Assured tenancies

Most private and housing association tenants have an assured tenancy. A landlord can only end an assured tenancy if they have a legal reason, known as a ground for possession.

Assured shorthold tenancies

An assured shorthold tenancy is a type of assured tenancy.

Most private assured shorthold tenants became periodic assured tenants on 1 May 2026.[1]

A tenant might still have an assured shorthold tenancy if their landlord served them with a valid section 21 notice or section 8 notice before 1 May 2026. The tenant remains an assured shorthold tenant until possession proceedings are concluded, or until the notice expires if the landlord does not start proceedings in time.

Find out more about section 21 notices.

Private registered providers of social housing can issue assured shorthold tenancies. For example, housing associations.

Find out more about housing association tenancies.

Tenancies that cannot be assured

Some tenancies or other occupancies cannot be assured, including where the:[2]

• landlord is a local authority

• occupier has a resident landlord

• occupier does not pay rent

Find out more about tenancies that cannot be assured.

Only private landlords or housing associations can issue assured tenancies.

An occupier can have an assured tenancy if they:

• have a tenancy with a private or housing association landlord

• rent the property let as a separate dwelling

• occupy the property as their only or principal home

The tenant must be an individual and not a company or institution.[3]

What is a tenancy

A person is a tenant if they occupy a property where certain conditions are met. The occupier must have an agreement that includes:

• the grant of exclusive possession of the premises

• an obligation to pay rent

• a defined period of time

A defined period of time means a tenancy period, such as weekly or monthly.

Most private assured tenancies must be periodic, also known as a rolling tenancy. A housing association assured tenancy might have a fixed term or be periodic. Find out more about housing association tenancies.

A tenancy agreement is a contract. Under contract law the parties must have an intention to create legal relations of landlord and tenant.

Let as a separate dwelling

The property must be let as a separate dwelling to meet the condition for an assured tenancy.

A dwelling-house can be the whole or part of a house. This includes flats and single rooms. It does not have to have its own cooking facilities.[4] Mobile homes, chalets and houseboats can be treated as dwelling-houses where they are let long term and are immobile.[5] Find out more about the rights of mobile home renters.

The tenant must have their own distinct accommodation. They might share a kitchen or bathroom as long as there is exclusive possession of the bedroom.[6]

An occupier might be an excluded occupier if they share living facilities with a resident landlord. An excluded occupier is not an assured tenant. Find out more about excluded occupiers.

Occupied as an only or principal home

The tenant must occupy the property as their only or principal home to maintain the assured tenancy.[7] If there are joint tenants, then only one tenant has to be in occupation.

A tenant's married or civil partner has a right to live in the family home even if they are not on the tenancy. These are called home rights. Where someone with home rights lives in the property, this is the same as occupation by the tenant.[8]

Absences from the property

The tenant does not have to live in the property continuously to occupy it as their only or principal home. They might be absent for a long holiday, for work, to visit relatives abroad, or in hospital or prison.

Where a tenant is absent for a long period, it might be presumed that the tenant no longer occupies the property as their only or principal home, and the tenancy is no longer assured. When the tenant wants to demonstrate that they still occupy the property:[9]

• they must show they have an intention to return

• the facts of the case must show returning to the property is a realistic possibility

• there must be physical evidence of continuing occupation like furniture or the presence of a caretaker

The courts consider the tenant's enduring intention, not fleeting changes of mind.[10] Proving this could be difficult in cases where the tenant is mentally or terminally ill and has been admitted into long-term residential care.

It is possible for a tenant to lose and regain assured status by moving back into the property after ceasing to occupy it as their only or principal home. Where the landlord has served a notice to quit the tenant condition must be satisfied at the date of expiry of the notice. [11]

Where the tenant sublets their property

A housing association assured tenant permanently loses their assured tenancy status if they sublet or part with possession of their property in breach of any term in the tenancy agreement. They cannot regain assured status even if they move back in.[12] This does not apply to shared ownership leases.

