Assured shorthold tenancy meaning

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. This Flowchart outlines how to end an assured (AT) or assured shorthold tenancy (AST) via section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988), including: service of a section 8 notice issuing proceedings the steps in the case leading to an order for possession Where HA 1988 applies, unless the tenant agrees to leave voluntarily, a landlord may recover possession only by using the procedures in HA 1988, sections 8 or 21, obtaining an order for possession and enforcing it. See Practice Note: Assured and assured shorthold tenancies—terminating. The section 8 process is available where the tenant has defaulted on tenancy obligations (for example, failing to pay rent) or the landlord qualifies for possession on another HA 1988, Sch 2 ground, whether during a fixed...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For insight into how it affects residential tenancies in England, refer to Practice Note: Renters' Rights Act 2025—key provisions. This Flowchart outlines the steps for ending an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) via the standard possession route, covering when to serve a section 21 notice, when to issue proceedings, and the procedural milestones up to a possession order. Where HA 1988 governs, unless the tenant chooses to leave of their own accord, a landlord may regain possession only by following the mechanisms in HA 1988, ss 8 or 21, securing a possession order and enforcing it. For more detail, see Practice Note: Assured and assured shorthold tenancies—terminating. Under HA 1988, s 21, a landlord may terminate a fixed-term AST by giving the tenant no less than two months’ written notice, exercising a break clause during the term, or at the end of, or after the...

The flow diagram outlines when an executor might renounce probate, the effects this has on administering the estate, and which other individuals may apply for a grant instead, in their place. It also additionally covers the circumstance in which a proving sole, or sole-surviving, executor dies, and explains how the chain of representation interacts with renunciation by their own executor(s). If one of several appointed executors dies after obtaining a grant, but there remain surviving, proving executors named in that grant, those executors will carry on acting...

In this issue: Residential tenancies Key developments and horizon scanning Disputes and remedies Repairing obligations and dilapidations Enfranchisement and right to manage Trespass and adverse possession Contractual issues Additional Property Disputes updates LexTalk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Residential tenancies Errors in section 21 possession procedure documents were not material (Hamer v Levy) In Hamer v Levy [2026] EWCA Civ 662, the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) allowed the appellant to seek permission to appeal, but nevertheless dismissed the appeal. She contested an order that had struck out her challenge to a District Judge’s possession order. The landlord had issued a section 21 notice to obtain possession of the property let under an assured shorthold tenancy. The Court confirmed that any flaws in the section 21 possession documentation were immaterial. It further held there was a procedural...

In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Service charges Disputes and remedies Repairing obligations and dilapidations Residential tenancies Property Disputes in Scotland LexTalk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Additional Property disputes updates Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary New and updated content Trackers Latest Q&As Key developments and horizon scanning The Law Society has welcomed newly tabled amendments to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill designed to limit sales of new leasehold houses and to ensure that, save in exceptional cases, every new home in England and Wales starts life as freehold. However, its President, Nick Emmerson, observed that, with no current measures to advance commonhold tenure, the Society endorses the Law Commission’s 2011 recommendations to modernise freehold law, making it simpler for houses on managed estates to be sold as freehold, and he urged the government to incorporate those reforms into the Bill. Emmerson also highlighted the...

In this issue: Residential tenancies Disputes and remedies Service charges Easements and covenants Trespass and adverse possession Lease covenants and obligations Additional property Disputes updates LexTalk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Residential tenancies Subsequent compliance with gas safety records overcomes pre-tenancy defect (Cassell v Sidhu) In Cassell v Sidhu [2025] Lexis Citation 2682, the Reading County Court rejected an appeal against a possession order concerning a property let under an assured shorthold tenancy (AST). The central question was whether a gas safety record supplied when the AST began, which omitted the landlords’ address as required by the Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998, permanently stopped the landlords relying on the accelerated possession route in section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. The court decided that, although the pre-tenancy gas safety record did not comply with regulation 36(3)(c),...

Deposits requested by landlords and letting agents for certain residential tenancies must be safeguarded by a tenancy deposit scheme (TDS), whether insurance-based or custodial. This Practice Note outlines the purpose of the deposit legislation, the obligations on landlords, the financial penalties for non-compliance, and the limits on regaining possession. The deposit regime All deposits taken by landlords for residential assured tenancies (ATs) in England must be protected under a TDS. Transitional provisions exempt tenancies that were non-shorthold ATs before 1 May 2026. The parties cannot contract out of these duties. There are two forms of TDS: insurance-based schemes and custodial schemes. They are intended to: allow tenants to recover all or part of their deposit when they are entitled to it and make any disputes easier to resolve encourage landlords and tenants to agree clearly from the outset on the property's condition so that a landlord is not left out of pocket when the tenancy expires and the tenant leaves ...

