There are various forms of tenancies, which have been established over many years. Often, the kind of tenancy a person has will depend on when they moved into the property and the laws operating at that time. Since 28th February 1997, the vast majority of new tenancies have been Assured Shorthold Tenancies under the terms of Section 19A Housing Act 1988 (as amended).

A few basic rules about tenancies:

• There is nothing in law that says a tenancy agreement must be in writing. A tenancy can be established on a handshake and by the exchange of rent.
• There is nothing in law that says a tenancy must be for a fixed term. Tenancies can be periodic in the sense that they can run on a week to week or month to month basis.
• If a fixed term tenancy comes to an end, the tenancy does not end but becomes a periodic tenancy unless notice has been served to end the tenancy.