Regulated tenancy

An older form of tenancy, created before 1989, that still carries strong rent controls and security of tenure under the Rent Act 1977 — a different legal world from an assured shorthold tenancy.

Can I still have a regulated tenancy today?

Only if your tenancy began before 15 January 1989, when the Housing Act 1988 introduced assured and assured shorthold tenancies for new residential lettings. New regulated tenancies have not been created since then, but a tenant who already held one at that date, and anyone who has validly succeeded to it, can still hold a regulated tenancy now — rent officers continue to register fair rents under the Rent Act 1977 for existing regulated tenancies.

What is a 'fair rent' and how is it set?

A fair rent is a rent registered by a rent officer under the Rent Act 1977, assessed broadly on the basis of the property and its locality but, notably, disregarding the effect of general housing scarcity on rents in the area. Once registered, the maximum rent a landlord can lawfully charge is capped at that figure, and increases between registrations are limited by a statutory formula under the Rent Act (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999.

Does a regulated tenant have stronger protection against eviction?

Yes, generally much stronger than an assured shorthold tenant. A regulated tenancy carries a statutory tenancy that arises automatically once the original contractual tenancy ends, and the landlord can only recover possession on specific statutory grounds — the automatic right to possession that comes with an assured shorthold tenancy's fixed term ending does not apply in the same way.

Can a regulated tenancy pass to a family member when the tenant dies?

In some circumstances, yes. The Rent Act 1977 contains succession rules allowing certain family members, such as a spouse or, in some cases, another family member who was living with the tenant, to succeed to the tenancy, sometimes at a different status on a second succession. The detail depends on the relationship and the circumstances, so it is worth checking the specific succession provisions rather than assuming a right to succeed exists.

Did the Renters' Rights Act 2025 change regulated tenancies?

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is focused on reforming assured and assured shorthold tenancies, including abolishing fixed terms and Section 21 no-fault eviction for those tenancies. Existing regulated tenancies continue to be governed separately by the Rent Act 1977, and rent officers have continued registering fair rents under that Act after the 2025 Act came into force — check current GOV.UK guidance before relying on how any future reform might affect a specific regulated tenancy.

How do I find out if my tenancy is regulated?

Start with when the tenancy began — if it started on or after 15 January 1989, it cannot be a regulated tenancy in the Rent Act 1977 sense. If it started before that date and has continued since, including through any valid succession, it is worth checking your paperwork, any rent registration, and if necessary asking the local rent officer service, since the rules that apply are very different from an assured shorthold tenancy.

Why regulated tenancies still exist

The Housing Act 1988 introduced assured and assured shorthold tenancies and, from 15 January 1989, stopped new residential lettings from creating regulated tenancies under the Rent Act 1977. It did not, however, convert tenancies that already existed at that date — a tenant who already held a regulated tenancy kept it, and the Rent Act regime has continued to apply to those tenancies, and to valid successions to them, ever since. This is why fair rents are still being registered by rent officers in 2026, decades after the Act that created them stopped applying to new lettings: the population of regulated tenancies has shrunk steadily through death, succession limits and tenants moving on, but it has not been abolished outright.

Because of this, a regulated tenancy today almost always means a long-standing tenancy, often held by an older tenant, or someone who has succeeded to a relative's tenancy under the Act's own succession rules — not a type of agreement anyone can newly enter into.

The two things that make a regulated tenancy different

Where the Renters' Rights Act 2025 fits in

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is aimed squarely at assured and assured shorthold tenancies — abolishing fixed terms and Section 21 no-fault eviction for those tenancies, among other reforms. It does not convert existing regulated tenancies into assured tenancies, and rent officers have continued to register fair rents under the Rent Act 1977 after the 2025 Act's main provisions came into force. Anyone holding, or dealing with, a regulated tenancy should treat it as governed by its own, older set of rules, and check current GOV.UK guidance rather than assuming recent reforms aimed at assured tenancies apply to it in the same way.

A tenant has lived in the same flat since 1985 under a tenancy that has never been replaced with a new agreement. The landlord, a long-standing private landlord, tells the tenant the rent is rising to match "the going rate" for similar flats nearby, which have no such long history.

1985 — before 15 January 1989

Regulated tenancy (Rent Act 1977)

How the rent should be set

By a registered fair rent, not the open market rate

Because the tenancy began before the 1989 cut-off and appears to have continued unbroken since, it is likely to be a regulated tenancy rather than an assured shorthold tenancy. If that is confirmed, the landlord cannot simply charge the open market rate for comparable modern lettings — the rent should instead be assessed, and any increase limited, through the fair rent registration process.

Assured shorthold tenancy (AST)

Renters' Rights Act 2025

Rent Act (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999

Regulated Tenancy — Renters' Rights Glossary

What a regulated tenancy is, how fair rent registration and security of tenure work under the Rent Act 1977, and why some tenancies still have this status.