Fixed-term tenancies abolished: what landlords need to know

The abolition of fixed-term tenancies is one of the most fundamental changes the Renters' Rights Act 2025 makes to private renting in England. From May 2026, landlords can no longer agree a fixed term with a tenant. Every new tenancy must be periodic from day one, and every existing tenancy automatically converts to a periodic tenancy on the commencement date. For many buy-to-let landlords, the fixed term was the backbone of their letting model. A guaranteed six or twelve months of income, a predictable end date for planning purposes, and a defined window for inventory, checkout and re-letting. Without it, the landscape feels different. This article explains exactly what the change means in practice, what protections remain, and how to adapt your approach.

What does the abolition of fixed-term tenancies actually mean?

Under the Housing Act 1988 as it stood before the Renters' Rights Act, a landlord and tenant could agree to an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) for a fixed period, most commonly six or twelve months. During that fixed term, the tenant had security of tenure and the landlord had a guaranteed occupant. At the end of the fixed term, the tenancy could be renewed, allowed to roll into a statutory periodic tenancy, or ended using Section 21.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 removes the ability to create a fixed-term AST entirely. From the commencement date in May 2026:

• No new fixed-term tenancy can be created. Any agreement that purports to be for a fixed period is treated as a periodic tenancy from the outset.

• All existing fixed-term tenancies automatically convert to periodic tenancies on the commencement date, regardless of how long remains on the fixed term.

• Tenancies continue indefinitely until ended by the tenant giving notice or by the landlord obtaining a court order under Section 8.

The result is that every private tenancy in England is now, legally, a periodic tenancy. The period is determined by how often rent is paid - weekly, monthly or otherwise. For most landlords this means a monthly periodic tenancy, since most rents are collected monthly.

The August dictionary entry on statutory periodic tenancies explains what a periodic tenancy is and how it operates as a legal concept.

What happens to existing fixed-term tenancies on commencement day?

If you have a tenant on a fixed-term AST that runs beyond May 2026, the fixed term does not continue to its contracted end date. On the commencement date, the tenancy automatically converts to a periodic tenancy under the new regime.

This means:

• The tenant does not need to sign a new agreement. The conversion happens by operation of law.

• The terms of the existing tenancy continue to apply (rent amount, deposit, obligations of both parties) except for provisions that are incompatible with the new periodic structure.

• Any clause in the existing AST that specifies a fixed end date, a break clause requiring notice only at certain intervals, or terms tied to the fixed-term structure becomes void.

• The landlord cannot enforce the remainder of the fixed term as if it still exists - the tenant's ongoing right to occupy is now periodic, not fixed.

In practical terms: if you had a tenant on a 12-month AST that started in November 2025 and was due to run to October 2026, that tenancy becomes periodic in May 2026. You cannot enforce the October 2026 end date. The tenant stays on a rolling monthly basis until they serve notice or you obtain a court order.

For a full overview of all the changes coming in on the same date, see our Renters' Rights Act post-commencement landlord guide.

What a periodic tenancy looks like from May 2026

Under the new system, a tenancy runs indefinitely from the start date and continues rolling until it is ended. The two key differences from the old fixed-term model are how tenants give notice and how landlords end tenancies.

How notice works for tenants

A tenant who wants to leave must give a minimum of two months' written notice. However, the Renters' Rights Act introduces an important restriction: a tenant cannot give notice to end the tenancy during the first four months of occupation. The earliest a tenant can validly serve a two-month notice is therefore at the end of month four, meaning the minimum total occupation is six months from the start of the tenancy.

This four-month restriction before a tenant can give notice provides some of the certainty that fixed terms used to offer. In practice, a landlord letting from June 2026 cannot face a valid tenant notice before October 2026 at the earliest, and cannot lose the tenant before December 2026. That is broadly equivalent to the minimum occupation under an old six-month AST.

How notice works for landlords

Landlords cannot end a tenancy by giving notice in the same way tenants can. The only routes to possession for a property owner are:

• Waiting for the tenant to serve notice and vacate voluntarily

• Serving a Section 8 notice on one of the statutory grounds for possession and, if the tenant does not vacate, obtaining a court order

There is no longer any equivalent of serving a Section 21 notice or relying on the end of a fixed term to recover the property. Every contested possession requires a court order.

Our guide to how long eviction takes in the UK in 2026 sets out the full timeline from Section 8 notice to bailiff enforcement.

How rent increases work without a fixed term

Under the old fixed-term model, many landlords used the end of the fixed term as the natural point to increase rent by issuing a new AST at a higher rate. With periodic tenancies, that mechanism is gone. Rent can only be increased using the statutory Section 13 process:

1. You must give the tenant at least two months' written notice of the proposed new rent, using the prescribed Section 13 notice form.

2. Rent can only be increased once in any 52-week period.

3. The notice must state the proposed new rent and the date from which it will apply.

4. If the tenant disputes the increase, they can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a determination of the market rent.

