A tenancy agreement is a contract between a tenant (someone who rents the home) and the landlord.
In return for money (rent) the landlord offers a tenant a place to live.
Both the tenant and landlord sign the tenancy agreement before a tenant moves into the property.
If someone want to share the responsibilities of being a tenant with another person (e.g. your partner), they can apply for a joint tenancy.
The type of tenancy a tenant has depends on things like:
- whether the landlord is a council or housing association
- whether the tenant is a new council or housing association tenant
- the type of property
The different tenancies can be similar in many ways (like the need for to pay rent on time) but they also have important differences.