What Is a Periodic Tenancy? The New Default for All England Rentals in 2026

Periodic tenancy meaning: the new default in England

The simplest periodic tenancy meaning is a tenancy that rolls on from one rent period to the next, week to week, or far more commonly month to month, with no fixed end date. Instead of running for a set “term” of six or twelve months, it continues indefinitely until either the tenant gives notice or the landlord uses a lawful ground to end it.

Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, the periodic tenancy is no longer just one option among several. It is the only structure for new and existing assured tenancies in England. Fixed terms and assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) have been abolished. If you are letting a home in England in 2026, you are letting it on a periodic assured tenancy whether you intended to or not, there is no longer any way to “opt out” into a fixed term, and any clause that tries to is simply unenforceable.

This guide explains what that means in plain English: how the rent period works, what changed on 1 May 2026, how the tenancy is ended by each side, how rent increases operate, and what every England landlord should do differently now. Whether you are an accidental landlord with a single flat or you manage a portfolio, the periodic model is now the foundation everything else sits on.

How a periodic tenancy actually works

A periodic tenancy is defined by its rent period, the regular interval at which rent falls due. If rent is paid monthly, the tenancy is a monthly periodic tenancy and rolls in one-month blocks. If rent is paid weekly, it rolls weekly. The period is set by reference to how rent is paid, not by anything you write into a “term” box.

Key features of every periodic assured tenancy in England:

• No end date. The tenancy continues until properly ended by one of the lawful routes set out below. It does not “expire” and does not need renewing.
• Rent periods cannot exceed one month. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, rent must be payable in periods of no more than a month, so you cannot lock a tenant into paying quarterly, six-monthly or annually in advance.
• The written terms carry on. All the obligations in the agreement, repairs, permitted use, who may live there, garden upkeep, continue to apply for the whole life of the tenancy, not just for an initial period.
• It is still an assured tenancy. Tenants keep full security of tenure under the Housing Act 1988 as amended. “Periodic” does not mean “informal” or “weaker”; it is a full statutory tenancy.

The practical effect is stability for tenants and a single, clear ruleset for landlords, but it removes the old certainty of a guaranteed minimum term that landlords once relied on to secure rental income for the first six or twelve months.

Contractual vs statutory periodic, does the distinction still matter?

Under the old system, lawyers distinguished between a contractual periodic tenancy (one created expressly by the agreement as periodic from day one) and a statutory periodic tenancy (the one that arose automatically by operation of law when a fixed-term AST ran out). That distinction drove a lot of technical disputes about which rent-increase mechanism applied.

From 1 May 2026 the distinction largely falls away for new lets. Every assured tenancy is periodic from the outset by force of statute, so there is no “fixed term ending” event that converts one type into another. There is simply one continuous periodic assured tenancy. This is one of the quiet simplifications of the reform: you no longer have to work out which flavour of periodic tenancy you are dealing with before you can act.

What changed on 1 May 2026

Before the reforms, most lets in England were assured shorthold tenancies with a fixed term, after which they usually rolled into a statutory periodic tenancy automatically. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 swept this two-stage model away and replaced it with a single, open-ended periodic structure.

For background on why the AST disappeared, see our guide to the assured shorthold tenancy and why it no longer exists. For a fuller side-by-side comparison aimed at landlords adapting their paperwork, read fixed-term vs periodic tenancy in England. And for a more detailed legal walkthrough of the periodic model itself, see what is a periodic tenancy under the 2026 Renters’ Rights Act.

Ending a periodic tenancy

Because there is no fixed term to run out, ending the tenancy depends entirely on who is doing the ending. This is the area where the periodic model behaves most differently from the old AST, and where landlords most often misunderstand their new position.

When the tenant wants to leave

A tenant on a periodic assured tenancy can end it by giving two months’ notice in writing. They do not need a reason, and they cannot be tied in for a minimum period, a significant shift from the old fixed-term model where a tenant who left early could be liable for rent for the rest of the term. The notice must be in writing and must end at the appropriate point relative to the rent period.

