I have a flat that is self contained, but occupies the top floor of my house. I am in the process of creating an AST, but that doesn’t give me much protection against a tenant if they don’t work out, makes a lot of noise, insist on having a dog, etc. (thinking ahead to May 2026).
Can I make a Non-AST agreement as the tenant will live in a self contained flat that is on the top floor of my house?
They have their own front door and a shared staircase, but we are living in the same building and I want more protection than an AST provides in terms of asking them to leave if it doesn’t work out.
In theory this should be a non-housing act tenancy falling outside the scope of most of the RRA. However, you won’t be certain of that until a judge tells you its the case. Until now, the main risk with this assumption has been that if the judgement doesnt go your way, you wouldn’t be able to use s21 and you may have to pay a penalty for not protecting the deposit. After 1 May, the risk is also a £30k fine and possibly a 2 year RRO. Some Councils have said they will challenge everything that’s not an Assured Periodic Tenancy and make the landlord appeal to the Tribunal if they think they have a case.
If you’re thinking of going down this route, I’d get some advice from a specialist landlord & Tenant solicitor first.
@Richard91 the new legislation doesnt force you to accept pets, only to consider them? Are they even allowed under the lease?
You can still have a clause which says pets are not allowed without the express permission of the Landlord, you can still ask upfront if they have pets, you can check with their current LL and current neighbours if they have any pets, you can check their social media to see if they appear to have a pet, and you can make clear that if they have a pet without your permission that will be a breach and you will evict them. Explain that it is nothing personal but that you have eg had difficulties removing the smell of pets in the past
Similarly on noise, make sure your tenancy agreement has clauses in about not making excessive noise or disturbing neighbours [which will include yourself], check with current neighbours, and consider whether there are any mitigating measures [eg putting rugs down if wooden /laminate floors, door closers so doors cant slam etc]
Maybe agree some sort of a short term let/air bnb type arrangement for 45 days as a trial basis with them, with an agreement to offer them a full AST if you and they seem to be a good fit. A month and a half ought to be enough time to figure that out.
You can take a deposit with any type of tenure, but with ASTs you have to protect them. If a licence agreement is over-ruled by a judge, the tenancy defaults to an AST and if a deposit was taken but not protected, a penalty may be payable.