This ‘how to’ guide explains how social landlords can serve a notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) to recover possession of a dwelling in England let on an Assured tenancy (AT) or an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). Social landlords—being private registered providers of social housing—are not yet affected by the reforms brought in by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (RRA 2025). It sets out the required form and service of the notice, the grounds for possession, and the practical actions to take once a notice has been issued. For guidance on serving notice to determine an AST under HA 1988, s 21 see Practice Notes: Social sector tenancies—how to serve a section 21 notice, Quick guide to terminating Assured and Assured Shorthold Tenancies and Assured and assured shorthold tenancies—terminating—Section 21. For guidance on how to serve a section 8 notice for private sector landlords, see Practice Note: Private sector tenancies—how to serve a section 8 notice. Check the form of notice The section...

Application to set aside a statutory demand served on an individual This Practice Note summarises the appropriate court or tribunal for issuing proceedings across common property dispute applications, such as setting aside statutory demands; opposed and unopposed Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 lease renewals; interim rent; assured and assured shorthold tenancy possession; light obstruction notice procedure; forfeiture; lease extensions and collective enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and Leasehold Reform Act 1967; boundary disputes; appeals from party wall awards; trespasser (squatter) possession and/or injunctions; enforcement of possession orders; Electronic Communications Code matters; modification of restrictive covenants; service charge dispensation; terminal dilapidations; proceedings for unreasonable withholding of consent; and rent review arbitration appeals... Type of PD application — Court/Tribunal — Authority — Further detail Application to set aside a statutory demand served on an individual — County Court, or in certain circumstances the High Court. County Court: The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, rr 10.4(4), 10.11,...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For advice on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. Introduction Where a possession claim relies on grounds other than rent arrears, the correct defence is filed using Form N11R (defence form—rented residential premises). These drafting notes are provided solely to support completion of Form N11R. Relevant precedents Drafting notes for a section 8 notice seeking possession of property let under an assured tenancy (AT) or assured shorthold tenancy (AST) Drafting notes for the claim form in section 8 proceedings for possession (AT or AST) arising from rent arrears and/or other breaches Drafting notes for particulars of claim in section 8 proceedings (AT or AST) relating to non-payment of rent and/or other breaches Drafting notes for a defence to section 8 possession claims brought for non-payment of rent General points These notes...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 was granted Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on how the Act affects residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. Introduction The defence must be submitted on Form N11R. These drafting notes are provided solely to assist with completing Form N11R. Relevant precedents For further relevant precedents, refer to: Drafting notes for claim form in section 21 standard possession proceedings Drafting notes for particulars of claim in s 21 notice standard possession proceedings General points These notes are intended to help with completing Form N11R, the defence used where a landlord of property let on an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) has begun possession proceedings under the standard possession procedure. For these notes, it is assumed the landlord’s case also includes a claim for rent arrears. A landlord may instead elect to use the accelerated possession procedure where possession is sought from an...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 secured Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, consult Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. These drafting notes are intended for landlords preparing to serve a notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) to obtain possession of a dwelling let on an assured tenancy (AT) or an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) in England, relying on one of the grounds listed in HA 1988, Sch 2, or for an assured agricultural occupancy. How to use these drafting notes: The section 8 notice should take the following form: Section 8 Notice for properties in England These notes are solely for completing the section 8 notice. Note that from 1 December 2022, in Wales, ASTs, ATs and other forms of residential tenancies and licences of properties were replaced with occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. Existing ASTs...

Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004) sets out the obligations on landlords who take a deposit in relation to an assured shorthold tenancy. Every deposit must be handled in line with an authorised scheme (HA 2004, s 213(1)), and the scheme’s initial requirements must be met within a period of 30 days from receipt of the deposit (HA 2004, s 213(3))...

Assured shorthold tenancies An Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) is a form of assured tenancy that permits a landlord to rent out a dwelling, while still keeping the ability to recover possession of the property once the term finishes. This differs from regulated and other assured tenancies, where the occupier might have a right to remain in the home when the term ends. For further detail, see Practice Note: A summary of types of private residential tenancies, under the heading A summary of types of private residential tenancies—Assured shorthold tenancies. As to how an AST arises, the starting position is that any residential letting granted on or after 28 February 1997 will, by default, be an AST, unless the landlord has served a notice on the tenant confirming that the tenancy will not be an AST...

It is not evident from this Q&A whether the initial term of the Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST) has lapsed, or whether the fresh tenancy agreement amounts to a renewal or an extension. The Q&A indicates that a replacement tenancy has been issued, at an increased rent compared with the original AST, and for another fixed duration period...