What type of contract do you have?
Whether you’re in university halls, purpose built student accommodation (PBSA), or a private house, you’ll be signing one of a small number of contract types, and which one you have makes a real difference to your rights. This guide goes through exactly what those differences are.
University halls, and providers signed up to an approved code of practice, generally grant a licence (sometimes called an excluded tenancy). Sulets tenancies work the same way, as a common law tenancy that’s specifically exempt from the assured tenancy system. Most other private housing and PBSA grants an assured tenancy (this replaced the old assured shorthold tenancy, or AST, when the Renters’ Rights Act converted all of these to open-ended periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026).
A licence or common law tenancy gives you contractual permission to be in the property. An assured tenancy gives you an actual legal right to live there. That distinction sounds technical, but it drives every other difference in this guide: eviction, deposit protection, and your right to quiet enjoyment all flow from it.
Eviction
Licence or common law tenancy
Your landlord can end this by giving you written notice, generally at least 28 days, without needing a specific legal reason. The notice should match whatever your contract says about ending it; if it doesn’t, or the term being relied on is clearly unfair, that’s worth challenging. If you don’t leave once the notice ends, your landlord still has to apply to court for a possession order; they can’t remove you themselves.
Assured tenancy
Since 1 May 2026, your landlord can only seek possession using one of a fixed list of legal grounds under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. Some are mandatory (the court must order you to leave if the ground is proven) and some are discretionary (the court decides based on what’s reasonable). Depending on the ground, notice ranges from as little as two weeks to four months. See our Eviction page for the full detail on how this works and what the main grounds are.
Damage deposit protection
Licence or common law tenancy
There’s no legal requirement for a deposit under this type of agreement to be protected in a government scheme. If you feel your deposit has been unfairly withheld, your first step is to negotiate directly with your landlord. If that doesn’t work, your only remaining option is a County Court claim, which costs money upfront (refundable if you win, though winning and actually being paid aren’t the same thing).
Assured tenancy
Your deposit must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days, giving you access to a free, independent dispute service if things go wrong, and a real financial remedy if your landlord doesn’t comply: compensation of one to three times your deposit, and, since 1 May 2026, a near-total block on your landlord getting a possession order at all while the deposit remains unprotected. See our Deposits page for the full detail, including how to actually make a claim.
Quiet enjoyment
Quiet enjoyment, the common law right to live undisturbed by your landlord, technically only attaches to a tenancy, not a licence. In practice, this mainly affects how you’d argue a case if things went wrong, not whether your landlord can get away with harassment.
If you’re on a licence or common law tenancy and your landlord harasses you, disconnects your utilities, or tries to force you out without the correct process, that’s very likely still illegal, specifically because of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 rather than quiet enjoyment as such, and it can still be a criminal offence with a real financial remedy attached. See our Harassment page, which covers this in full, including Rent Repayment Orders, regardless of which type of agreement you’re on.
Leaving early
Licence, common law tenancy, PBSA or Sulets
These generally don’t come with a statutory right to leave early. University halls will sometimes release you automatically if you leave your course, but this is genuinely rare elsewhere, including for Sulets and PBSA. See our Leaving Your Property page for how a release or finding a replacement tenant works in practice.
Assured tenancy
This is one of the biggest changes from the Renters’ Rights Act: most assured tenants can now give their landlord two months’ written notice to leave, at any time, without needing a break clause. There’s an important catch on a joint tenancy: that notice ends the tenancy for everyone named on it, not just you. See our Leaving Your Property page for the full picture, including why a replacement tenant is often the better option on a joint tenancy specifically.
Joint liability versus single liability
This is a separate question from the tenancy type above, and it’s really about how your contract is structured rather than what kind of provider you’re renting from.
Single liability (typical of halls and some PBSA)
Your agreement covers your own room and access to shared spaces, and you’re responsible only for your own rent. You have no say over who else lives in the property, and no ability to object to or remove another resident, but equally, you’re never on the hook for anyone else’s unpaid rent.
Joint liability (typical of halls and some PBSA)
You and your housemates share control over who’s on the contract, but you’re all liable for the whole rent, not just your own share. If one person stops paying, the landlord can pursue any or all of the remaining tenants, and their guarantors, for the full shortfall, not just that person’s portion.
This is also exactly why the two month notice right above needs care on a joint tenancy: one person leaving can end the agreement for everyone, whether or not the rest of the household is ready to go. See Housemate Problems for more on managing this if a joint tenancy is under strain.
Making your decision
There’s no single right answer here, it depends on what matters most to you: how much legal protection and financial recourse you want if things go wrong, how much control you want over who you live with, and how much flexibility you need to leave early if your circumstances change. Weighing these up properly, rather than choosing on cost or first impressions alone, is worth the time it takes.
Updated 20.10.2026