What Does a Long Term Let Mean? and How Long Are They For?

Several terms are used in the lettings industry to describe various types of letting. There are short-term lets, long-term lets, holiday lets, and student lets, amongst others.

A residential long-term let is usually regarded as a property that is let to someone (or a property that is rented by someone) to live in as their permanent home.

Long-term lets are the most common type of let, and long-term lets may also be known as long-term tenancies or long-term leases. They are the same thing and once a property goes from on the market to let agreed, these are residential tenancies (until May 2026 typically assured shorthold tenancies on a 6 or 12 month term; under government guidance, most new private rented lets in England now run as assured periodic tenancies) and are known as long-term lets.

Article updated: September 2026

How Long is a Long-Term Let?

A long-term let is for 6 months plus, the length a typical tenancy fixed term used to run (six months was the convention rather than a legal minimum).

Following that definition, it follows that letting for less than six months is generally considered to be a short-term let.

Short-term let examples can include holiday let investments, serviced accommodation and corporate lets.

If you are comparing an Airbnb property for sale with a long-term let, allow for the different income pattern and running costs.

From the landlord side, an investment property bought for long-term letting is the classic model. Listings on buy to let property for sale pages are typically marketed on that basis, and refurbished below market value properties often enter the rental market the same way.

Are Social Housing or Council Housing Lets Long-Term Lets?

Yes, social housing, council housing, and housing association lets are almost always long-term lets. Housing associations or councils may offer a starter tenancy of 12 months.

Is a Student Let a Long-Term Let?

Student lets are very often for the academic year only. That is, from September to June/July the following year, however, as they are so competitive with many students competing for a limited number of private houses to rent, often student lets are rented for 12 months tenancy agreements with rent payable for the whole year even if the student decides to go away during the summer months.

As they are 12 month tenancies yes they would be classed as long term lets.

Long-Term Lets Advantages & Disadvantages for Landlords

Advantages for landlords:

• Consistent income. Once you grant a long-term let to a tenant you will hopefully have a guaranteed income for the entire length of the let.
• Lower bills. A tenant on a long-term let tenancy is responsible for the council tax and utility bills which is better than an empty property, which a landlord would have to pay for (note: unless they wish to challenge their council tax bill).
• Lower maintenance. Tenants who plan to live in a property long term often look after the home better, they treat it more like theirs and keep you updated if there are any issues to solve like maintenance, quickly, which helps you keep the property in a better condition.
• Simpler financing. Raising property finance is often easier and cheaper to get a mortgage on the property than for many other types of letting like holiday lets.

Disadvantages for landlords:

• Licensing. Long-term lets may require additional or selective licensing schemes depending on your area.
• Planning. Planning requirements like Article 4, for some long-term rentals like houses of multiple occupation and student lets with 3 or more unrelated tenants, may be required.
• Training. In Wales, tenancies have changed, and long-term tenancies require registration with Rent Smart Wales and require landlords to have letting agents managing the property or to undertake landlord training.
• Legislation. Landlord responsibilities differ between England and Wales. In England they include right to rent checks and giving tenants an address where they can serve notices on you, as outlined in Section 48 notice legislation.

Like any buy-to-let property strategy, long-term tenancies with buy-to-let investing carries some risks. Our guide is buy-to-let still worth it weighs those risks against the costs and the rental income.

Long-Term Lets Advantages & Disadvantages for Tenants

Advantages for tenants:

• Security. Long-term lets offer tenants security of tenure, and the legal framework now differs across the three nations. In England most new private lets are assured periodic tenancies with no fixed end date, which a landlord can only end using a lawful ground. In Scotland the private residential tenancy is open-ended. In Wales renters hold occupation contracts under the Renting Homes framework, which can be periodic or fixed-term standard contracts.
• Maintenance. With a long-term let the landlord usually handles most maintenance so you have no property maintenance to deal with, and in England the Renters' Rights Act provides for a minimum quality of housing under the decent homes standard to apply to private lets as a later phase of the reforms.

Disadvantages for tenants:

• Starting costs. When you first move in to a property there can be significant costs like moving costs, redecoration to you own preferred style and tenancy deposits as well as your first month's rent upfront.
• Furniture. Unlike holiday lets, corporate lets or serviced accommodation (note: what is the meaning of serviced accommodation),  long-term lets are mostly unfurnished lets. You'll need to provide your own furniture.
• Commitment and notice. In England, most private assured tenancies became rolling periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, with no end date, and a tenant can leave with 2 months' written notice that ends on a rent-due day or the day before (a shorter period can be agreed in writing). Social-housing assured tenancies let by private registered providers, including registered housing associations, keep the previous rules until October 2027; their market-rent homes came under the May 2026 rules with everyone else. In Scotland a private residential tenancy is also open-ended and needs at least 28 days' notice. Where a fixed-term agreement still applies, as in Wales or Northern Ireland, you are committed to the rent until the term ends unless the contract contains a break clause or the landlord agrees to end it early. Either way, a long-term let is a bigger commitment than a short stay, which can be a problem if you are working on a temporary contract or visiting an area for a short period of time.

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