As a Landlord having a solid tenancy agreement between yourself and your tenant is important, as it sets out the legal items and the terms and conditions of the letting agreement. A tenancy agreement can be in two forms:
- Fixed terms which runs for a period of time for example 6 month
- Periodic which can run week by week or month by month
AST tenancy agreements
The most common form of a tenancy agreement is an AST (Assured Short hold Tenancy) and is the newest tenancies type.
A tenancy can only be an AST if the following applies:
- You are a private Landlord and you do not work for the council or housing association.
- The tenancy started on or after the 15th January 1989.
- The property is your tenants main accommodation.
- You as the Landlord do not live at the property
A tenancy cannot be an AST tenancy if:
- The tenancy was started or agreed before the 15th January 1989.
- The rent is more than £100,000 per annum.
- The rent is less than £250 per annum (if based in London this will £1,000 per annum).
- It is business tenancy or a licensed premised tenancy.
- It is a holiday home let.
- The landlord is a local council.
A guide to AST tenanacies can be download via the Gov UK website.
Other types of tenancy agreements
There are other types of tenancies but they are not as common as a AST:
Excluded tenancies or licenses: this is for if you have a lodger living with you and you share rooms like a bathroom and kitchen area. This type of agreement also give the tenant less protection from eviction thank other agreement types
Assured Tenancies: If the agreement started between 15th January 1989 – 27 February 1997, tenant will have increased protection of eviction with this type of agreement
Regulated Tenancies: any tenancies starting before the 15th January 1989 maybe regulated. A tenant will have increased protection from eviction and can apply for a fair rent.
A guide about Regulated Tenancies can be download via Gov UK website
