Periodic Tenancy UK 2026 — Complete Landlord Guide to All-Periodic Tenancies Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025

How periodic tenancies work — rent periods, tenancy periods, and the notice link

The 'period' of the tenancy is the unit of time by which rent is payable. In practice, most periodic tenancies run month to month (where rent is paid monthly) or week to week (where rent is paid weekly). The period of the tenancy has direct practical importance because it determines the minimum notice period for a notice to quit:

• Monthly periodic tenancies (most common): Where rent is paid monthly, the tenancy runs month to month. A notice to quit from the tenant must be at least one clear rental period (one month) in advance, expiring at the end of a rental period. Under the RRA 2025, the minimum notice period for a tenant's notice to quit is 2 months — this overrides the common law minimum of one clear rental period where the rental period would otherwise be shorter
• Weekly periodic tenancies: Where rent is paid weekly, the tenancy runs week to week. These are less common in the private rented sector but exist in some student and shared house arrangements. A tenant must give at least one month's notice under the RRA 2025 (the statutory minimum overrides the common law weekly period)
• RRA 2025 tenant notice requirement — 2 months minimum: The Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduces a statutory minimum 2-month notice period for tenants wishing to end a periodic tenancy. A tenant cannot lawfully leave with less than 2 months' notice. This provides landlords with a guaranteed 2-month window to find replacement tenants, reducing void period risk from tenant departures
• No contractual periodic tenancy end date: Under the old regime, a fixed-term AST had an automatic end date — the landlord could plan ahead for re-letting or sale. Under the all-periodic regime, there is no automatic end date. The tenancy continues until a valid event terminates it. Landlords must plan possession proactively using Section 8 grounds (or the Ground 1A sale ground) rather than waiting for a lease to expire
• Break clauses in existing tenancies — abolished: Fixed-term ASTs sometimes included break clauses allowing early termination. As fixed terms no longer exist in England, break clauses are no longer a feature of residential tenancy agreements. Any break clause in an existing tenancy agreement is superseded by the all-periodic conversion under RRA 2025

Conversion of existing tenancies on 1 May 2026 — what happened to fixed-term ASTs

Landlords with fixed-term ASTs in place on 1 May 2026 need to understand how the automatic conversion operated and what their obligations are post-conversion:

• Automatic conversion without notice: All existing fixed-term ASTs — whether within the initial fixed term, at the end of the fixed term and already rolling as a statutory periodic tenancy, or with a natural end date after 1 May 2026 — were automatically converted to periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. No notice, agreement, or action by either party was required. The conversion was automatic by operation of statute
• Rent period post-conversion: Where a fixed-term AST was converted, the rent period of the resulting periodic tenancy corresponds to the period by which rent was payable under the fixed term. A fixed-term AST paying monthly rent becomes a monthly periodic tenancy. A fixed-term AST paying weekly rent becomes a weekly periodic tenancy
• Tenancy terms post-conversion: The terms of the converted periodic tenancy are the same as those of the former fixed-term AST (subject to any terms that were specific to the fixed-term nature of the agreement and therefore have no relevance in a periodic tenancy — such as break clause provisions). The landlord and tenant do not need to sign a new tenancy agreement following the automatic conversion
• Deposits in converted tenancies — no change: The deposit protection obligation is unchanged by conversion. Deposits protected under TDP schemes under the fixed-term AST remain validly protected under the periodic tenancy. Prescribed information served for the fixed-term AST remains valid and does not need to be re-served solely because of the RRA 2025 conversion. However, if the landlord serves a new tenancy agreement (which is not required), prescribed information must be re-served
• Existing Section 21 notices — all invalidated: Any Section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026 that had not yet been used to obtain a possession order became void and of no effect on 1 May 2026. Landlords who served a Section 21 notice before the RRA 2025 commencement date and did not obtain a possession order before 1 May 2026 must now use Section 8 grounds if they wish to proceed with possession

Rent reviews in periodic tenancies — Section 13 Form 4A as the sole mechanism

Under the all-periodic regime, the only way a landlord can unilaterally increase the rent in a periodic tenancy is through the Section 13 procedure using Form 4A (the prescribed form under the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) Regulations as amended by RRA 2025):

• Section 13 notice (Form 4A): A landlord wishing to increase the rent must serve a Section 13 notice on Form 4A specifying the new proposed rent and the date from which it is to take effect. The notice must be served at least one rental period in advance, and in any event at least one month in advance for monthly tenancies. Rent can only be increased once per 12-month period under this procedure
• Tenant's right to challenge via First-tier Tribunal: A tenant who receives a Section 13 notice can refer the proposed increase to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a determination of the market rent. If the tenant makes a referral, the new rent does not take effect until the Tribunal makes its determination. The Tribunal can confirm, reduce, or (importantly) increase the proposed rent. Landlords must be prepared for the possibility that a Tribunal referral results in a higher rent than proposed
• Agreed rent increases — no Section 13 required: Where the tenant agrees to a rent increase (for example, following a discussion or by signing a rent review memorandum), no Section 13 notice is required. However, the landlord cannot increase rent above the agreed figure without serving a fresh Section 13 notice. It is good practice to document agreed increases in writing
• Contractual rent review clauses in converted tenancies: Some fixed-term ASTs included contractual rent review clauses (for example, 'rent increases by CPI annually'). Under the RRA 2025, such contractual rent review clauses are not valid as a basis for increasing rent in a periodic tenancy — the landlord must use Section 13 Form 4A. Contractual review clauses that purport to bypass the Section 13 procedure are likely unenforceable

Implications for possession — Section 8 is now the only route

With Section 21 abolished and all tenancies periodic, Section 8 is the only route to possession for English landlords. Understanding how this interacts with periodic tenancies is essential:

• No natural end date — must use Section 8: Because a periodic tenancy has no fixed end date, a landlord who needs possession (to sell, redevelop, occupy, or because of tenant fault) must serve a Section 8 notice on an applicable Ground and then issue possession proceedings. There is no equivalent of 'serving Section 21 after the fixed term' — the tenancy simply continues until a court order for possession is made
• Ground 1A (selling) — new periodic-tenancy-specific ground: RRA 2025 introduced Ground 1A specifically to allow landlords to recover possession where they intend to sell the property. Ground 1A requires 4 months' notice and prohibits re-letting for 3 months after possession is obtained. This is the periodic tenancy equivalent of the old use of Section 21 for sale purposes
• Joint tenant notice to quit — ends the entire periodic tenancy: Under the long-standing common law rule (confirmed in Hammersmith & Fulham LBC v Monk [1992]), one joint tenant can end a periodic tenancy by serving notice to quit on the landlord — without the other joint tenant's agreement. Under a periodic tenancy, this means one joint tenant can unilaterally end the entire tenancy, leaving the landlord with no continuing tenancy and potentially a co-occupier who has lost their home but was not party to the notice. Landlords should be alert to this risk in joint tenancy situations
• Student lets — special consideration: Student let landlords who previously relied on fixed-term ASTs aligned to the academic year (September to June) cannot use fixed terms from 1 May 2026. Students must be on periodic tenancies. The practical implication is that the landlord cannot guarantee the property will be empty in June/July for refurbishment before the next academic year. Ground 1 (own occupation) cannot be used for student lets. Landlords who need possession at the end of the academic year must rely on the tenant's own notice to quit (giving 2 months' notice)

Frequently asked questions