Residential tenancies

Residential tenancies—letting arrangements

The main types of residential tenancy in England are:

•
regulated tenancies governed by the Rent Act 1977 (RA 1977)
•
assured tenancies governed by the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988)
•
assured shorthold tenancies governed by HA 1988
•
public sector tenancies governed by the Housing Act 1985, and
•
common law tenancies

See Practice Notes: A summary of types of private residential tenancies and Secure tenancies.

Most licences and tenancies of dwellings in Wales are occupation contracts which are governed by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (RH(W)A 2016).

See Property considerations in Wales—overview for further information.

Regulated tenancies under the Rent Act 1977

RA 1977 introduced the 'protected tenancy' under which the tenant had the right to a fair rent and security of tenure. Protected tenancies have been replaced by assured tenancies under HA 1988 and consequently RA 1977 will generally only apply to tenancies created before 15 January 1989.

Existing protected tenancies continue to have protection and may be fixed term or periodic. When a protected tenancy comes

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