Resident landlord
A resident landlord is a person who lets part of a building while using that same building as their only or principal home. Under Schedule 1 of the Housing Act 1988, a tenancy cannot be an assured tenancy, and therefore falls outside the full private rented sector legal framework, where the landlord is resident in this sense. The practical effect is significant: most occupiers in a resident landlord arrangement have fewer statutory rights than tenants in a standard private letting, and the landlord has more freedom to end the arrangement without a court possession order.
The legal test for resident landlord status
Status depends on facts, not labels. For lettings begun from 15 January 1989, gov.uk guidance confirms the landlord must occupy the building as their only or principal home both at the start of the letting and throughout it. If you move out permanently, you lose resident landlord status and the occupier may acquire assured tenancy rights, including the protections of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, from that point.
Two further conditions determine the full picture:
Sharing test. If the occupier shares any accommodation with the landlord, other than halls, stairs, or storage, the letting is an excluded tenancy or excluded licence. Sharing a kitchen or bathroom is sufficient. Excluded arrangements sit outside the Protection from Eviction Act 1977's notice-to-quit requirements, which is why a resident landlord can typically end the arrangement by giving reasonable notice in writing rather than serving a statutory notice and obtaining a court order.
Purpose-built flats exception. The resident landlord exclusion does not apply where the property is a purpose-built block of flats and the landlord and occupier occupy separate self-contained flats within it. In that case, the occupier is an assured tenant regardless of whether the landlord lives in the building.
What the exclusion means in practice
Where resident landlord status is established and the sharing test is met, the occupier is usually a lodger under a licence to occupy rather than a tenant under an assured tenancy. The Renters' Rights Act hub explains which Act provisions apply across different letting types: the core assured tenancy reforms, including the abolition of Section 21, the assured periodic tenancy framework, and Section 13 rent increase procedures, do not apply to excluded licences. You can end the arrangement by giving reasonable notice as set out in the written agreement, without going to court.
You must never use force or harassment to remove an occupier, however. Unlawful eviction is a criminal offence regardless of the nature of the arrangement.
Safety and compliance duties that still apply
Resident landlord status does not remove your compliance duties. The gov.uk guide for resident landlords is clear that a home must be fit for habitation whatever the living arrangement. In practice this means:
gas safety: an annual Gas Safe check and certificate if the property has gas appliances; electrical safety: an EICR every five years (the shared-home exemption from electrical safety regulations was removed); fire precautions: working smoke alarms on each floor and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with solid fuel appliances; and no unlawful discrimination in choosing or dealing with an occupier.
August's compliance checklist covers the safety certificates and documentation you need to have in place even in a shared-home letting.
When resident landlord status changes
From working with self-managing landlords across the UK, we find that the most common source of legal uncertainty in resident landlord arrangements is a change in circumstances, most often the landlord moving out temporarily or permanently, or converting a shared room into a self-contained flat. If the building is converted so that the occupier has a wholly self-contained unit with their own kitchen, bathroom, and private access, and you no longer genuinely share living space, the occupier may gain full assured tenancy rights. Labelling the arrangement a "lodger licence" does not change the legal position. Only the facts of occupation matter. If status changes, the landlord cannot serve excluded-occupier notice and would need to proceed under the assured tenancy possession framework instead.
Tax: the Rent a Room scheme
If you let a furnished room in your only or main home, you may qualify for the Rent a Room scheme, which allows up to £7,500 of rental income per year tax-free. The threshold halves to £3,750 if another person receives income from letting in the same property. For the Rent a Room tax rules and the practical checklist for taking in a lodger, see our full guide.
Resident landlord vs live-in landlord
"Resident landlord" is the statutory term from the Housing Act 1988. "Live-in landlord" is the everyday equivalent. In practice they describe the same arrangement, but the legal test, occupying the building as your only or principal home, is what governs whether the Housing Act exclusion applies. For the practical day-to-day side of running a shared-home letting, including what to put in a written agreement, how to handle disputes, and common pitfalls, see our entry on live-in landlords.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Renters' Rights Act 2025 apply to resident landlord arrangements?
Not to most of them. Where the resident landlord shares accommodation with the occupier and the letting is an excluded tenancy or licence, the Renters' Rights Act's assured tenancy provisions, including Section 21 abolition, the assured periodic tenancy framework, and Section 13 rent increases, do not apply. The occupier's rights are governed by the written agreement and the common law, not the statutory PRS framework. However, if the occupier has a self-contained unit and the purpose-built flats exception does not apply, they may have full assured tenancy rights even if you live in the same building.
Can I ask a lodger to leave without going to court?
In most resident landlord arrangements, yes. Where the letting is an excluded licence or excluded tenancy, you can end the arrangement by giving reasonable notice in writing, usually linked to the payment period. You do not need a court order. You must never use force, change locks without warning, or otherwise harass the occupier into leaving. These acts constitute unlawful eviction regardless of the nature of the agreement.
What counts as sharing accommodation for the resident landlord test?
Sharing means using any part of the property in common with the occupier, other than halls, stairs, passages, or storage areas. Sharing a kitchen or bathroom is sufficient. If the occupier has entirely self-contained facilities, their own kitchen, bathroom, and private access, and does not share any living space with you, they are not in a shared arrangement and the excluded occupier rules do not apply.
