Assured shorthold tenancy (AST) 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...

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),...

What are the main provisions of the Bill? The Bill, laid before the House of Commons on 17 May 2023, contains a substantial suite of reforms. The principal measures are: Abolishing section 21 notices and ending assured shorthold tenancies: Section 21 notices will be removed, so in future every claim for possession must rely on grounds under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988). With HA 1988, s 21 falling away, assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) will also cease (subject to any transitional arrangements), meaning all lettings will be assured tenancies. Tenancy deposit protection, a cornerstone of the present AST framework, will remain in force; where a landlord fails to meet the deposit requirements, service of a valid section 8 notice will be barred for almost all grounds. Ending fixed-term tenancies: Fixed terms will be prohibited, with all tenancies becoming periodic. Each period must be monthly, or no longer than 28 days. Tenants may bring the tenancy to an end by giving two months’...

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...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s impact on residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters' Rights Act 2025—key provisions. This Practice Note outlines the options available to landlords and tenants for bringing an assured tenancy (AT) or an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) in England to an end. It concentrates on the landlord routes under sections 8 and 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988), including the requirements for serving a notice seeking possession and the need to evidence any grounds relied upon. The pre-conditions for a section 21 notice include: Providing a gas safety certificate Supplying an Energy Performance Certificate Giving the How to Rent document Complying with a Tenancy Deposit Scheme It also addresses the court process for possession—varying according to whether section 8 or section 21 is used—and the steps to enforce a possession order where required. For material on granting...

ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. The Property case tracker brings together notable 2024 judgments we regard as pertinent to property lawyers. Entries appear in reverse chronological sequence. The tracker adopts the following definitions: AST: assured shorthold tenancy CVA: company voluntary arrangement FTT: First-tier Tribunal HMO: house in multiple occupation LPA: local planning authority NPPF: National Planning Policy Framework RRO: rent repayment order RTM: right to manage TCC: Technology and Construction Court UT: Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) VTE: Valuation Tribunal for England See also the Property key future developments tracker, which follows the progress and outcomes of appeal cases, while this document provides a digest of all matters we consider relevant to property lawyers. See further: Property case tracker—2023 [Archived] Property case tracker—2022 [Archived] Property case tracker—2021 [Archived] Property case tracker—2020 [Archived] December 2024 ...

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...

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...

Section 1(1)(a) of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) Under this provision in the Act, only an individual can be the tenant of an assured tenancy. Consequently, a company letting cannot qualify as an assured shorthold tenancy (AST). The HA 1988 also specifies categories of tenancy that are excluded from being ASTs, including business tenancies under the Act. As a result, the arrangement will then fall either as a common law tenancy—outside the HA 1988 and subject to ordinary contractual principles—or, where the relevant requirements are satisfied, as a business tenancy...