The Renters' Rights Act also strengthened the tribunal process by limiting tribunals from setting rent above the landlord's proposed figure, preventing the perverse outcome where a tribunal-determined rent could end up higher than what the landlord asked for.

Landlords who previously relied on end-of-tenancy rent resets should plan annual Section 13 notices into their management calendar to ensure rents keep pace with the market.

Use the August landlord calendar to set annual reminders for Section 13 notice dates across your portfolio.

Student HMOs and Ground 4A: a specific provision for academic lettings

The abolition of fixed terms caused significant concern among student HMO landlords, who rely on annual lettings aligned with the academic year. If tenants on a periodic tenancy could stay indefinitely, it would undermine the model of letting to a new cohort each September.

The government addressed this with Ground 4A, a new mandatory possession ground specifically for student HMOs. Ground 4A allows a landlord to recover possession at the end of a 'student letting period', broadly the end of the academic year, where the property is let predominantly to full-time students. The landlord must give two months' notice under Ground 4A, and if the ground is proved at a hearing the judge must grant possession.

This makes the student HMO model viable under the new periodic system. Our mandatory HMO licensing guide and HMO fire safety guide cover the other compliance requirements for student properties.

Ground 4A cannot be used in the first year of the tenancy. A landlord letting to a new group of students from September 2026 could therefore use Ground 4A to recover the property for the following September 2027 intake, provided the requisite notice is served in time.

Grounds for possession that replace the fixed-term safety net

The fixed term gave landlords a degree of control: when it ended, you could decide not to renew and regain the property. Under the new system, the equivalent protections come through specific Section 8 grounds.

Ground 1 - landlord or family member wants to move in

If you, your spouse, civil partner or certain close family members genuinely intend to occupy the property as their principal home, Ground 1 gives you a mandatory possession route. Two months' notice is required. The ground cannot be used in the first year of the tenancy, and if possession is granted the landlord cannot re-let the property for at least three months after recovering it.

Ground 1A - landlord intends to sell the property

If you intend to sell the property with vacant possession, Ground 1A provides a mandatory route to possession. Two months' notice is required. As with Ground 1, it cannot be used in the first year of the tenancy, and re-letting restrictions apply to prevent landlords from cycling tenants in and out without genuine intent.

Ground 8 - serious rent arrears

Ground 8 remains mandatory: if the tenant has arrears meeting the required threshold both when the notice is served and at the hearing, the judge must grant possession. The Renters' Rights Act raised the arrears threshold compared to the previous rules.

Ground 6 - demolition or reconstruction

If you need to carry out substantial works that require the property to be vacant, Ground 6 provides a possession route with two months' notice. This is discretionary where the tenant has been in occupation for more than a year.

A full breakdown of all the reformed Section 8 grounds is in our grounds for possession under the Renters' Rights Act guide.

Tenancy agreements: what needs to change

Landlords who use standard AST templates will need to update them for lettings from May 2026. Key changes:

• Remove all fixed-term clauses - clauses specifying a tenancy term of six months, twelve months, or any other fixed period must be removed or replaced with periodic tenancy language.

• Remove or rewrite break clauses - break clauses as previously structured do not make sense in a periodic tenancy and will need either removing or replacing with language that reflects the statutory two-month tenant notice right.

• Update the rent review clause - replace any end-of-term rent review with a Section 13 notice process clause.

• Add the four-month restriction - the agreement should make clear that the tenant cannot give notice to leave during the first four months of the tenancy.

• Remove references to Section 21 - any clause that mentions the Section 21 process as a method of ending the tenancy must be removed.

• Include deposit protection details - as before, but confirm these apply for the duration of a potentially open-ended tenancy.

Template tenancy agreements from reputable providers (such as the NRLA, Law Society or specialist legal publishers) should be updated to reflect the new regime. Avoid using old templates for new lettings from May 2026.

Mortgage and insurance implications

Mortgage lenders

Many buy-to-let mortgage products historically required the landlord to let on an AST - a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy. With fixed terms abolished, lenders have been updating their mortgage conditions to accommodate periodic tenancies. Most mainstream BTL lenders have confirmed they will accept the new form of tenancy, but landlords should:

• Check their existing mortgage terms to confirm periodic tenancies are permitted or that the lender has updated their conditions

• Contact their lender or broker before May 2026 if they have any uncertainty

• When remortgaging, confirm the new product explicitly permits periodic assured tenancies under the post-Renters' Rights Act framework

Landlord insurance

Most landlord insurance policies are written to cover tenancies that comply with current legislation. Periodic tenancies under the new framework should be covered by policies that are updated for the 2026 changes. However, rental property owners should review their policy wording or speak to their broker to confirm:

• The policy covers tenancies that are periodic from day one (rather than fixed-term ASTs that have rolled to periodic)

• Rent guarantee insurance (RGI) conditions remain met - some RGI policies required a fixed-term AST as a condition of cover. Check whether your policy has been updated.

Our rent guarantee insurance guide explains what RGI covers and what conditions are typically required to make a valid claim.

