Can a AST be 3 years long ?

property.advert

Just wondering whether a AST can be for 3 years (or more).

I want the security of tenure for 3 years and wonder whether I can still do this through a AST ?

Werdnal

I think I am right in saying an AST can be up to 3 years, but longer than this it must be a lease.

I take it you want the fixed term to be 3 years for your own security? I think you may have difficulty finding a landlord who would be prepared to sign up for that long. You can always tell them that you want to become a long term tenant, but having a longer fixed term would make it difficult for LL to evict you, and until they know how good and reliable a tenant you will no doubt be, they may be very wary of the commitment.

G_M

plagerised from paul_f at landlordzone:

There is no maximum length but it is meant to be for a relatively short period otherwise why would it be called an Assured Shorthold Tenancy?

These are the defining lengths of the term where matters can change:-

1. For a term of 3 years or under it does not have to be witnessed and can be drawn up by a landlord & tenant quite simply.
2. Over 3 years then it does have to be signed as a deed and witnessed.
3. If you want to grant a tenancy of more than 7 years then you should use a tenancy at common law as you could make a tenant responsible for all repairs if you wanted to! (quite common in commercial tenancies). You would need to ensure it does not come under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 or you could be stuck with the tenant.
4. For tenancies over 21 years then different rules apply.

may_fair

G_M wrote: »

plagerised from paul_f at landlordzone:

Just so as you know, paul_f is not a reliable source of information; he often gets things wrong and I wouldn't quote him on anything. Not saying he's wrong in this instance.

may_fair

property.advert wrote: »

Just wondering whether a AST can be for 3 years (or more).

I want the security of tenure for 3 years and wonder whether I can still do this through a AST ?

Are you the LL or T?

Either way, are both parties sure that they want to commit for this long?

tbs624

property.advert wrote: »

Just wondering whether a AST can be for 3 years (or more).

Yes.

property.advert wrote: »

JI want the security of tenure for 3 years and wonder whether I can still do this through a AST ?

Yes. Up to 3 years as a standard ASTA - if over 3 years agreement should be executed as a deed

silvercar

Is the property mortgaged? A lot of BTL lenders will only be happy for 12 month tenancy agreements. No point worrying over whether your landlord has permission to let then find out the extra security you wanted in a 3 year term has been wiped out by the fact the lender hasn't given consent for such a contract.

jjlandlord

silvercar wrote: »

Is the property mortgaged? A lot of BTL lenders will only be happy for 12 month tenancy agreements. No point worrying over whether your landlord has permission to let then find out the extra security you wanted in a 3 year term has been wiped out by the fact the lender hasn't given consent for such a contract.

The fact that the landlord hasn't got consent does not mean that a 3 year AST would not be binding.

silvercar

jjlandlord wrote: »

The fact that the landlord hasn't got consent does not mean that a 3 year AST would not be binding.

Binding on the landlord, but perhaps not on the mortgage lender.

jjlandlord

silvercar wrote: »

Binding on the landlord, but perhaps not on the mortgage lender.

A tenancy agreement is ever only binding between the represented parties, i.e. the landlord and the tenant. No-one else.

Now if landlord breaches the terms of his agreement with his lender, the lender could take action against the landlord (up to requesting full payment and repossessing otherwise), but I think that this is an unlikely scenario.

property.advert

silvercar wrote: »

Is the property mortgaged? A lot of BTL lenders will only be happy for 12 month tenancy agreements. No point worrying over whether your landlord has permission to let then find out the extra security you wanted in a 3 year term has been wiped out by the fact the lender hasn't given consent for such a contract.

Not mortgaged. No likelihood of it ever being mortgaged.

may_fair wrote: »

Are you the LL or T?

Either way, are both parties sure that they want to commit for this long?

I'm the tenant. Already in the property coming up to around a year and the landlord did initially mention a 3 year lease.

Werdnal wrote: »

I think I am right in saying an AST can be up to 3 years, but longer than this it must be a lease.

I take it you want the fixed term to be 3 years for your own security? I think you may have difficulty finding a landlord who would be prepared to sign up for that long. You can always tell them that you want to become a long term tenant, but having a longer fixed term would make it difficult for LL to evict you, and until they know how good and reliable a tenant you will no doubt be, they may be very wary of the commitment.

Have paid 6 monthly tranches of rent in advance so have established my credibility so to speak.

Of course I want it to be difficult for the landlord to evict me. In fact, I want it to be impossible as long as I pay the rent. Luckily I believe the landlord would prefer a long lease and now so do I.