Right to occupy

A tenant’s right to occupy is their legal right to live in the property under a tenancy agreement or licence to occupy. In a typical private tenancy with residential tenants, this will be an assured tenancy, previously often an AST, giving the occupier exclusive possession as their home in the Private Rented Sector (PRS).

From a landlord’s perspective, once that right to occupy begins, you cannot simply decide it has ended because you want the property back. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, the right to occupy normally continues until there is a valid end of tenancy. For example the tenant’s notice to quit, a documented deed of surrender, or a court possession order granted on proper possession grounds. Only then, and once the tenant has left, do you regain vacant possession.

The right to occupy is separate from immigration “right to rent” checks and from informal arrangements such as true lodgers with a resident landlord, or some company let and short-term licence to occupy setups. If the facts look like an ordinary home let, the occupier is likely to have a full right to occupy with PRS protections, whatever label you use. Interfering with that right, for example changing locks or persistent harassment, risks allegations of unlawful eviction.