Requirements to create an assured shorthold tenancy
The tenancy must meet the basic requirements of an assured tenancy and the following: 1a. The tenancy started between 15 January 1989 and 27 January 1997 and was accompanied by a prescribed warning, was for a fixed term, and for at least six months; or 1b. The tenancy started at or after 28 February 1997 2. The tenancy is not excluded by a notice stating it is not a shorthold before or after the tenancy 3. The tenancy does not specify within it that it is not a shorthold 4. The tenancy is not a letting to an existing assured tenant of the landlord's whether of the same premises or not
by using a "section 21 notice", which in practice results in a minimum notice period of 2 months. Post Housing Act 1996, there is no minimum length for which an assured shorthold tenancy may be granted and a section 21 notice can be served at any time. The exception being to tenancies in England that began on or after 1 October 2015; where a Section 21 notice cannot be served for the first 4 months of the tenancy. However, when court proceedings are based on the section 21 notice the court cannot order the tenant to give up possession earlier than six months from the beginning of the tenancy. Where one assured shorthold tenancy follows another, the tenant is protected for only 6 months from the beginning of the first tenancy under which the premises were occupied. A section 21 notice may not be issued unless the tenancy deposit registration requirements were met within 30 days of the deposit payment.
At any time on any of the ordinary assured grounds should this be satisfied using a section 8 notice under the Housing Act 1988. In most cases, if a Section 8 notice is served 14 days' notice must be given in order for the notice to be valid.
The only potential landlord's disadvantage of a shorthold is the right of the tenant to refer the rent initially payable to a rent assessment committee; however, it can reduce the rent only if it is "significantly higher" than the rents under other comparable assured shortholds. In this unusual scenario in which the landlord has been able to agree a rent substantially higher than market comparables of the same accommodation, the landlord can serve a notice before or after the tenancy has begun stating it is not to be a shorthold, where no rent assessment application has been made. In other regards, except security of tenure, as a subset of assured tenancies, ASTs follow the definition requirements of assured tenancies, e.g. which includes maximum and minimum rent levels to exclude the most unusual extremes.
