Tenancy Types in the UK: England, Wales, Scotland & NI

Every UK nation now runs a different tenancy system for private renting. England has the assured tenancy, Wales the occupation contract, Scotland the Private Residential Tenancy, and Northern Ireland the private tenancy, each with its own rules on notice, eviction and rights.

Information last verified on 18 July 2026. This page presents general legal information, not legal advice.

Jurisdiction scope: This page compares private-renting tenancy types across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is general information, not advice on your own agreement. For advice, contact Shelter (or Shelter Cymru / Housing Rights in Northern Ireland) or Citizens Advice.

Why does my tenancy type depend on where I live?

Housing law is devolved, so England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each passed their own legislation setting out what a private tenancy is and what protection it carries. There is no single UK-wide tenancy. A written agreement calling itself an assured shorthold tenancy has no legal meaning in Wales, where the equivalent document is an occupation contract, or in Scotland, where it would be a Private Residential Tenancy. The label a landlord puts on an agreement does not decide which law applies; the location of the property does. This matters because eviction routes, notice periods, deposit rules and rent-increase rights all flow from the tenancy type, and each nation's version works differently even when the underlying idea, a right to occupy a home in exchange for rent, is the same.

What tenancy do I have in England?

Most people renting privately in England now hold an assured tenancy that is periodic, meaning it has no fixed end date. This followed the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which abolished the assured shorthold tenancy (AST) for the private rented sector from 1 May 2026 and converted existing ASTs to periodic assured tenancies. Before that date, the AST was the standard agreement, typically a fixed term followed by a rolling periodic tenancy, and a landlord could end it without giving a reason using a Section 21 notice. That route no longer exists; a landlord must now rely on a Section 8 ground. A small number of long-standing tenants, whose tenancy began before 15 January 1989, may still hold an older regulated or protected tenancy under the Rent Act 1977, which works under different, generally more protective, rules.

What is an occupation contract in Wales?

Private renting in Wales works through an occupation contract under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and the person renting is called a contract-holder rather than a tenant. The most common type for private renting is the standard contract, granted by a private landlord. Social landlords, such as councils and housing associations, grant a secure contract instead, which carries stronger long-term security. An occupation contract can be fixed-term or periodic, and its terms come from a mix of what is written down and terms the 2016 Act implies automatically. Wales still allows a no-fault eviction route for a standard contract, the Section 173 notice, unlike England. See the eviction in Wales guide for how that notice works.

What is a Private Residential Tenancy in Scotland?

Almost all private tenants in Scotland hold a Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) under the Private Housing (Tenancies)(Scotland) Act 2016. A PRT is open-ended: it has no fixed term and no end date, and it continues until the tenant gives notice to leave or a landlord obtains an eviction order from the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber). There is no no-fault ground in Scotland; a landlord must rely on one of the tenancy's eviction grounds, all of which are discretionary, and the Tribunal decides whether eviction is reasonable in every case. Older assured tenancies and short assured tenancies, granted before the PRT became the standard private tenancy, can still exist and are gradually being replaced as they come to an end, though no new ones can be created. See eviction in Scotland for the grounds and notice periods.

What is a private tenancy in Northern Ireland?

Private renting in Northern Ireland is governed by a private tenancy under the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. A landlord must give the tenant a rent book or written statement of the tenancy's terms, and protect any deposit in an approved scheme. Northern Ireland has no schedule of statutory eviction grounds: a landlord ends a tenancy by serving a valid Notice to Quit, with no ground required, and the required notice period depends mainly on how long the tenant has lived there. Landlord notice periods run from 8 weeks up to 7 months depending on the length of the tenancy. See eviction in Northern Ireland for the full notice-period table.

How do the four tenancy types compare?

Am I a lodger rather than a tenant?

Not everyone who pays rent for a room is a tenant. If you live with a resident landlord, meaning the landlord also lives in the property and you typically share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom, you are usually a lodger, sometimes called an excluded occupier, rather than a tenant. A lodger has far fewer legal protections: the landlord generally only has to give reasonable notice to end the arrangement, and does not need a court order or a formal notice such as a Section 21 or Section 8 notice, though removing someone without agreement can still raise legal issues. The tenancy reforms described above, and the equivalent Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish rules, are built around tenancies and occupation contracts; they do not extend the same protection to a lodger living with a resident landlord.

Is a licence to occupy the same as a tenancy?

No. A tenancy generally gives exclusive possession of a property or room, meaning even the landlord cannot enter without permission except in limited circumstances. A licence to occupy, common in hostels, some house-shares and student halls, gives permission to use a space without exclusive possession, often alongside other occupants or services provided by the landlord. What an agreement is called on paper does not decide the question; a court or tribunal looks at what actually happens, particularly whether the occupier has exclusive possession and pays rent for a fixed period. Because a licence carries much weaker protection against eviction than a tenancy or occupation contract, anyone unsure whether they hold a tenancy or a licence should get advice from Shelter, Shelter Cymru, Housing Rights or Citizens Advice before assuming either way.

For the full four-nation comparison on eviction, deposits and rent, see the UK tenant rights hub. For how the reforms reshaped England's tenancy system, see the Renters' Rights Act 2025 explainer; for eviction detail in the other nations, see eviction in Scotland and eviction in Wales. For other UK law topics, see the United Kingdom law hub.

Frequently asked questions

This page is general legal information about tenancy types across the United Kingdom, verified on 18 July 2026. It is not legal advice, and how these rules apply depends on your own agreement and circumstances. For advice, contact Shelter, Shelter Cymru, Housing Rights in Northern Ireland, Citizens Advice, or a solicitor. For related guides, see the UK tenant rights hub and the United Kingdom law hub.