Assured tenancy

An assured tenancy is a legal category of residential tenancy to an individual (or individuals jointly) in English land law. Statute affords a tenant under an assured tenancy a degree of security of tenure. A tenant under an assured tenancy may not be evicted without a reasonable ground in the Housing Act 1988 and, where periodic, changes in rent are potentially subject to a challenge before a rent assessment committee.

Assured tenancies were introduced by the Housing Act 1988 that applies to tenancies entered from its commencement date or those assured tenancies it converted from the Housing Act 1980. The Act replaced most of the greater rent protection under the Rent Act 1977 and in rarer cases, other Rent Acts. However, since 28 February 1997, all new residential tenancies with three exceptions are deemed to be assured shorthold tenancies. These exceptions are those excluded by notice before or after the tenancy, those specifying it is not a shorthold, and lettings to existing assured tenants.

An exception to this are assured tenancies which are converted from being regulated by the Housing Act 1980 (except if granted by approved bodies under ss56-68 of the Housing Act 1980 before 15 January 1989, and before that date the tenant made an application to the court under section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (for the grant of a new tenancy), and on 15 January 1989 the 1980 Act tenancy is continuing by virtue of that section or of any provision of Part IV of the said Act of 1954.)

This counter-intuitive term, dwelling house, applies to exclude only businesses and highly indistinct subdivisions of houses or flats such as where shared and no particular set of joint tenants can be said to be entitled to the whole; flats and single rooms are included within the definition of a separate dwelling house as are converted barns, windmills etc.

Because domestic rates were abolished a distinction exists between tenancies granted before 1 April 1990 and those from that date. Before this a dwelling house (see above) tenancy with a rateable value of £750 (£1,500 in Greater London) (payable per year) cannot be an assured tenancy. From this date if the rent is more than £100,000 per year (£8,333.33 per month) it cannot be an assured tenancy.

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