What kind of tenancy do I have?
Almost every renting question depends on this answer, and the answer is different in each UK nation. How to work out which regime you are in and what your agreement is actually called.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 12 min
- Read
- 5 min
Short answer
In England a private renter has an assured tenancy — assured shortholds were abolished on 1 May 2026. In Wales you have an occupation contract and you are a contract-holder. In Scotland you have a private residential tenancy. In Northern Ireland you simply have a private tenancy. Sharing with your landlord usually makes you a lodger with far fewer rights, wherever you are.
People search for their rights and read an answer written for a different country, which is how someone in Cardiff ends up believing section 21 was abolished for them, or someone in Belfast looks for a tenancy deposit scheme that does not operate there. The tenancy type is the key that unlocks every other answer: notice periods, eviction grounds, rent increases, deposit caps and where a dispute is decided all follow from it.
Step by step
- Start with the nation, not the agreement.Housing law is devolved. The nation the property is in decides which statute applies, regardless of where you or the landlord live. Get this right before reading anything else.
- England: you almost certainly have an assured tenancy.The Renters' Rights Act 2025 converted existing assured shortholds into assured tenancies on 1 May 2026 and stopped new ones being created. There are no fixed terms any more — every private assured tenancy is periodic, with periods of no more than a month. Your landlord must give you a written statement of terms.
- Wales: you have an occupation contract.Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 a private renter holds a standard occupation contract and is called a contract-holder rather than a tenant. Both fixed-term and periodic standard contracts exist. The landlord must give you a written statement of the contract within fourteen days of occupation.
- Scotland: you have a private residential tenancy.Created by the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 and used for everything let privately since December 2017. It is open-ended — there is no fixed term and no end date at all. Older assured and short assured tenancies still exist but cannot be created.
- Northern Ireland: you have a private tenancy.Governed by the Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006 and the Private Tenancies Act (NI) 2022. There are no assured or assured shorthold tenancies in Northern Ireland at all. If the agreement says nothing about length, the default is a fixed term of six months.
- Check whether you are a lodger instead.If you share living accommodation with your landlord — a kitchen, bathroom or living room, not just a hallway — you are very likely a licensee rather than a tenant, in every nation. That removes most statutory protection, including the requirement for a court order before you have to leave.
- Check whether it is a licence for another reason.Genuine holiday lets, tied accommodation that comes with a job, some supported housing, and student halls run by a university or a specified provider are outside the ordinary regimes. What matters is the substance of the arrangement, not the label on the document.
- Look for the written statement or contract.England requires a written statement of terms within twenty-eight days. Wales requires a written statement within fourteen days, and failing to give one both blocks a no-fault notice and triggers compensation. Ask for it in writing if you do not have it.
- Use nation-specific advice from here on.Shelter England, Shelter Scotland, Shelter Cymru and Housing Rights in Northern Ireland each publish for their own nation and are free. A general UK article is the most common source of wrong answers in this subject.
Tips
- Write the nation and the tenancy type at the top of your own notes. Every subsequent question depends on both.
- Ask for the written statement in writing. In England and Wales the failure to provide one has real consequences for the landlord.
- If you share a kitchen or bathroom with the person you pay, check your status before you rely on any tenant right.
Common mistakes
- Reading English guidance for a Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish home — The four nations now differ on notice periods, grounds, deposit caps, rent challenges and whether no-fault eviction exists at all. English guidance is simply wrong outside England.
- Believing the label on the agreement — Status follows the facts and the statute. An agreement headed 'licence' can still be a tenancy, and an agreement headed 'assured shorthold' in England is now an assured tenancy.
If it doesn't work
Your landlord says you still have an assured shorthold
Cause: They have not caught up with the 2026 change in England — Fix: The conversion happened automatically. Point them to the GOV.UK Renters' Rights Act guidance for tenants and ask for the written statement of terms they are now required to give you.
You have no written agreement at all
Cause: Common with informal lettings — Fix: A tenancy exists without a written agreement. Ask in writing for the statutory statement your nation requires and keep the request — the failure to provide one has consequences for the landlord in England and Wales.
You cannot tell whether you are a tenant or a lodger
Cause: The answer turns on whether you have exclusive possession and whether the landlord lives there — Fix: Ask your nation's Shelter or Housing Rights service, with the facts: who lives there, which rooms you share, whether anyone else can enter your room. The consequences are large enough to be worth checking.
Questions people ask
My agreement says 'assured shorthold tenancy' — is it still one?
If the property is in England, no. On 1 May 2026 existing private assured shortholds became assured tenancies by operation of law, whatever the paperwork says. In Wales the equivalent conversion to occupation contracts happened on 1 December 2022. The document being out of date does not change your status.
Does a fixed term still mean anything?
In England, no — fixed terms in private assured tenancies were abolished. In Wales fixed-term standard contracts still exist, but the end of the term does not by itself give the landlord possession; a periodic contract arises automatically. In Scotland there are no fixed terms. In Northern Ireland fixed terms are normal and are the default.
I signed before the law changed — which rules apply?
The current rules. In England the conversion applied to existing tenancies, not only new ones. Your agreement's wording does not preserve the old regime.
Does it matter that my landlord lives abroad?
Not for your tenancy type, which follows the property. It can matter for tax and for serving notices, and your landlord's agent should have an address in the UK at which notices can be served on the landlord.