What happens to assured shorthold tenancies under the Renters' Rights Act?

On 1 May 2026 every private assured shorthold tenancy in England automatically became an assured periodic tenancy. Fixed end dates stopped applying, and new assured shorthold tenancies can no longer be created.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 removed assured shorthold tenancies from the Housing Act 1988 and made every private assured tenancy a rolling one. The change came into force on 1 May 2026 under the Act's second commencement regulations. This page follows GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk as checked on 16 October 2026, and covers private landlords in England only.

What changed on 1 May 2026

GOV.UK's guide for landlords puts it simply: "All assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026." You did not need to do anything for the change to take effect.

What happened to fixed terms

Section 1 of the Act says a term of an assured tenancy has no effect so far as it makes the tenancy a fixed term tenancy. The tenancy instead runs as a periodic tenancy, with each period matching the rent period. If an agreement signed in March 2026 said the tenancy ran to March 2027, that end date stopped applying on 1 May 2026.

Two other changes sit alongside this. Rent periods must be 28 days or shorter, or monthly. And you cannot create a new assured tenancy with an end date. If you try, GOV.UK says the end date will not apply, your tenant can complain to the council and you could be fined.

Rent review clauses also stopped working. If an increase was agreed under a rent review clause before 1 May 2026 but was due to take effect afterwards, GOV.UK says it will not apply. Rent now goes up through the section 13 process, explained in how to increase the rent.

What this means for you

Your tenant can stay until they choose to leave, you both agree to end the tenancy, or you regain possession using a section 8 ground. Section 21 can no longer be served, even if your agreement says it can; has section 21 been abolished? covers what happened to notices already served.

Your tenant can end the tenancy by giving written notice so it ends on, or the day before, a rent day. You cannot ask for more than 2 months. For tenancies that existed before 1 May 2026 the notice period in the agreement often still applies, so a tenant whose agreement says one month only has to give one month.

One detail affects older tenancies. Under the commencement regulations, the new selling ground (Ground 1A) cannot be used for a "legacy assured tenancy": one entered into before 1 May 2026 that was not an assured shorthold tenancy just before that date. Most private lets were shorthold, so this mainly affects long-standing assured tenancies.

What landlords had to give tenants

The Act came with new paperwork rather than new agreements. Existing written agreements did not need to be changed or re-issued.

GOV.UK says you could be fined up to £7,000 for not giving the Information Sheet by 31 May 2026, and up to £7,000 for not giving the written information on a new tenancy. If an agent manages the property, the agent must also have given the sheet. The How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026, as explained in do I still need to give tenants the How to Rent guide?

Steps to check your existing tenancies

1. List each tenancy and the date it started. Anything private and assured is now an assured periodic tenancy.
2. Check you gave the Information Sheet (written agreements) or the written information (oral agreements) by 31 May 2026, and keep proof of how you sent it.
3. Note any end dates in your agreements and stop relying on them. Plan around rolling tenancies instead.
4. Remove section 21 and rent review clauses from your process. Rent increases now go through Form 4A.
5. For new lets, prepare the written information before the tenancy is agreed, and do not include a fixed term.
6. Keep your deposit protection records up to date, because most section 8 grounds depend on them.

Where it goes next

Further parts of the Act are still to come, including the landlord database and a landlord ombudsman. The landlord compliance checklist for 2027 puts the dates in one place.

Rent from your lets also counts towards Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; the free MTD check shows whether and when it applies to you, and the landlord section has more guides on the new rules.