Subletting a social tenancy without authorisation is a criminal offence. Find out more about social housing fraud.

It is an implied term in most private and social periodic assured tenancies that subletting of all or part of the premises without the landlord's consent is prohibited.[13]

Find out more about assured tenancy subletting.

Sham tenancy agreement

An agreement that has all the elements of an assured tenancy but is given another label by the landlord could be a sham agreement.

Find out more about sham tenancy agreements.

A private assured tenancy must be a periodic tenancy, also known as a rolling tenancy.[14] This means a tenancy with no fixed end date, where the rent is paid on a periodic basis, usually weekly or monthly.

Transition to fully assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026

On 1 May 2026 all existing private fixed term assured tenancies became periodic assured tenancies.

A tenancy could remain assured shorthold after 1 May 2026 if the landlord has served a valid section 21 notice or valid section 8 notice which has not expired. Find out more about section 21 notices.

Existing periodic assured tenancies where the tenancy period was longer than one month became monthly periodic.

A tenancy that had a fixed term on 1 May 2026 and became periodic is treated as a single tenancy that started when the fixed term started.[15]

Written statement of tenancy terms

From 1 May 2026, private landlords are required to give tenants a written statement of the main tenancy terms. This applies to new assured tenancies after 1 May 2026 and tenancies that existed at that date but had no written agreement.[16]

The written statement of terms must include the:

• names of the landlord and tenant

• an address in England and Wales for services of notice by the tenant to the landlord

• address of the rental property

• amount of the tenancy deposit

• date the tenant takes possession of the rental property

• amount of the rent, when it is due, and whether it includes any bills

• amount of bills in addition to rent and when each payment is due, or an explanation of when and how the tenant will be notified of the amount and due date of each payment

• process for increasing the rent under section 13 Housing Act 1988

• minimum notice required by the tenant to end the tenancy

• landlord's obligation to obtain a court order to evict the tenant

• landlord's repairing obligations under section 11 Housing Act 1988 and fitness for human habitation

• landlord's obligations to maintain electrical and gas safety

• tenant's rights to make improvements for a disabled person under section 190 Equality Act 2010

• tenant's rights to request to keep a pet in the property

For tenancies that existed on 1 May 2026 without a written agreement, the written statement of terms must be given within one month of the tenancy becoming an assured periodic tenancy.[17]

For tenancies created after 1 May 2026, the written statement of terms must be given to the tenant before the tenancy is entered into.

Tenancies with a written agreement on 1 May 2026

A landlord is not required to serve a new statement of tenancy terms if the tenancy already has a written agreement on 1 May 2026. Instead, the landlord must give the tenant the government's information sheet containing the new terms that have been imposed by the Renters' Rights Act 2025.[18]

Find the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 on Gov.uk.

Terms in the original tenancy that are overridden by the Renters' Rights Act include those that state the:

• tenancy is a fixed term

• rental period is longer than one month

• tenancy period is different from the rental period

• rent can be increased under a rent review clause

Some of the original tenancy terms can remain unchanged. For example, term allowing the tenant to give less than 2 months' notice to end the tenancy.

The information sheet must be given within one month of the tenancy becoming an assured periodic tenancy.[19]

Unenforceable tenancy terms

Where the tenancy agreement states something different from the legislation, it cannot be enforced in court. For example, terms requiring rent in advance or imposing a fixed term.

Local authorities can issue a financial penalty against private landlords who try to issue a fixed term assured tenancy.

Find out more about local authority enforcement duties.

Assured tenants have certain rights. Some rights only apply to private assured tenants.

Rent increases for private assured tenancies

Section 13 Housing Act 1988 allows a private landlord to raise the rent on a periodic assured tenancy by giving the tenant a notice of increase in the prescribed form.

A landlord can only use this process to increase the rent once every 52 weeks.

Any clause in the tenancy to increase the rent in any other way is not valid after 1 May 2026.[20] For example, a rent review clause.

