Your agreement should have:

• your landlord's name and address

• your name, and names of all other tenants if you have a joint tenancy

• who to contact if you have problems, for example, if something breaks

If you rent a room in a shared property, you should have your own agreement with only your name on it.

Property details

Your agreement should say what kind of property you rent and the full address.

If you rent a room, it should say which one. For example, 'first floor front bedroom'.

Other people who live with you

Your tenancy agreement might say you cannot 'share possession' of the property, but this does not mean that family or friends cannot live in your home.

Sharing possession means doing something like subletting a room to someone else. This is different from just having someone move in with you.

You cannot usually sublet your home to another tenant but you can let other people live with you as long as the property is not overcrowded.

You should still ask your landlord before anyone moves in if your agreement says you must. Sometimes the landlord's insurance company or mortgage lender asks for this to be put in the tenancy agreement.

Visitors and overnight guests

Most assured shorthold tenants can have overnight visitors. If your agreement says that you cannot have guests, that could be what is called an unfair term.

The rules on overnight guests might be stricter for other types of tenancy. For example, if you live with your landlord or in supported housing.

Talk to your landlord if they say you cannot have visitors. They could tell you why and you could ask them to change their mind.