How to manage the transition for existing tenancies

If you have tenants currently on fixed-term ASTs, here are the practical steps to take before and after May 2026:

1. Audit your portfolio. List every tenancy, its current fixed-term end date, and the rent amount. Identify any where the fixed term would have been the trigger for a rent review or a decision about renewal.

2. Communicate with your tenants. You are not legally required to notify tenants of the automatic conversion, but a brief letter or email explaining the change and confirming their tenancy continues on the same terms (except now periodic) is good practice and reduces uncertainty.

3. Plan your rent reviews. For any tenancy where you intended to increase rent at the end of the fixed term, you will now need to serve a Section 13 notice instead. If the tenancy converted in May 2026, the earliest a Section 13 notice could take effect would be July 2026 (two months' notice).

4. Update your tenancy agreement template. Do this before you take on any new tenant from May 2026.

5. Review deposit protection. Your deposit protection obligations continue unchanged for periodic tenancies. If any prescribed information references a fixed end date, consider re-issuing updated prescribed information after the conversion.

6. Check your mortgage and insurance. As noted above, confirm your lender and insurer are updated for the new tenancy framework.

Our deposit protection guide covers the obligations that apply throughout the life of a tenancy, however long it runs.

Is the abolition of fixed terms actually bad for landlords?

Initial reaction from many landlords has been negative - the fixed term felt like a safety net. But there is a more balanced view worth considering.

The six-month minimum occupation (four months before notice can be given, then two months' notice) broadly replicates the practical effect of the most common six-month AST. A tenant who wants to stay longer can do so without the friction of renewal negotiations, which also saves landlords the administrative cost of issuing new agreements every twelve months.

The genuine concern is for landlords who want possession for legitimate reasons at a time of their choosing - for example, to sell, to refurbish, or to move a family member in. The reformed Section 8 grounds address these scenarios, though they require court proceedings if the tenant does not vacate voluntarily. The court process takes time and costs money, which is why rent guarantee insurance and careful tenant selection remain important.

The evidence from Scotland and Wales, where equivalent reforms have been in place for several years, suggests that the majority of tenancies end with tenants giving notice and leaving without dispute. The adversarial court route remains the exception rather than the rule in practice.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still agree a minimum tenancy period with a tenant?

No. Any clause in a tenancy agreement that prevents a tenant from giving their statutory two-month notice after the first four months of occupation is void. A tenant who serves notice after the four-month restriction period has passed is free to leave on two months' notice regardless of any 'minimum term' wording in the agreement.

What happens to a break clause in an existing fixed-term AST?

When the existing fixed-term AST converts to a periodic tenancy on commencement day, break clauses tied to the fixed term become void. The tenant's right to end the tenancy is governed by the new statutory two-month notice rule (subject to the four-month restriction). Landlord break clauses - which previously allowed the landlord to end the tenancy mid-term - are also void, with possession only available through Section 8 grounds.

If a tenant gives notice, do they have to leave exactly two months later?

Yes, if the notice is valid and expires on the correct date (usually the last day of a rent period). If the tenant does not leave on the vacate date stated in their notice, they are technically holding over and you can apply for a court order. In practice, most tenants leave on the agreed date, but if they do not you will need to follow the court possession process.

Can a landlord and tenant still agree a longer notice period?

Tenants cannot be contractually required to give more than two months' notice - any clause requiring longer notice from the tenant is void. A landlord and tenant can informally agree a different arrangement (for example, a tenant gives three months' notice voluntarily to allow more time to find a replacement), but this cannot be enforced as a contractual term.

Does this apply to Houses in Multiple Occupation?

Yes. Individual tenancy agreements in an HMO become periodic under the new rules in exactly the same way as single-let tenancies. Each occupant has the same two-month notice right (after the four-month restriction) and the same protections. The one HMO-specific exception is Ground 4A for student HMOs, described above.

What about tenancies that started before commencement day?

All existing assured and assured shorthold tenancies automatically convert to the new periodic framework on commencement day, regardless of when they started or how long they were originally agreed for. There is no opt-out and no grace period based on when the tenancy was created.

Key takeaways

• Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies are abolished from May 2026, all private tenancies in England are now periodic from day one

• All existing fixed-term tenancies automatically convert to periodic tenancies on the commencement date; landlords do not need to issue new agreements

• The minimum effective tenancy is broadly six months: tenants cannot give notice in the first four months, and must give two months' notice thereafter

• Rent can only be increased via a formal Section 13 notice, once per year, with at least two months' warning

• Landlords can recover possession through reformed Section 8 grounds including Ground 1 (occupation), Ground 1A (sale), Ground 8 (arrears) and Ground 4A (student HMOs)

• Update your tenancy agreement template before taking on any new tenant from May 2026, and check your mortgage and insurance conditions accept the new tenancy structure.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. Landlord and tenant law is subject to change, and the information in this article reflects the position at the time of writing. You should always seek independent legal or professional advice before taking any action in relation to your property or tenancy.