Currently, a property cannot be let on an assured shorthold tenancy if the annual rent is over £25,000 In an effort to raise standards in the private rental sector, in its last few days of power the previous government increased the threshold for assured shorthold tenancies from £25,000 to £100,000. The change takes place as at 1st October 2010 and will be reviewed every five years.
This change means that all the requirements and obligations of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended) will be extended to higher rent properties for the first time.
The delay in the implementation was to give landlords time to prepare for the change, for example to enable landlords to deal with their obligations relating to the rent deposits paid under these tenancies which will now be protected under the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.