With the Renters’ Rights Act in full swing as of 1st May 2026, periodic tenancies have officially become the standard across England.
The fixed-term “security blanket” has been consigned to the history books, meaning you no longer have that six or 12-month window of a contractually locked-in tenant.
Whether you have been letting for years or are just getting started, understanding how rolling tenancies work is necessary. It’s not just good practice; it’s how every assured residential tenancy must now operate.
- What is a periodic tenancy?
- How the Renters’ Rights Act changed the tenancy system
- How do periodic tenancies start?
- How long does a periodic tenancy last?
- How to increase the rent
- How can you end a periodic tenancy?
- What happens when only one tenant wants to leave?
Use Rent Now to set up your Assured Periodic Tenancies legally and correctly from day one. Discover Rent Now
What is a periodic tenancy?
In plain English, a periodic tenancy is a rolling contract.
Unlike a fixed-term agreement (which locks both parties in for a set duration, such as six or 12 months), a periodic tenancy has no “expiry date.” It continues indefinitely until someone decides to end it.
It renews automatically at the end of every rental period, usually monthly or weekly, depending on how often your tenant pays rent.
How the Renters’ Rights Act changed the tenancy system
The Renters’ Rights Act abolished fixed-term Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) on 1st May 2026, which have been replaced by Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs). This means:
- You can no longer offer a “6-month” or “1-year” tenancy. Every new agreement now starts as a periodic tenancy by law.
- If you had tenancies in a fixed term on 1st May 2026, they automatically converted into periodic tenancies on this date under the new rules.
- If you try to offer a fixed-term tenancy now, you risk a civil penalty of up to £7,000 from your local authority for a first offence, with significantly higher fines for repeat breaches.
Under this system, the “shorthold” element is gone. Tenants now have the flexibility to leave at any time by giving not more than 2 months’ notice, while you must provide a valid statutory ground to regain possession.
How do periodic tenancies start?
Since the new legislation took effect, periodic tenancies generally come into existence in one of two ways:
From the outset
All new tenancies created after 1st May 2026 are periodic from the first day. The move-in date marks the start of the first rental period, and the contract simply rolls forward from there.
By conversion
For tenancies that started before 1st May 2026, the law automatically converted them into the periodic system. These are now governed by the new rules, regardless of what the original paperwork or any existing “fixed-term” dates said.
You might also be interested in…
- A Guide to Tax Deductible Costs for Your Landlord Tax Return
- How to Gain a Possession Order
- How Much Notice Does a Tenant Have to Give a Landlord to Move Out?
- Holding Deposit, Tenancy Deposit, Rental Fees: Everything You Need to Know
- How Can I Attract More Tenants to My Property Listing?
How long does a periodic tenancy last?
A periodic tenancy has no end date. It lasts as long as both parties are happy for it to continue. The “period” of the tenancy is almost always linked to the rent payment cycle.
Since the Act caps rent periods at a maximum of one month, most tenancies in England now roll on a monthly basis.
How to increase the rent
The rules for increasing rent are now fully standardised. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements are invalid and no longer legally binding, so you must use the statutory Section 13 process (Form 4A) instead.
You can only increase rent once every 12 months, and you must give your tenant at least two months’ notice before the new rent takes effect.
Tenants also have the right to challenge the increase at a First-tier Tribunal if they believe it is above the local market rate. The Tribunal can no longer set a rent higher than what you originally proposed.
How can you end a periodic tenancy?
Now that the Renters’ Rights Act is in force, you can no longer wait for a fixed term to end. If you want to bring a tenancy to a close, you must follow the legal routes for ending an Assured Periodic Tenancy.
With Section 21 gone for good, the main formal route is Section 8. You must serve a notice that sets out one or more valid legal grounds for possession, such as selling the property, moving back in, or rent arrears, among other things. Note that notice periods for these grounds have changed, with most mandatory grounds now requiring 4 months’ notice.
You can also end a tenancy by mutual agreement at any time. If you and your tenant agree to end the arrangement, you can document this through a written agreement or a deed of surrender, setting a clear end date.
Mutual agreement is often the simplest option as it avoids the need for a court hearing.
Remember, tenants have also gained the right to end the tenancy agreement at any time by giving not more than 2 months’ notice in writing, provided it concludes at the end of a rental period.
Our professional-grade tenancy creation service has been used by thousands of landlords to set up compliant agreements. Create A Tenancy
What happens when only one tenant wants to leave?
In a periodic joint tenancy, where all tenants are on a single agreement and “jointly and severally liable”, any one tenant can still end the tenancy for everyone by serving a valid notice to quit.
If one person in a shared household gives 2 months’ notice, the entire tenancy comes to an end for all tenants on that date.
If the remaining tenants want to stay, you will need to agree on a new arrangement and set up a new periodic tenancy with them.
In practice, this makes day-to-day stability within joint tenancies more important, as one person’s decision can affect the whole group. This also makes referencing each individual in a joint group even more important for long-term stability.
Would anyone be able to shed some light on something please?
We have lived in a house for over three years, on a periodic tenancy after the first year. The estate agents managed the advertisement of the letting, organised the initial arrangement etc but have had no dealings with us since and have never managed the property. In fact when we contacted them about a different issue a few months ago they said that we ‘didn’t exist on their system’ and our contract with them expired after the original twelve month period.
Two members of the house are now leaving, with two others staying. We gave the landlady the requisite amount of notice. She is fine with the situation, but has now looped the estate agents back in to draw up the new contract with the replacement tenants. However they now say that each person leaving owes them a 60 GBP fee as a ‘deed of surrender’.
Does this seem right? We are outside the term of our original contract so it seems odd that we should be charged for this.
Hi, I was reading this post, which if I understand it well it can benefit me so much. I am a tenant and my assured shorthold tenancy agreement is coming to an end on the first week of March. Today I visited a new property which I am likely to rent it very soon. My contract says I should give 2 months notice prior to the end of the fixed term or 1 month notice in the event of becoming periodic tenancy.
Is any risk of losing my deposit or part of it for giving 1 month notice only because the contract is due to expire in 2/3 weeks? Thank you.
Hi Alex,
The tenancy can come to an end at any point where both you and the landlord are on the same page and agree to this.
Where the tenancy is coming to an end by way of the mutual break clause in the contract, then the stipulated notice period is what’s required. The break clause is viewable in section 11 of our AST.
George
Hi Alex, also worth noting that if you don’t come to an agreement with the landlord, then you will be liable to pay the rent for the duration of the fixed term, as the tenancy will not have been terminated.
If you do not pay the rent, then the landlord will be able to take unpaid rent from your deposit.
Sam
Thanks a lot Sam for your reply. My plan is to give one month notice the day after my contract expires (on the 1st March). If i give my notice now, it has to be 2 months. I want to leave as soon as possible, so it benefits me to give notice for a month only. I am just scared that they might call me and put pressure on me to renew the contract, and I want to refuse that. I have been with them for 5 years.
Regards,
Alex