Result: You live in a shared ownership property

If you bought a share in your home through Homebuy or another shared ownership scheme, your rights will be set out in the agreement you have with the housing association that owns the remaining share. You probably have rights and responsibilities as both an assured tenant and as a leaseholder.

If you need help, use our directory to find an advice centre in your local area, or call our helpline.

Result: You are a service occupier or a service tenant

If your home is provided as part of your job, your rights depend on the agreement you have with your landlord/employer. You may have the same rights as either an occupier with basic protection or an excluded occupier.

You are likely to be an excluded occupier if:

• you share accommodation with your landlord/employer, or
• your landlord/employer lives in the same building as you and you share accommodation with a member of your landlord/employer's family, or
• you do not pay rent and your wages are not reduced on account of accommodation being provided.

If none of the above applies, then you are likely to be an occupier with basic protection.

Regardless of which legal status you have, you will probably have very few rights if you are asked to leave. This may make it difficult for you to enforce any other tenancy rights, such as getting repairs done. If you are having problems, use our directory to find an advice centre in your local area that can help you, or call our helpline.

Result: You are an excluded occupier

You don't have many rights as an excluded occupier, which may make it difficult for you to enforce any other tenancy rights, such as getting repairs done.

• Your landlord does not need to prove a legal reason or get a court order in order to evict you.
• You are entitled to "reasonable notice" but this does not have to be in writing.
• If you cannot negotiate with your landlord to stay longer, you will need to find alternative accommodation quickly.

If you cannot negotiate with your landlord, you may have to consider putting up with things as they are or finding somewhere else to live. If you are having serious problems with your landlord, use our directory to find an advice centre or call our helpline to speak to an adviser.

Result: You are a council tenant

It is very important to remember that not all council tenants have the same rights:

• Many councils give new tenants an introductory tenancy for the first year to 18 months. This is effectively a trial tenancy.
• Councils can also get a court order to 'demote' your tenancy for a one-year probationary period if you have been involved in anti-social behaviour. Demoted tenancies also give you very limited rights.
• Most other council tenants have a secure tenancy, which give you important rights and very strong protection from eviction.

If you have a secure council tenancy you have very important rights, including the Right to Buy, the right to assign your tenancy to someone else, the right to take in a lodger, and the right to apply for a transfer or exchange. You can only be evicted in certain circumstances and if the correct procedure is followed.

If you have an introductory or demoted tenancy, many of these rights will not be available until your tenancy becomes secure. Introductory tenants and demoted tenants can also be evicted very easily. If your case gets to court and the correct procedure has been followed, the court will have no choice other than to evict you. Get advice immediately if you are threatened with eviction.

Result: You are a housing association tenant

The type of tenancy agreement you have with the housing association will affect many of your rights. Housing associations provide:

• starter tenancies (most housing associations use these trial tenancies for the first 12-months of your tenancy)
• assured tenancies (most housing association tenants have assured tenancies, but you should check your status if you are uncertain)
• secure tenancies (If your home is self-contained and your tenancy started before 15 January 1989, you may have a secure tenancy)
• demoted tenancies (housing associations can apply for a court order to 'demote' your tenancy for a one-year probationary period if you have behaved antisocially)
• assured shorthold tenancies (these are often used in circumstances that do not fit into one of the above categories).

If you are having problems, use our directory to find an advice centre in your local area that can help you, or call our helpline.

Result: You are probably an excluded occupier but you may have a tenancy

In most cases, if the council has not yet made a decision on your homelessness application, you will be an excluded occupier. This means that the council is not required to give you written notice or get a court order before they can evict you. However, they should give you a reasonable amount of notice, to allow you to make alternative accommodation arrangements.

