This section explains what rights you may have if you rent from a private landlord and live in your accommodation as part of your job. It also explains the rights you may have if you live in a rented mobile home.
You can use our tenancy checker if you are not sure what type of tenancy you have, or use our directory to find an agency in your area that can help.
Accommodation provided as part of a job
If you have to live in your accommodation in order to do your job you are likely to be a service occupier. It can be difficult to work out whether it is necessary to live in your accommodation to do your job. Get advice if you are not sure.
Service occupiers have the same rights as either occupiers with basic protection or excluded occupiers. You are likely to have basic protection unless:
- you share accommodation with your landlord/employer
- your landlord/employer lives in the same building as you and you share accommodation with a member of your landlord/employer's family
- you do not pay rent and your wages are not reduced on account of accommodation being provided.
If any of the above apply you are likely to be an excluded occupier.
If your employment contract states that your right to live in your accommodation ends when your employment ends your landlord/employer does not have to give you a separate notice to leave the accommodation before starting court action to evict you.
Living in a mobile home
If you rent your mobile home from a private landlord your rights depend on whether or not your mobile home can be said to be a 'dwelling'. It is likely to be a dwelling if it is connected to services such as water, electricity and telephone, and it rests on supports rather than on wheels.
If your mobile home is classed as a dwelling you are likely to have an assured shorthold, assured, or regulated tenancy depending on the date that you moved in. If your mobile home is not classed as a dwelling you are likely to be an excluded occupier unless you live on a licensed site (see below).
The ways in which your landlord can evict you depend on the type of tenancy you have (see above). However the owner of the mobile home site (as long as it is a protected site) may be able to evict you by giving notice and getting a court order for eviction. The notice must be at least four weeks long. The court has the power to delay eviction for up to 12 months if this is considered reasonable.
