This guide is for people who are renting a home privately under an assured shorthold tenancy either direct from a landlord or through a letting agency. Most of it will also apply if you are in a shared property but in certain cases your rights and responsibilities will vary. The guide does not cover lodgers (people who live with their landlord) or people with licences (such as many property guardians – see this specific guidance on property guardians) nor tenants where the property is not their main or only home.