Understanding the types of rental tenancies

The most commonly used tenancy agreement is called an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST).

This agreement is used where the rent is below £100,000 per year, the tenant is an individual or a group of individuals and the tenants will be having exclusive use of the property.  As the tenant, you’ll also have a right to occupy the property for a minimum of six months.

If you’re renting a property using an Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement, your deposit has to be protected, by law, with an approved tenancy deposit scheme. This is not something you, the tenant, needs to worry about. Your landlord or agent will manage it on your behalf.

Learn more about tenancy deposit schemes here.

There are some circumstances when ASTs are not suitable. Different agreements will need to be used if:

• The tenant is a company or other legal entity and not an individual
• The rent is over £100,000 per year
• The property is being let as a holiday let
• You are lodging in property with the landlord
• The property is a houseboat
• It is an agricultural or occupationally tied tenancy
• The property has been split in to flats and the landlord lives in the same building
• It is a Rent Act tenancy, which falls under a different set of legislation