Periodic tenancies under the Renters' Rights Act

A periodic tenancy is a tenancy with no end date that rolls on from one rent period to the next until it is ended properly. Since 1 May 2026, every private assured tenancy in England is an assured periodic tenancy: fixed terms have no effect, the tenant can leave on up to 2 months' notice, and you can only end the tenancy with a court order on a Section 8 ground.

What is a periodic tenancy?

A periodic tenancy, often called a rolling tenancy, runs from one rent period to the next. If the rent is monthly, it renews every month. If the rent is weekly, it renews every week. There is no date on which it simply ends.

The Renters' Rights Act made this the only kind of private assured tenancy in England. The Housing Act 1988 now calls it a "section 4A assured tenancy". Its periods match the rent periods in the agreement.

These rules cover private landlords in England. Social housing moves to the new system later, and Wales has its own law under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. If your tenant is a lodger in your own home, different rules apply; see our guide to evicting a lodger.

Why is every tenancy now an assured periodic tenancy?

Two rules started on 1 May 2026:

• Existing tenancies converted. Every private assured tenancy in place on 1 May 2026, including every assured shorthold tenancy, continued as an assured periodic tenancy. Any term providing for a fixed term stopped having effect.
• New fixed terms are banned. Granting, or purporting to grant, a fixed-term assured tenancy is a breach of section 16E of the Housing Act 1988. The council can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000.

Since 27 December 2025, tenancies of more than 21 years can no longer be assured tenancies, so long leases sit outside these rules.

What rent periods are allowed?

Rent periods must be monthly, or 28 days or shorter, such as weekly or fortnightly. A tenancy with a longer rent period is treated as monthly.

Existing tenancies with longer periods, such as quarterly or annual rent, switched to monthly periods from the day after the rent period in which 1 May 2026 fell. The rent is apportioned using a formula set out in Schedule 6 of the Act.

Example. A tenant paid a year's rent each 1 January. The rent period running on 1 May 2026 was 1 January to 31 December 2026, so the tenancy runs in monthly periods from 1 January 2027.

Watch out: the Ground 8 rent arrears thresholds only cover rent paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly. There is no Ground 8 threshold for 4-weekly (28-day) rent. If you set up a new tenancy, monthly or weekly rent keeps Ground 8 available. Where rent is 4-weekly, you would rely on Grounds 10 and 11 instead, and should speak to a solicitor.

How does a periodic tenancy end?

If the tenant wants to leave, they give at least 2 months' notice in writing, ending on a rent day or the day before. You can agree a shorter period in writing, but you can't require more than 2 months. See our guide to how tenants end a tenancy.

If you want the property back, you can only end the tenancy through a court order and its enforcement. That means serving a Section 8 notice on Form 3A relying on a ground, waiting for the notice period, and applying to court if the tenant stays. A notice to quit from the landlord has no effect.

Under the general law, a tenancy can also end by surrender, where the tenant gives it up and you accept that. If the tenant simply disappears, there is no statutory abandonment procedure, so read our guide to an abandoned property before you go in.

What happened to fixed terms and break clauses?

On 1 May 2026, fixed terms in private tenancy agreements stopped having effect. Three consequences matter in practice:

1. The start date doesn't reset. A fixed-term tenancy and the periodic tenancy that followed it count as one tenancy, starting when the fixed term began. On our reading, that is the date that counts for the 12-month protected period on Grounds 1 and 1A.
2. Break clauses lose their purpose. They were a way to end a fixed term early. With no fixed term, the tenant can leave on up to 2 months' notice anyway, and you can only end the tenancy through Section 8.
3. Rent review clauses have no effect. The only way to raise the rent is a Section 13 notice on Form 4A. See rent increases on a periodic tenancy.

Old fixed-term AST vs assured periodic tenancy

	Fixed-term AST (before 1 May 2026)	Assured periodic tenancy (now)
Length	A fixed term set in the agreement	No end date
Landlord ending it	Section 21 or Section 8	Section 8 only, then a court order
Tenant ending it	Depended on the agreement	Up to 2 months' notice at any time
Rent increases	Rent review clause, or a Section 13 notice on Form 4	Section 13 on Form 4A only, once a year
Rent in advance	Set by the agreement (existing arrangements can continue)	No rent before the tenancy is agreed, then at most the first month (or 28 days)
Written information	How to Rent guide	Written statement of terms before the tenancy

Common mistakes with periodic tenancies

1. Still issuing 12-month agreements. The fixed term has no effect, and granting one risks a £7,000 penalty.
2. Sending a "notice to vacate" letter. A landlord's notice to quit has no effect. A written document that tries to end the tenancy outside section 8 can count as a "purported notice of possession", which also carries a penalty of up to £7,000.
3. Agreeing an end date verbally. Ending a tenancy orally, or requiring it to be ended orally, is itself a breach.
4. Using quarterly or annual rent periods. They are treated as monthly anyway, and they complicate rent arrears calculations.
5. Assuming an existing tenancy started on 1 May 2026. It started when the original agreement began, which matters for grounds with time limits.

What to do next

If you need the property back from a periodic tenant, our Section 8 notice builder checks your ground, the notice period and the protected period, then fills in Form 3A. For the other changes the Act made, go back to the Renters' Rights Act hub, or read what happened to existing tenancies on 1 May 2026.