If the council has already made a decision on your homelessness application and has decided that it has an ongoing duty to house you, you may have more rights. The type of tenancy you have will usually depend on who owns the accommodation you have been housed in:

• If it is owned by a private landlord, you will probably have an assured shorthold tenancy.
• If it is a housing association property, you will probably have an assured shorthold tenancy, unless you have been specifically told that you have an assured tenancy.
• If it is owned by the council, you will not have a regular council tenancy unless you have been allocated the property on a permanent basis through the waiting list. In most cases you will be an occupier with basic protection. This means that you are entitled to written notice and a court order. The court will automatically make an order to evict you if the correct legal procedure has been followed.

See our page on temporary housing from the council for more information about your rights. If you are having problems in temporary accommodation, get advice as soon as you can. The law can be very complicated. Use our directory to find an adviser in your local area.

Result: You are probably an excluded occupier

You are likely to be an excluded occupier if you live in a hotel, bed and breakfast or hostel. This means that you have very limited rights. Your landlord only has to give you "reasonable notice" if they want to evict you, which could be verbal. This will make it difficult to enforce any other rights.

However, you should check your status with an adviser. You may be an occupier with basic protection (which would give you a bit more protection from eviction as you'd be entitled to a court order) if:

• you have your own room, and
• the owner doesn't live on the premises, and
• services are not provided.

If you cannot negotiate with your landlord, you may have to consider putting up with things as they are or finding somewhere else to live. If you are having serious problems with your landlord, Use our directory to find an advice centre or call our helpline to speak to an adviser.

Result: You may have an agricultural tenancy if you:

• live in a self-contained home and this accommodation will be either be owned or arranged by your employer – if you share your home with your landlord this will not be a self-contained home, and
• work for 35 hours or more a week and
• spend at least some of the time maintaining crops, livestock, forestry, tractors and other equipment (this includes workers in plant nurseries), and
• have been employed in agriculture for 91 weeks of the last 104, this includes time from previous employment, as well as paid holidays or sick leave.

If you have an agricultural tenancy, you should get in touch with an adviser. Farm workers in tied accommodation can have protected, statutory or assured agricultural tenancies.

You will only have an agricultural tenancy if you are an agricultural worker. It does not matter if you are not living on agricultural land - you may well still have a tenancy.

The law in this area is very complicated. Use our directory to find an adviser who can check your status, or call our helpline.

Result: Mobile homes

The laws governing the owning and renting of mobile homes are different to those governing the owning and renting of traditional 'bricks and mortar' properties. Your rights will depend on:

• whether you own or rent your mobile home
• whether you rent a pitch to place it on
• whether the site is protected or not.

See our pages on mobile homes for more information and use our directory to find an adviser who can check your status. The law on mobile homes can be very complicated.

Result: You are probably an occupier with basic protection

In most cases, if you are renting student accommodation that is owned by the college or university, you will be an occupier with basic protection.

However, there are different types of student accommodation available, which may give you different tenancy rights. See our page on student housing for more information.

Result: You are probably an occupier with basic protection

In most cases, if you live in supported housing you will be an occupier with basic protection. This means that you have few rights, but your landlord has to follow the correct procedure if they want to evict you.

Your rights may vary depending on the nature of your accommodation and the level of support provided. Use our directory to find an adviser who can check this for you, or call our helpline.

Result: You are a subtenant

If you rent your house or part of a house from someone who in turn rents the property from a different landlord, then you are a subtenant.

It is possible for subtenants to have any type of private tenancy if the right conditions are met. You should always check your status with an adviser, especially if you have been living in your home for a long time. There are exceptions but as a guide:

• If you share any living space with your landlord you are likely to be an excluded occupier, which gives you almost no protection from eviction so it will be very difficult to enforce any other rights.
• If you don't share living space with your landlord but s/he lives in the same building, you are likely to be an occupier with basic protection.
• If your tenancy started after 27 February 1997, you are likely to have an assured shorthold tenancy, which gives limited protection from eviction.
• If your tenancy started before 27 February 1997, you may have either an assured tenancy, or a regulated tenancy. These tenancies give significant protection from eviction. You should get advice immediately to be sure that you don't put important rights at risk.

