Assured Tenancy

An Assured Tenancy is a type of residential tenancy created under the Housing Act 1988 that gives the tenant stronger long-term security than an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). It is more common in older social housing and some long-standing private tenancies than in modern private lets.

Under an assured tenancy, the tenant can usually stay in the property indefinitely as long as they comply with the agreement. The landlord can only recover possession using one of the statutory grounds in the Housing Act 1988 (for example serious rent arrears, breach of tenancy or redevelopment) and must obtain a court order. There is no “no-fault” route equivalent to the traditional Section 21 procedure used for ASTs.

In practice, many assured tenancies arise because they were granted before ASTs became the default, or because a social or housing association landlord used assured (not shorthold) agreements for general needs housing. Tenants with assured status typically enjoy greater stability, succession rights and sometimes different rent setting methods.