Assured Tenancy vs Assured Shorthold Tenancy in England

Before 1 May 2026, England had two types of private residential tenancy under the Housing Act 1988: assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies. That distinction is now gone. Understanding what replaced it — and why the old categories existed — helps make sense of the current rules.

The Old Distinction

An assured shorthold tenancy (AST) was the default for private lettings since 1997. It gave tenants security of tenure during the fixed term but allowed the landlord to recover possession at the end of it by serving a Section 21 notice — two months' notice with no grounds required. Most private tenancies in England were ASTs.

An assured tenancy (without the "shorthold") gave the tenant significantly stronger security. The landlord could not serve a Section 21 notice and could only recover possession on specific statutory grounds under Section 8. These tenancies were relatively rare in the private sector but common in social housing.

The key practical difference was the landlord's exit route. With an AST, you could get your property back by waiting for the fixed term to end and serving Section 21. With an assured tenancy, you needed a court order on one of the specified grounds.

What Changed on 1 May 2026

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished ASTs entirely. Every existing AST — fixed-term, contractual periodic, or statutory periodic — automatically converted into an assured periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026. The "shorthold" category no longer exists.

For landlords whose private letting qualifies as an assured tenancy, the practical effect is that it now operates under the rules that previously applied only to assured tenancies: no Section 21, no no-fault eviction, possession only through the Section 8 grounds. The tenancy rolls from one rent period to the next with no end date.

The conversion happened by operation of law. No paperwork was needed for the conversion itself. Landlords did not need to sign a new agreement, and tenants did not need to consent. The legal character of the tenancy simply changed on the statutory date.

The Conversion in Practice

For most landlords, the day-to-day impact falls into a few areas:

Ending a tenancy. You can no longer wait for a fixed term to expire and serve Section 21. To recover possession, you need one of the Section 8 grounds — rent arrears (Ground 8), landlord occupation (Ground 1), sale (Ground 1A), anti-social behaviour (Ground 7A), and others. Each ground has its own notice period, ranging from two weeks to four months.

Rent increases. Contractual rent review clauses are void. The only route to a rent increase is the statutory Section 13 Form 4A process — once every 12 months, with two months' notice.

Tenant notice. The tenant can leave at any time by giving two months' written notice. There is no fixed term to lock them in.

Fixed terms. You cannot create one. Any clause purporting to set a tenancy end date or fixed duration is void under Section 16E of the Housing Act 1988.

Tenancies That Were Already Assured

A small number of tenancies were already non-shorthold assured tenancies before 1 May 2026 — typically social housing tenancies or very old private tenancies created before the 1997 default switched to ASTs. These tenancies were already operating under the assured tenancy rules and the conversion did not substantially change their legal character.

The main change for these tenancies is that the Renters' Rights Act updated the possession grounds, added new requirements like the Written Statement of Terms, and introduced the rent advance cap. But the core principle — possession only through Section 8, no no-fault eviction — was already in place.

Why the Terminology Still Matters

You will still see "AST" in existing tenancy agreements, legal commentary, and older landlord resources. Those references describe what the tenancy used to be, not what it is now. Any contractual term that depends on the AST status — Section 21 notice clauses, contractual rent reviews, fixed end dates — is void.

For a complete walkthrough of how the conversion works for each tenancy type and what obligations it triggers, the Assured Periodic Tenancies compliance kit maps every scenario from existing written ASTs to oral agreements to new lettings.

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