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Assured shorthold tenancy
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Assured shorthold tenancy
The assured shorthold tenancy (AST) was the default legal category of residential tenancy in England and Wales from the 1990s to the 2020s.
It was a form of assured tenancy with limited security of tenure, which was introduced by the Housing Act 1988 and saw an important default provision and a widening of its definition made by the Housing Act 1996. Since 28 February 1997 in respect of accommodation to new tenants who are new to their landlords, the assured shorthold tenancy became the most common form of arrangement that involves a private residential landlord. The equivalent in Scotland is short assured tenancy.
Assured shorthold tenancies in Wales were replaced with occupation contracts in 2022, under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and in England were converted to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, except for those under possession proceedings.
The tenancy must have met the basic requirements of an assured tenancy (excluding the security of tenure effects) and all of the following:
The landlord had the right to terminate:
In 2023, the Conservative Government introduced the Renters' Reform Bill to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions and improve tenants’ rights across England and Wales. A new Renters' Rights Bill for England was introduced by the Labour Government in 2024 with similar aims. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. When it comes into force, the Act will abolish assured shorthold tenancies entirely. All existing ASTs will convert to periodic assured tenancies, meaning tenants can remain indefinitely unless the landlord uses one of the reformed Section 8 grounds for possession. The Act also abolishes Section 21 'no-fault' evictions, introduces a new Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector, and limits rent increases to once per year.
The only potential landlord's disadvantage of the assured shorthold tenancy was the right of the tenant to refer the rent initially payable to a rent assessment committee; which is now called the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber – Residential Property). However, it can reduce the rent only if it is "significantly higher" than the rents under any other comparable AST. In this unusual scenario in which the landlord has been able to agree a rent substantially higher than market comparables of the same kind of accommodation, the landlord can serve a Section 21 notice before or after the tenancy has begun stating it is not to be an assured shorthold tenancy, where no rent assessment application has been made. In other regards, except security of tenure, as a subset of assured tenancies, ASTs follow the definition requirements of assured tenancies, e.g. which includes maximum and minimum rent levels to exclude the most unusual extremes.
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Assured shorthold tenancy
The assured shorthold tenancy (AST) was the default legal category of residential tenancy in England and Wales from the 1990s to the 2020s.
It was a form of assured tenancy with limited security of tenure, which was introduced by the Housing Act 1988 and saw an important default provision and a widening of its definition made by the Housing Act 1996. Since 28 February 1997 in respect of accommodation to new tenants who are new to their landlords, the assured shorthold tenancy became the most common form of arrangement that involves a private residential landlord. The equivalent in Scotland is short assured tenancy.
Assured shorthold tenancies in Wales were replaced with occupation contracts in 2022, under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and in England were converted to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, except for those under possession proceedings.
The tenancy must have met the basic requirements of an assured tenancy (excluding the security of tenure effects) and all of the following:
The landlord had the right to terminate:
In 2023, the Conservative Government introduced the Renters' Reform Bill to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions and improve tenants’ rights across England and Wales. A new Renters' Rights Bill for England was introduced by the Labour Government in 2024 with similar aims. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. When it comes into force, the Act will abolish assured shorthold tenancies entirely. All existing ASTs will convert to periodic assured tenancies, meaning tenants can remain indefinitely unless the landlord uses one of the reformed Section 8 grounds for possession. The Act also abolishes Section 21 'no-fault' evictions, introduces a new Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector, and limits rent increases to once per year.
The only potential landlord's disadvantage of the assured shorthold tenancy was the right of the tenant to refer the rent initially payable to a rent assessment committee; which is now called the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber – Residential Property). However, it can reduce the rent only if it is "significantly higher" than the rents under any other comparable AST. In this unusual scenario in which the landlord has been able to agree a rent substantially higher than market comparables of the same kind of accommodation, the landlord can serve a Section 21 notice before or after the tenancy has begun stating it is not to be an assured shorthold tenancy, where no rent assessment application has been made. In other regards, except security of tenure, as a subset of assured tenancies, ASTs follow the definition requirements of assured tenancies, e.g. which includes maximum and minimum rent levels to exclude the most unusual extremes.