Overview
No landlord notice to quit for Periodic Assured Tenancies
Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, landlords cannot end a Periodic Assured Tenancy by serving a notice to quit. Landlords must use Section 8. Only tenants can end a Periodic Assured Tenancy by giving 2 months' written notice.
How Periodic Assured Tenancies end, the two routes
- Tenant gives 2 months' written notice: The only way a tenant can end a Periodic Assured Tenancy, minimum 2 months' notice, served in writing. The notice must end on the last day of a rental period
- Landlord obtains a court possession order under Section 8: The only way a landlord can end a Periodic Assured Tenancy, must prove a ground in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended). No out-of-court landlord NTQ route exists
- There is no equivalent of the old AST expiry mechanism, a Periodic Assured Tenancy continues indefinitely until one of these two events occurs
- Surrender by mutual agreement (Deed of Surrender): a third route, both parties sign a formal surrender document bringing the tenancy to an end. This requires both parties to agree
Tenant notice to quit, 2 months, correct service
- The tenant must give at least 2 months' written notice
- The notice must end on the last day of a rental period (for monthly tenancies, the last day of the calendar month; for weekly tenancies, the last day of the week)
- Example: monthly rent due on 1st, tenant serves notice on 5 April. The notice period of 2 months expires on 30 June (the last day of June's rental period, which is the first full rental period after 2 months from service)
- No prescribed form, the tenant's notice must be in writing and specify the date they intend to vacate
- If the tenant serves notice but stays beyond the notice date, they are holdover, continue to accept rent as a gesture of good faith while serving Section 8 if needed
- Tenant cannot withdraw a valid notice to quit once served without the landlord's agreement, but in practice, negotiate a withdrawal if both parties agree the tenancy should continue
What happens when a tenant gives notice
- Acknowledge the notice in writing, confirming the vacating date
- Arrange a check-out inspection for the notice expiry date or shortly after
- Prepare a check-out report and compare it to the check-in inventory, photograph all condition issues
- Return the deposit (or the uncontested portion) within 10 days of the tenancy end, use the deposit scheme's repayment process
- If there are deductions, notify the tenant in writing with evidence (invoices, photographs) and initiate adjudication through the deposit scheme if the tenant disputes the deductions
- Re-let the property: all new tenancies from 1 May 2026 must be Periodic Assured Tenancies, no fixed-term ASTs
Landlord possession, Section 8 is the only route
- Landlords cannot serve a notice to quit to end a Periodic Assured Tenancy, they must use Section 8
- Section 8 requires a ground from Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025)
- Common grounds: Ground 8A (persistent rent arrears, mandatory), Ground 1 (own occupation, mandatory, 4-month notice), Ground 1A (sale, mandatory, 4-month notice), Ground 14 (nuisance/antisocial behaviour, discretionary)
- Notice periods vary by ground, the minimum is 2 weeks (for most discretionary grounds), the maximum is 4 months (Grounds 1 and 1A)
- After the notice expires, the landlord must apply to court for a possession order, there is no automatic possession without a court order
- Attempting to evict without a court order (changing locks, removing belongings, cutting utilities) is an illegal eviction, a criminal offence and an RRO trigger