Assured shorthold tenancies

You have an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) if you rent from a private landlord, your tenancy started after 28 February 1997, your landlord does not live at your property, and your house/flat/room is your main home and is let as separate accommodation. Check your tenancy agreement or visit the AST page on the Gov.uk website for more information.

Tenancy agreement

You should have a written tenancy agreement, but you have the same legal rights if you don’t.

If you haven’t got a written agreement, you should ask your landlord to provide the main terms of the agreement – the start date, the amount of rent you must pay and if it the amount is to be reviewed, and the length of the agreement. You landlord can be fined if they don’t give you this within 28 days.

Your landlord must protect your deposit in a Deposit Protection Scheme and give you a energy performance certificate. If your tenancy started after 1 October 2015 your landlord must give you a How to Rent guide at the start of your tenancy.

Repairs and safety

Your landlord is responsible for the upkeep of the structure and outside of the property, the heating and plumbing. You should report problems to your landlord as soon as possible.

Your landlord is not responsible for repairing damage caused by you.

Repairs and maintenance

Safety responsibilities

Ending your tenancy

Gov.uk explains how you should end your tenancy and the procedures your landlord must use to end your tenancy or evict you.

If you have an AST, your landlord has to follow a legal process to evict you. Contact our housing advice team to check they are evicting you legally.