What makes an AST: the automatic default and excluded tenancies
Under the Housing Act 1988 s.19A (as amended by the Housing Act 1996), any new private residential tenancy granted in England on or after 28 February 1997 is automatically an assured shorthold tenancy — the landlord does not need to take any extra steps. The law treats the AST as the default. A tenancy is automatically an AST if all of the following apply:
- The landlord is not resident in the same building as a separate dwelling (resident landlord exemption — s.31 HA 1988: if the landlord lives in the building as their only or main home, the tenancy is excluded from AST status)
- The tenant is an individual — not a company; a company tenancy is not an AST
- The property is let as a separate dwelling and is the tenant's only or main home
- The annual rent is between £1 and £100,000 (extended from the original £25,000 cap)
- Excluded tenancies (NOT ASTs): let to a company; annual rent above £100,000; let as a holiday let; student accommodation let under a licence from an educational body; tenancies granted before 28 February 1997 (these may be Rent Act 1977 protected/regulated tenancies — the fair rent system still applies)
Fixed-term AST, periodic AST and the required prescribed information pack
- Fixed-term AST: created for a specified period (typically 6 or 12 months); landlord cannot end the tenancy during the fixed term unless a valid fault-based Ground exists (e.g., Ground 8 — serious rent arrears; Ground 14 — anti-social behaviour); at the end of the fixed term, if neither party takes action the tenancy automatically becomes a statutory periodic tenancy on the same terms
- Periodic AST: rolling tenancy (monthly or weekly — matching the rent payment period) with no fixed end date; created directly or as a successor to a fixed-term AST; landlord can serve a Section 21 notice at any time after any initial fixed period (at least 2 months' notice expiring on the last day of a tenancy period) — pre-RRA 2025 only
- How to Rent guide: the landlord must provide the current version at the start of every AST (the guide is updated periodically — must be the current version; failure to serve means no valid Section 21 notice can be served)
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC): must be provided before the tenant moves in; valid EPC also required for MEES compliance
- Gas Safety Certificate (Landlord's Record): provided at the start of the tenancy; copy to tenant within 28 days of each annual check
- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR): required for private rented properties in England; fresh EICR on each change of tenancy (or every 5 years if tenancy continues)
- Deposit protection: if a deposit is taken, it must be protected in an approved scheme (DPS; MyDeposits; TDS) within 30 days of receipt; prescribed information (PI) must be served within 30 days — name/address of scheme; scheme leaflet; certificate of protection; prescribed information form; failure to protect and serve PI means the court can award 1-3× the deposit amount to the tenant
RRA 2025 (England from 1 May 2026) — new fixed terms abolished, Section 21 abolished, new grounds
- New fixed-term ASTs ABOLISHED: from 1 May 2026, it is no longer possible to create a new fixed-term AST in England; all new tenancies must be periodic from the outset (a single 'assured periodic tenancy') — no fixed term, no minimum duration, tenancy continues until ended by the tenant (2 months' notice) or by the landlord (valid Schedule 1 RRA 2025 ground)
- Existing fixed-term tenancies at 1 May 2026: NOT immediately converted; they continue until the natural end of the fixed term and then automatically convert to a periodic tenancy under the new regime
- Section 21 ABOLISHED from 1 May 2026 for all assured tenancies in England — no further Section 21 notices can be served or relied upon from that date; landlords seeking possession must use one of the grounds in Schedule 1 to the RRA 2025
- New Schedule 1 RRA 2025 grounds (equivalent to a reformed Schedule 2 HA 1988): Ground 1 (landlord or close family requires for own occupation); Ground 1A (landlord intending to sell — new ground replacing old s.21 use for sale); Ground 8 (at least 3 months' rent arrears — mandatory; revised from 2 months); plus discretionary grounds for persistent arrears; anti-social behaviour; repeated lease breaches
- Private Rented Sector Ombudsman (PRSO): from 1 May 2026, all private landlords in England must be members of the new PRSO scheme; tenants can escalate complaints; non-membership is a civil offence
- Landlord Portal: all private landlords in England must register on the Property Portal (Landlord Portal); non-registration is a civil offence; agents must also register managed properties
- Wales: all tenancies from 1 December 2022 are occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (RHWA 2016) — not ASTs; written occupation contract statement required within 14 days; Section 21 already abolished in Wales; no-fault possession via a no-fault contract-holder's notice (minimum 6 months for periodic occupation contracts)
- Scotland: Scottish Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) under Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 — not ASTs; all PRT tenancies fully periodic from the outset since 1 December 2017; Notice to Leave citing one of 18 statutory grounds; Section 21 has never applied in Scotland
- NI: Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006 — different fixed-term and notice provisions; NI retains fixed-term tenancies; NI Landlord Registration mandatory at landlordregistrationni.gov.uk