What is a periodic tenancy? Assured periodic tenancies

What is a periodic tenancy?

A periodic tenancy is a tenancy with no end date. It runs for one period, then the next, and carries on until the tenant or the landlord ends it in a way the law allows. The period is normally the gap between rent payments, so rent paid monthly means a monthly periodic tenancy. People also call it a rolling tenancy.

The opposite is a fixed-term tenancy, which is granted for a set length such as 12 months. Until 1 May 2026 most private lets in England began with a fixed term. Since that date an assured tenancy in England cannot have one. GOV.UK puts it simply: you cannot create an assured tenancy agreement with an end date, and assured tenancies must run on a rolling basis, for example weekly or monthly.

Sources: GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords

What is an assured periodic tenancy?

An assured periodic tenancy is now the standard tenancy for private renting in England. GOV.UK describes it as a tenancy between a landlord and a tenant where the landlord does not live in the property, the property is the tenant’s main home, and the tenant has their own room, even if they share a kitchen or bathroom.

‘Assured’ means the tenant has legal security: the landlord can end the tenancy only by serving a section 8 notice that relies on one of the legal reasons, called grounds for possession. ‘Periodic’ means it rolls on with no end date. These rules apply automatically. A clause in the agreement cannot switch them off.

The law also limits the rent period. Under the Housing Act 1988 as amended, each rent period must be a month, or 28 days or shorter. Rent due quarterly or yearly is not allowed for these tenancies. If an agreement tries to set a longer period, the Act treats the tenancy as running in monthly periods.

Sources: GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords · Legislation: Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 1 (tenancies to be periodic) · GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

What changed on 1 May 2026?

All assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. Neither side had to sign anything. The tenancy did not end and restart. It carried on under new rules.

If the agreement had a fixed term, the end date stopped applying. The government’s Information Sheet tells tenants that the tenancy now continues on a rolling basis, usually monthly unless the agreement sets a shorter period such as weekly or fortnightly. A landlord cannot serve a section 21 notice on or after 1 May 2026, even if the agreement says they can. Our guide to section 21 being abolished covers that change.

Rent review clauses also stopped working for new increases. Rent can now go up only through the section 13 process, once a year, with Form 4A and at least two months’ notice. See how much a landlord can increase rent for the limits.

For tenants, the biggest practical change is freedom to leave. A tenant is no longer tied in until a fixed term ends. They can end the tenancy at any point by giving notice in writing, timed to end on a day the rent is due or the day before. The standard notice is at least two months, and landlord and tenant can agree a shorter period in writing. For landlords, this means a tenancy can end sooner than the old fixed term would have allowed, and you cannot hold a tenant to the original end date.

Sources: GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords · GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

What is an assured shorthold tenancy, and does it still exist?

An assured shorthold tenancy, or AST, was the usual private tenancy in England until 1 May 2026. Its defining feature was that the landlord could end it with a section 21 notice without giving a reason. It was abolished on that date. The Information Sheet says any tenancy previously called an assured shorthold tenancy has become an assured periodic tenancy instead.

Your paperwork may still say ‘assured shorthold tenancy agreement’ at the top. You do not have to replace it for the new rules to apply: the Information Sheet says they apply automatically, even if the landlord does not update the tenancy agreement. The agreed terms that the law still allows carry on. Terms that clash with the new rules, such as a fixed term or a section 21 clause, no longer have effect.

For a new let, do not use an old AST template. A new agreement should be written as an assured periodic tenancy, and you must give the tenant written information about the key terms before the tenancy is agreed. Our tenancy agreement template guide explains what to include.

Sources: GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 · GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant

Statutory periodic tenancy and contractual periodic tenancy

These two phrases come from the old system and described what happened when a fixed term ran out and the tenant stayed. If the agreement itself said the tenancy would carry on as a rolling tenancy, that was a contractual periodic tenancy, because the contract created it. If the agreement said nothing, the Housing Act 1988 created a rolling tenancy automatically, known as a statutory periodic tenancy.

The part of section 5 of the Housing Act 1988 that created statutory periodic tenancies was repealed by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 from 1 May 2026. It is no longer needed, because no assured tenancy has a fixed term to run out. Whichever kind you had on 30 April 2026, it is an assured periodic tenancy now.

The old label still matters in one place: how much notice your tenant gives to leave. GOV.UK says that where a tenancy was rolling from the start, or the old agreement said what happens after the fixed term, the notice terms in that agreement continue, capped at two months. Where the agreement said nothing, the standard rules apply. Check tenancy notice periods in England before telling a tenant what notice you expect.

Sources: Legislation: Housing Act 1988, section 5 · GOV.UK: if the tenancy started before 1 May 2026

Which tenancies are not assured periodic tenancies?

Not every let is covered. GOV.UK lists the cases where a tenancy cannot be an assured periodic tenancy. If one applies to you, different rules govern notices, rent and paperwork, so get advice rather than using assured tenancy forms.

One more exception is about timing. If you served a valid section 8 or section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, the tenancy could stay under the old rules while that notice or the court claim ran. Once the notice is no longer valid or the proceedings have ended, the tenancy becomes an assured periodic tenancy.

• You live in the property, for example with a lodger.
• It is purpose-built student accommodation let to university students and you have signed up to the national code of practice.
• The tenancy has a fixed term of more than 21 years.
• The rent is more than £100,000 a year.
• The rent is less than £250 a year, or less than £1,000 a year in London.
• It is a business tenancy or a tenancy of licensed premises.
• The property is a holiday let.

Sources: GOV.UK: assured periodic tenancies, a guide for landlords · GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

What stays the same for landlords?

Most of your everyday duties did not change. The tenant still pays the agreed rent on the agreed dates. The rules on protecting a deposit were not replaced by the Act: see tenancy deposit protection for the cap and the deadlines.

Both sides must still agree to any change in the terms of the tenancy agreement. Your safety duties, such as gas and electrical checks, come from separate laws and carry on as before. And the tenancy can still end by agreement, by the tenant giving notice, or by the landlord using a valid ground. What changed is the route: a landlord now needs a section 8 notice that uses one or more grounds for possession and gives the amount of notice required for each ground. If the tenant has not left when the notice runs out, the landlord applies to court for a possession order.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

Do you need a new periodic tenancy agreement?

For a tenancy that began before 1 May 2026 with a written agreement, no. You had to give each named tenant the government’s Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 instead. Our guide to the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet covers how it had to be given.

For a new tenancy, yes in practice: you must give written information about the key terms before the tenancy is agreed, and you could be fined up to £7,000 if you do not. Trying to let on a fixed term is also a breach, with a penalty of up to £7,000 under the government’s guidance for councils. TenancyDesk’s tenancy agreement is written as an assured periodic tenancy and includes the required written information.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: civil penalties under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025

Common questions