Assured shorthold tenancy
A tenant is the occupier of a leasehold estate, that is, someone who occupies land or property that they rent from a landlord. Tenancy is the agreement between the landlord and the tenant giving them the right of occupancy.
Assured shorthold tenancy (AST) is the most common type of agreement used by landlords to let residential properties to private tenants. ASTs are typically given for a period of six months but can be for longer. After this initial agreed period, the landlord is able to evict the tenant without a legal reason.
See also: Difference between assured shorthold tenancy and assured tenancy.
The Housing Act 1988 defines the criteria under which a tenancy can be an AST:
- The property must be the tenant’s main place of residence.
- The landlord must be a private landlord or housing association and not live in the property.
- The tenant must be an individual not a business or other non-person.
- The property cannot be let as separate accommodation.
A tenancy cannot be an AST if it is more than £100,000 a year, less than £250 a year (£1,000 in London), is a holiday let, or if the landlord is a local council.
The AST contract must be signed before the tenancy starts and should inform tenants of how much rent is payable, the length of the tenancy, and where responsibility for repairs lies.
At the start of the AST, a sum of money is paid by the tenant to the landlord as a deposit, to be returned in full or part when the tenancy ends. The deposit must be placed in a Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme.
The landlord is not able to increase the rent during the fixed term of an AST unless it is agreed by the tenant and/or if there is a rent review clause included in the contract. This clause will typically detail when the review will take place, the amount of notice the tenant will receive, and how any increase will be calculated.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Buy-to-let mortgage.
- Code of practice for letting and managing agents.
- Difference between assured shorthold tenancy and assured tenancy.
- Excluded occupier.
- Ground rent.
- Housing tenure.
- How to evict a tenant.
- Hybrid assured shorthold tenancy.
- Landlord.
- Landlord and Tenant Act.
- Lease Negotiations - Tenants Checklist.
- Leasehold.
- Leasing a property - what you need to know.
- Rent.
- Section 13 notice.
- Section 21 notice.
- Short term lets.
- Subletting.
- Tenancy deposit protection.
- Tenant.
Featured articles and news
ECA support for Gate Safe’s Safe School Gates Campaign.
Core construction skills explained
Preparing for a career in construction.
Retrofitting for resilience with the Leicester Resilience Hub
Community-serving facilities, enhanced as support and essential services for climate-related disruptions.
Some of the articles relating to water, here to browse. Any missing?
Recognisable Gothic characters, designed to dramatically spout water away from buildings.
A case study and a warning to would-be developers
Creating four dwellings... after half a century of doing this job, why, oh why, is it so difficult?
Reform of the fire engineering profession
Fire Engineers Advisory Panel: Authoritative Statement, reactions and next steps.
Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster
A complex project of cultural significance from full decant to EMI, opportunities and a potential a way forward.
Apprenticeships and the responsibility we share
Perspectives from the CIOB President as National Apprentice Week comes to a close.
The first line of defence against rain, wind and snow.
Building Safety recap January, 2026
What we missed at the end of last year, and at the start of this...
National Apprenticeship Week 2026, 9-15 Feb
Shining a light on the positive impacts for businesses, their apprentices and the wider economy alike.
Applications and benefits of acoustic flooring
From commercial to retail.
From solid to sprung and ribbed to raised.
Strengthening industry collaboration in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Institute of Construction and The Chartered Institute of Building sign Memorandum of Understanding.
A detailed description from the experts at Cornish Lime.
IHBC planning for growth with corporate plan development
Grow with the Institute by volunteering and CP25 consultation.
Connecting ambition and action for designers and specifiers.
Electrical skills gap deepens as apprenticeship starts fall despite surging demand says ECA.
Built environment bodies deepen joint action on EDI
B.E.Inclusive initiative agree next phase of joint equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) action plan.
Recognising culture as key to sustainable economic growth
Creative UK Provocation paper: Culture as Growth Infrastructure.
Comments