Assured Shorthold Tenancy

Assured Shorthold Tenancy

Of all the agreements out there for professional landlords, Assured Shorthold Tenancy documents are probably the most common one you'll use. And it is essentially the most important one of all. You see an assured shorthold tenancy agreement is basically a contract between a landlord and tenant that protects the rights of them both whilst setting out their duties and responsibilities. For example, once the agreement/contract is set up, you - as a landlord - will be given the right to repossess the rental property once your tenant reaches the specified ending date of their contract.


Whilst at the same time, your tenant will have the right to live in your rental property throughout that agreed rental period, unless they breach the contract. For this reason it is essential that you acquire a firm grasp of what an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement entails to ensure your properties long term. An Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement refers to the type of tenancy agreement that a landlord of residential property must put in place when renting their property to a tenant. It is not legally required to have a written tenancy agreement in place to start a tenancy. A tenancy agreement can be an oral contract between landlord and tenant. However, written tenancy agreements are highly recommended so important terms and conditions don't get forgotten. Additionally, if under any unfortunate circumstance, complications between landlord and tenant surfaces which require the aid of the court, the tenancy agreement can prove to be vital. The Housing Act 1996 states that all tenancy agreements for residential property created after 1997 will automatically be deemed to be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (AST) unless the parties agree in writing to the contrary. In such circumstances the tenancy must then either be agreed to be an Assured Tenancy or a Regulated Tenancy. Both of these other tenancy agreements give far greater rights of occupation to the tenant and are only generally used by Housing Authorities.

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement has certain clauses implied into it by the Housing Act 1996. These clauses relate to the rights of the parties to stipulate notice periods and the right of the tenant to require that their deposit (if one is taken) is held in accordance with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme rules. Our Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement template contains all of the required implied clauses as well as other clauses designed to make sure that the foundation foryour rental relationship is as solid as it can possibly be. In the event of death of tenant, your tenancy may be passed on to another member of your family, depending on which type of tenancy you have. If the tenancy is a joint tenancy, the remaining joint tenant or tenants have an automatic right to stay in the property for the rest of the tenancy. If you are the only tenant, rights to the tenancy depend on which tenancy type you have:

if it is a tenancy for a set period of six months or more (fixed-term) and is still valid, it will be passed on to the person named in your will

if the tenancy is rolling (periodic), it will automatically pass to your husband or wife


If you die while in a rolling tenancy agreement and the people left in the property have no rights to your tenancy, your landlord can recover the house. The landlord must start possession proceedings within a year of your death in order to get the property back. Your landlord has an automatic right to get the property back if the tenancy is a shorthold tenancy. They can only do this at the end of the tenancy and must give two months' notice that they want the property back. Regarding eviction, if your landlord tries to evict you without getting a court order it may be a criminal offence. Your local council should help if you have been illegally evicted or harassed by your landlord. You may also be able to get a court order to force your landlord to allow you back into the property. Get advice if you are in this situation. To terminate, if both parties agree to terminate the agreement, they can legally do so. This is called -surrender'. There are two ways that surrender of a tenancy can occur: by -operation of the law- or by a -declaration of surrender-.

Surrender of operation by law - This is when the tenant gives up their occupation of the property to the landlord and the landlord accepting this. This could involve the tenant handing over the property's keys to the landlord and the landlord accepting that the agreement is over and that they now have possession.

Declaration of operation by law - This is when the tenant signs a -Declaration of Surrender-. This written document then acts as proof that the tenant has given up possession of the property to the landlord.

For a surrender to be legal, both parties must agree. It's advised for everything that has been agreed to be written down so everyone knows where they stand. If a joint tenancy is in place, all the joint tenants and the landlord must agree to the surrender. When a tenant has legally surrendered the tenancy, then the landlord has the right of possession of the property under Section 5 of the Housing Act 1988. The landlord needs to end the agreement properly, before re-letting the property; otherwise the landlord could be accused of unlawful eviction. The Landlord is obliged to serve 2 months' notice (known as a section 21) if they wish to terminate an assured shorthold tenancy. The notice can be served at anytime during the fixed term but should not be dated to expire before the end of the fixed term. The tenant is not required to serve notice during the fixed term (apart from under the terms of a break clause) as it is assumed that if they are given notice or do not choose to renew they will leave at the end of the tenancy.

Net Lawman's Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement

Our outline agreements, which can be used both in respect of houses and flats, are suitable for residential tenancies agreement. Our Documents are drafted by expert Solicitors and Barristers and can be customize according to the wishes of Landlord. Our all templates are in plain English with explanatory notes, and are regularly updated to comply with domestic legislation.

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