Fire safety advice for landlords
- 3 December 2014
- Tips for Landlords
In 2012 to 2013 the fire and rescue service attended 192,600 fires. More than a third of the fires which were in…
Read MoreWhen it comes to private rent property, it is important to understand the difference between the different tenancy agreements available for landlords in the UK. We outline the most common forms of tenancies you might expect when renting your property.
Assured Shorthold Tenancies
This type of agreement is also referred to as an “AST” or “Shorthold Tenancy” and is the most common in the private renting. AST’s provide the one paying tenant with the right to:
Assured Shorthold Tenancies can either be Periodic or Fixed-term. Fixed-term tenancies run for a set amount of time whereas the periodic tenancies have no fixed end date and run on a week-to-week or month-to-month basis.
There are other tenancies that aren’t as common as ASTs, including:
Regulated Tenancies
Tenancies starting before 15 January 1989 may be regulated. While regulated tenancies no longer exist, some long-term contracts are still in use. Your tenants have increased protection from eviction and can appeal to the Residential Property Tribunal and apply for a ‘fair rent’.
Excluded tenancies or licences (Lodgers Agreement)
If rent a room out in your only or principal place of residence and share rooms with them, like a kitchen or bathroom, you are said to have a lodger. Resident Landlords have greater freedom to evict than most other Landlords, should the relationship breakdown, or the landlord feel uncomfortable in his own home. In this case, resident tenants also have very little power to challenge rental increases, unlike non-residential tenants.
There are some cases in which an excluded tenancy becomes simple a licence to occupy (or Excluded licence). These are:
Common general examples of licences are staying in a hotel or staying in friends house for a few days. Tenants have some rights that licensees do not.
Assured Tenancy
Assured tenancies are usually granted by Housing Associations or Housing and applied to those tenancies starting between 15 January 1989 and 27 February 1997.
The main differences between an assured and a shorthold tenancy are the following:
If you are unsure which type of tenancy you want to sign for your rental property, you should seek legal advice.
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