The law is complicated and protecting your rights may be difficult. Use our directory to find an advice centre or call our helpline to speak to an adviser if:

• you are in any doubt about your status or your rights, or
• your landlord is trying to evict you without following the correct procedure - this may be a criminal offence.

Result: You are an occupier with basic protection

You are likely to be an occupier with basic protection. This means that you have few rights, which may make it difficult for you to enforce any other tenancy rights, such as getting repairs done. However, your landlord has to follow the correct procedure if they want to evict you.

See the page on occupiers with basic protection for more information and contact a local advice centre if your landlord tries to evict you without following the correct procedure - use our directory to find one.

Result: You have a regulated tenancy

No new regulated tenancies have been created since 15 January 1989. Regulated tenancies give you very strong tenancy rights, including strict rules on how and by how much your rent can be increased. You also have far more protection from eviction than most other private tenants.

See the page on regulated tenancies for more information about your rights and contact a local advice centre if you have any problems.

Don't give up your home or agree to any changes to your tenancy agreement without getting advice first. If you do so, you may be signing away important rights that you will not get back. Use our directory to find an advice centre or call our helpline to speak to an adviser.

Result: You are an assured tenant

An assured tenancy gives you important tenancy rights including a lot of protection from eviction. Your landlord cannot evict you without proving a legal reason and getting a court order. This will make it easier for you to enforce any other tenancy rights (such as getting repairs done) as your landlord cannot simply choose to evict you rather than doing the work that's needed.

See the section on assured tenants for more information about your rights.

Do not give up your home or agree to any changes to your tenancy without speaking to a specialist housing adviser first. If you do, you may be giving up important rights that you will not get back if you move elsewhere. Use our directory to find an advice centre or call our helpline to speak to an adviser if you have problems with your tenancy.

Result: You have a periodic assured shorthold tenancy

This means that your landlord can probably evict you by giving you the correct written notice and then either:

• using one or more of the grounds that can be used during the fixed term, or
• giving you two months' notice at any time - if they do this they do not need to prove a reason. This is sometimes called the 'shorthold ground'.

See the section on assured shorthold tenancies for more information about your rights.

If you need help, or your landlord is trying to evict you without following the correct procedure, Use our directory to find an adviser in your local area or call our helpline.

Result: You are a fixed-term assured shorthold tenant

Your tenancy will continue as long for as the fixed term lasts. This is usually 6 or 12 months. Once the fixed term ends, you will become a periodic assured shorthold tenant, unless your tenancy is renewed for another fixed term. See the section on assured shorthold tenancies for more information about your rights.

Your landlord can only evict you during the fixed term if you break a term of the tenancy agreement - eg if you do not pay the rent or cause nuisance to neighbours.

If you need help, or your landlord is trying to evict you without following the correct procedure, Use our directory to find an adviser in your local area or call our helpline.

Result: You are an excluded occupier

If you pay rent to friends or family, this means that they are your landlord. You don't have many rights if they ask you to move out, which may make it difficult for you to enforce any other tenancy rights, such as getting repairs done:

• They do not need to prove a legal reason or get a court order in order to evict you.
• You are entitled to 'reasonable notice' but this doesn't have to be in writing.
• Read our page on excluded occupiers for more information about your rights.

If you cannot negotiate with your landlord, you may have to consider putting up with things as they are or finding somewhere else to live. If you are having serious problems with your landlord, Use our directory to find an advice centre or call our helpline to speak to an adviser.

Result: Your rights depend on whose name is on the tenancy agreement

If you live with family or friends but pay rent to a landlord or letting agency, your rights will depend on whose name the agreement is in. If your name is not on the tenancy agreement, you will probably be an excluded occupier. This means that you have very little protection from eviction, which will make it difficult to enforce any other rights.

If you cannot negotiate with your landlord, you may have to consider putting up with things as they are or finding somewhere else to live. If you are having serious problems with your landlord, Use our directory to find an advice centre or call our helpline to speak to an adviser.