Assured Shorthold Tenancies will typically be for between 6 months to 3 years. There is no maximum length of an AST, however, tenancy agreements that are longer than 3 years have to take the form of a “Deed”. This is a statutory requirement.
A Deed is different from a simple Contract as there are more onerous formalities with regard to its preparation and execution (signing formalities). If the document is not prepared or executed correctly then it risks being invalid or unenforceable.
It is for this reason that fixed term ASTs are typically not offered for longer than 3 years and that our Rent Now service does not support them. If you wish to create a tenancy agreement for more than 3 years you should seek specialist legal advice.
It is worth also remembering that at the end of the fixed term you can issue a new tenancy agreement using our renewals service . If the tenant stays in the property after the fixed term has ended and is not signed up to a new tenancy agreement then the tenancy will continue as a statutory periodic tenancy.