Assured periodic tenancies explained: the new standard tenancy

"Assured periodic tenancy" is one of the fastest-rising searches about the Renters' Rights Act, and for good reason. Since 1 May 2026, it's the standard way homes are let privately in England. If you're a landlord, it's the tenancy you now have, whether you signed anything new or not.

What is an assured periodic tenancy?

An assured periodic tenancy is a tenancy that rolls on from one rent period to the next, usually month to month, with no fixed end date. It carries on until the tenant decides to leave, or the landlord ends it using a legal ground.

Before 1 May 2026, most private tenancies were assured shorthold tenancies, often with a fixed term of six or twelve months, and landlords could end them with a Section 21 notice. That's gone. Most existing tenancies turned into assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, and new tenancies start that way.

What happened to fixed-term tenancies?

If you had a tenant on a fixed term of, say, 12 months that was still running on 1 May 2026, the fixed term didn't carry on. The tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy from that date, and the new rules apply. Existing tenancy agreements don't need to be rewritten, but tenants with written agreements had to be given the government's information sheet. Read the Renters' Rights Act information sheet: what landlords need to know, and what happened to assured shorthold tenancies.

How can tenants end an assured periodic tenancy?

Tenants have much more flexibility. The government's guide says a tenant will be able to end a tenancy by giving 2 months' notice, and the end date has to line up with the end of a rent period. There's no fixed term to wait out.

How can landlords end an assured periodic tenancy?

Landlords now need a legal reason, called a ground, and must give the right notice. If the tenant doesn't leave, a court decides. The government's guidance on grounds for possession lists them. The most common include:

• Selling (Ground 1A) or moving in (Ground 1), both with at least four months' notice. Shelter explains these cannot be used during the first 12 months of the tenancy. Using them also triggers a restriction on letting the home again. Read the Renters' Rights Act letting ban explained.
• Serious rent arrears, and other grounds for breaches of the tenancy, such as anti-social behaviour.

For more detail, read Section 21 is gone: what landlords in England can do now.

How does rent work under an assured periodic tenancy?

Rent increases are now limited to once a year, to the market rate. Reed Smith's summary notes that rents may only be reviewed once a year to a market rate, and that landlords can't ask for or accept bids above the advertised rent. The government's guide adds that nothing in the Act restricts landlords raising rents in line with market prices.

How much rent can you take in advance?

Landlords can no longer ask for large sums up front. Reed Smith notes that landlords will not be able to require rent payments to be made more than one month in advance. That changes how some landlords handled tenants with no credit history, who were often asked for several months' rent at the start.

What isn't an assured periodic tenancy?

This is where many landlords get confused. Not every arrangement to stay in a property is a tenancy.

Holiday lets and short stays. Guests staying for a holiday, a work trip or a few weeks have a home somewhere else. The NRLA explains that arrangements where the property is not the occupier's only or main home are not assured tenancies. A guest on a short stay is not your tenant.

Lodgers. Someone renting a room in the home you live in is usually a lodger, not an assured tenant.

Company lets. Where the tenant is a company rather than a person, the assured tenancy rules generally don't apply.

The label on the paperwork doesn't decide this. The real facts do. A "holiday let" where the guest actually lives in the home as their main residence can still be a tenancy.

What should landlords with existing tenants do?

1. Check which of your tenancies started before 1 May 2026, and confirm the information sheet was served for each.
2. Put the date each tenancy started in your records, because it decides when Ground 1 or Ground 1A can first be used.
3. Diary the date of the last rent increase for each tenancy, so you don't raise it more than once a year.
4. Stop asking new tenants for more than one month's rent in advance.
5. If you're thinking about selling or moving in, read about the letting ban before you serve any notice.

Why do many tenants welcome the change?

For tenants, an assured periodic tenancy means more security. They can't be asked to leave without a reason, and they can leave themselves with two months' notice if their plans change. Good tenants who feel secure often stay longer, which means fewer empty months and less time finding someone new.

What does this mean for landlords weighing up their options?

For some landlords, assured periodic tenancies work well: a good tenant stays longer, and the rent comes in every month. For others, particularly those who might want the home back or need flexibility, the new rules feel too open-ended.

Short and medium-term lets are one alternative. Guests pay per night or per month, you can block dates for yourself, and you decide when to stop taking bookings. They come with their own rules, including planning, council tax and safety, and they don't suit every home. The honest answer depends on your property and your plans.

If you already have a tenant, remember the letting ban: if you use the selling or moving-in ground to end the tenancy, you can't switch to short lets during the restricted period.

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This is general information, not legal advice. It is our own interpretation of the rules as they stand on the date shown above, and the law can change. Speak to a qualified solicitor before you act on anything here.