Periodic tenancies explained: life after the fixed term

The fixed term used to be the spine of a private tenancy. It set when you could leave, when the rent might change, and when the whole arrangement came up for renegotiation. Since 1 May 2026 it no longer does any of those things. Assured shorthold tenancies ceased to exist and nearly every existing tenancy converted automatically into a periodic assured tenancy that simply rolls on. This guide explains what that means day to day, how rent periods work, which clauses in your old agreement have quietly stopped biting, and exactly how a tenant gives notice to leave.

What happened to fixed terms

The conversion was automatic. Nobody had to sign anything, no notice was served, and no new agreement was issued. On 1 May 2026 a tenancy with eight months of its fixed term left and a tenancy that had been rolling for six years arrived at the same place: a periodic assured tenancy with security of tenure.

In most cases the tenancy became monthly, following the way the rent was already being paid. A tenancy where rent was paid weekly generally became a weekly periodic tenancy. The rhythm of payment, in other words, now sets the rhythm of the tenancy itself.

The end date printed in an older agreement no longer brings the tenancy to an end. It is not that the date has been overridden by something else - it simply has no effect. This change is the twin of the abolition of no-fault eviction, and the two only make sense together: see section 21 abolition for the other half of the story.

What a periodic tenancy is

A periodic tenancy runs from one rent period to the next indefinitely, until one side brings it to an end in a way the law recognises. There is no expiry, no renewal, and no gap between terms in which either party has more leverage than usual. Rolling is not the same as precarious. The tenancy has security of tenure, which means the landlord can generally only bring it to an end by obtaining a court order for possession.

Rent periods

The rent period is the recurring block the rent is charged for, and it is set by when the rent falls due rather than by the calendar. If rent is payable monthly on the 8th, the rent periods run from the 8th of one month to the 7th of the next. That single fact drives two separate rules: a rent increase can only take effect on the first day of a rent period, and a tenant's notice has to end on a day the rent is due or the day before. The rent side is covered in rent increases explained, and the rent increase checker works the dates out for you.

What your old agreement still does

Old agreements are still worth reading, because most of what they say about deposits, access, decoration and use of the property continues to apply. But several familiar clauses no longer have effect.

For tenancies granted since 1 May 2026 the position is set out formally in the written statement of terms, which has to cover the tenant's notice, security of tenure and the rent increase route among 18 prescribed matters. The pet position is in pet requests.

How a tenant ends the tenancy

A tenant gives at least 2 months' notice in writing, and the tenancy has to end on a day when the rent is due or the day before. Those two rules work together, and the second one is the reason the real notice period is usually longer than two months.

A worked example

Take a monthly tenancy with rent due on the 8th. The tenant decides in October 2026 to move, and puts notice in writing on 20 October. Two months from that date lands on 20 December, which is neither a day the rent is due nor the day before one. The notice therefore has to run to the next date that qualifies: 7 January 2027, the day before the rent falls due on the 8th. The tenant pays rent up to that date and moves out on it.

Now shift the same notice two weeks earlier. Given on 5 October, two months lands on 5 December, and the next qualifying date is 7 December 2026. Two weeks of hesitation in October costs a full month at the other end. If you know you are leaving, working the date out before you write the notice is worth more than anything you can do afterwards.

Joint tenants

Where there are joint tenants, a shorter notice period or a different end date needs the agreement in writing of the landlord and of every joint tenant, not just the one who is moving out. It is worth getting any such agreement recorded in an email rather than settled in conversation, because the alternative is a dispute about who agreed to what after somebody has already gone.

How a landlord ends it

The landlord cannot simply give notice. They have to rely on one of the grounds in schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, serve a section 8 notice specifying it, wait out the notice period attached to that ground, and obtain a court order. The moving-in and selling grounds carry four months' notice, and a notice on either cannot name a date for starting court proceedings earlier than one year after the tenancy began. The grounds and their notice periods are set out in section 8 possession grounds.

Possession also has to be enforced properly. Only a county court bailiff or a High Court enforcement officer can carry out an eviction, so an expired notice or even a court order does not entitle anyone to change the locks.

What did not change

Deposits still have to be protected, and the Act extended those rules to all assured tenancies. The landlord's repairing, gas, electrical and fitness obligations are untouched. Rent is still payable on the same day for the same amount until it is lawfully increased. And the Act applies to England only - Wales operates under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and Scotland under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, each with its own rules on notice and possession, and Northern Ireland has its own separate law. If you want the tenant-side view of everything that did change, start with tenant rights under the Act.