Find out more about rent increases for assured tenants.

Rent increases for social assured tenancies

Rent increases for tenants of private registered providers of social housing (PRPSH) are regulated by the Social Housing Regulator.

The landlord may be able to increase the rent in line with a rent review clause in the tenancy agreement if the relevant notice has been given to the tenant.

Find out more about rent levels in private registered providers of social housing.

Tenant's notice to end an assured tenancy

Most private assured tenants can give two months' notice to end the tenancy unless a shorter period has been agreed in writing with the landlord.[21]

For social tenants the notice period must be at least four weeks, or equivalent to the period of the tenancy if this is longer.

Find out more about a tenant's notice to quit.

Repairs during an assured tenancy

A private or social landlord must keep the structure and exterior of the dwelling in repair. The landlord must also keep the installations in the dwelling for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and heating water in good repair and proper working order.[22]

The landlord must ensure the property is fit for human habitation.[23]

The tenant must allow reasonable access for repairs.[24]

Find out more about more responsibility for repairs.

Tenancy deposit protection for assured tenants

Landlords who take a deposit must follow the correct process for protecting the deposit and supplying the tenant with prescribed information about the scheme.[25]

The tenant can issue a court claim for a refund of the deposit and a penalty if the landlord does not comply with tenancy deposit legislation.[26]

The court cannot make a possession order on grounds other than antisocial behaviour if a private landlord has not complied with tenancy deposit legislation.[27]

Find out more about tenancy deposit protection rules.

Right to request permission for a pet for private assured tenants

A private assured tenant has the right to request permission to keep a pet. The landlord must not unreasonably withhold permission.[28]

A superior lease can prevent the tenant keeping a pet.

Find out more about pets in private rented accommodation.

Banned tenancy fees for private assured tenants

A private landlord or letting agent cannot charge a tenant a fee unless it is expressly permitted. Any payment which is not permitted is a prohibited payment, also known as a banned fee.[29]

A requirement to pay more than one month's rent in advance or more than 5 weeks' rent as a deposit is likely to be a banned fee.

Find out more about tenancy fees.

Address of landlord

The landlord must provide the tenant with an address in England and Wales at which the tenant can serve notices on the landlord. If the landlord does not comply with this requirement, rent is treated as not due.[30]

Once the landlord provides the address any unpaid rent becomes due.

Find out more about information about a landlord.

Rent book for tenants who pay weekly

Where rent is payable weekly, the landlord must provide a rent book or equivalent.[31]

Right to assign an assured tenancy

Assignment is the transfer of an interest in a property, including a tenancy, to another person. Assignment, with the consent of the landlord, is possible in certain circumstances for some assured tenancies.[32]

Find out more about assignment.

Rights when an assured tenant dies

Succession is when someone inherits a tenancy after the tenant dies.

There can normally be only one succession to an assured tenancy, unless the tenancy agreement allows for a further succession.

Find out more about assured tenancy succession.

A landlord can end an assured tenancy by serving a valid notice. In most cases, the landlord must use a section 8 notice.

Section 8 notice seeking possession

A landlord can serve a valid section 8 notice on an assured or assured shorthold tenant to start the possession process. The landlord must have a reason for evicting the tenant, called a ground for possession.

Find out more about section 8 notices.

Notice to quit

A landlord can use a notice to quit where the tenant has lost their assured tenancy status. For example, where they are no longer occupying the property as their only or principal home.

Where a tenant returns to the property and occupies it as their only or principal home at the date of expiry of the notice, the landlord cannot continue possession using the notice to quit.[33]

Find out more about a landlord's notice to quit.

Where the tenant has no right to rent

An assured tenancy is converted into an excluded tenancy where the Home Office has served a disqualification from renting notice naming all of the occupiers in a premises held on an assured tenancy.[34]

The landlord can serve no less than 28 days' notice in a prescribed form.

Find out more about eviction of a tenant with no right to rent.