains, gutters and external pipes
- the water and gas pipes and electric wiring (including, for example, taps and sockets)
- the basins, sinks, baths and toilets
- fixed heaters (for example, gas fires) and water heaters (but not gas or electric cookers).
Your landlord has these duties by law, no matter what is written in the tenancy agreement. However, if you ask your landlord to do these repairs they may attempt to regain possession of the property or not renew the agreement when it expires. Before attempting to use this general right to repairs you should consult an experienced adviser.
The tenancy agreement may specify additional repairing obligations.
Common parts
Your landlord is normally also responsible for repairs to common parts of the building, for example, stairways, lifts, hallways or garden paths shared with other tenants or your landlord.
For more information on how to get repairs carried out, see Disrepair in rented accommodation .
Gas appliances
Your landlord must ensure that any gas appliances in residential premises are safe. They must arrange for safety checks on appliances and fittings to be carried out at least once every twelve months. The inspection must be carried out by a CORGI (Confederation of Registered Gas Installers) approved person. They must also keep a record of the date of the check, any problems identified and any action taken. As a tenant you have the right to see this record as long as you give reasonable notice.
If your landlord does not arrange for checks or refuses to allow you to see the record of the check, you could contact the local Health and Safety Executive office. However, if you have limited security you may face eviction if you take action against your landlord.
For more details on ways of getting repairs done, see Disrepair in rented accommodation .
Disabled tenants
As a disabled private tenant you may be able to have alterations carried out to your home. You will first have to get the need for the alterations assessed by the local authority social services department. Alterations could include the installation of a stair lift or hoist, or adaptation to a bathroom or toilet.
If you want to get any alterations carried out you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
You may also be able to get a disabled facilities grant to make the home more suitable.
For information about disabled facilities grants, see
Help with home improvements .
The right to stay in the accommodation
Your right to stay in the accommodation will depend on the type of tenancy you have.
If you are asked to leave your home by your landlord you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB , including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Right to stay: protected and assured tenants
Your landlord can only repossess the property if they can convince the court that there are reasons why the you should be evicted, for example, you have rent arrears, you have damaged the property or you have broken one of the terms of the agreement.
Right to stay: assured shorthold tenants
Tenancy began before 28 February 1997
As an assured shorthold tenant you have the right to stay in the accommodation for the duration of the initial fixed-term unless you breach a term in the tenancy agreement or, for example, you are in rent arrears, or you have damaged the property.
If you stay in the home after the initial fixed - term ends and your landlord does not intend to renew the agreement and wants possession, they will have to give you at least two months notice to leave the property, and will have to go to court for possession of the property if you do not leave. If your landlord takes no action you will become a statutory periodic assured shorthold tenant and your landlord will not be able to regain possession of the property without going through this procedure.
Tenancies created on or after 28 February 1997
Your landlord cannot evict you during the first six months of the tenancy, or during the initial fixed-term, whichever is the longer, unless they have grounds for doing so, as for tenancies created before 28 February 1997.
At the end of this period your landlord can automatically get a court order to evict you, as for tenancies created before 28 February 1997.
Right to stay: occupiers with basic protection
If you are a tenant with basic protection, and you do
not move out when your landlord has given you notice to quit and the notice
period has expired, your landlord has to go to court for a possession order.
This will normally be granted. If the tenancy is for a specified fixed term
(for example, it is agreed that it lasts for 6 months or a year), your
landlord does not have to give you notice to quit at the end of that term.
Your landlord still has, however, to apply for a possession order to evict
you. They can only apply once the fixed term has ended.