In practice this means a landlord can no longer count on a guaranteed minimum income period. A tenant who moves in on 1 March can, in principle, serve notice almost immediately to leave around 1 May. For the tenant’s-eye view of doing this correctly, see how to end your tenancy: giving notice as a tenant.

When the landlord wants possession

Landlords no longer have a no-fault route. Possession must be sought on one of the roughly 37 grounds in Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, using the current prescribed form on GOV.UK. The notice period depends on the ground relied on:

• Ground 8 (serious rent arrears): the tenant must be at least three months’ (or 13 weeks’) in arrears at both the date of service and the date of the hearing. The notice period for the arrears grounds is shorter than for the discretionary grounds.
• Ground 1A (landlord selling the property): four months’ notice, and the ground cannot generally be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy.
• Ground 2 (possession by a mortgage lender): four months’ notice.

Some older grounds, including grounds 3, 4 and 16, have been abolished. Always check the live grounds and notice periods on GOV.UK before serving anything, because relying on a defunct or wrongly stated ground will get a notice thrown out. For the full process, read how a Section 8 notice works and how landlords regain possession and the wider how tenancies end in England in 2026.

What the periodic model does not let you do

It is worth being blunt about the things landlords sometimes assume a periodic tenancy allows, because they no longer do:

• You cannot end the tenancy simply because “the period is up”, there is no period that ends the tenancy automatically.
• You cannot insert a clause requiring the tenant to leave on a fixed date.
• You cannot use a “break clause”, because there is nothing to break.
• You cannot serve a Section 21 notice, because Section 21 has been abolished.

Rent increases on a periodic tenancy

A common worry is that rolling tenancies let landlords raise the rent at will. They do not. Under the reformed regime, rent on an assured periodic tenancy can be increased only via a Section 13 notice, using the current prescribed form on GOV.UK, and no more than once in any 12-month period.

Important protections to understand:

• Rent-review clauses are banned. You cannot bake automatic or stepped increases into the agreement and rely on them; the Section 13 route is the only lawful mechanism.
• The increase needs proper notice. A minimum notice period applies before the new rent can take effect, and the proposed rent should reflect market levels.
• The tenant can challenge the figure at the First-tier Tribunal. Crucially, the Tribunal cannot set the rent above the amount you proposed, only at or below it. That removes the old risk for tenants that challenging an increase could backfire and produce a higher rent than the landlord asked for.

For the full mechanics, read how to increase rent legally after the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and the focused explainer on Section 13 rent increases for 2026.

A worked example

Consider a concrete case to see how the periodic model plays out across a full cycle.

The let. Priya lets a two-bedroom flat in Leeds to Daniel and Sam, two sharers, from 1 April 2026. Rent is £1,200 per calendar month, payable in advance on the 1st. Because rent is monthly, the tenancy is a monthly periodic assured tenancy rolling on the 1st of each month. There is no fixed term and no end date.

Month 1–6. The tenancy simply rolls. The written agreement Priya issued still governs everything: the tenants must keep the flat in good order, not sublet, and not keep a pet without first making a written request. Priya cannot raise the rent in this window because no Section 13 notice has been served and an increase can only happen once a year in any event.

Month 8. Priya wants to raise the rent to £1,275. She serves a Section 13 notice on the current prescribed GOV.UK form, giving the required minimum notice and proposing the new figure to take effect from a future rent date. Daniel and Sam think it is slightly high and refer it to the First-tier Tribunal. The Tribunal assesses the market rent and decides £1,250 is fair. Because the Tribunal cannot set the rent above the £1,275 Priya proposed, the rent becomes £1,250, never more.

Month 11. Sam gets a job in Manchester. The tenants give two months’ written notice. There is no early-termination penalty, because there is no fixed term to break. The tenancy ends cleanly two months later, aligned to the rent period.

The takeaway. At no point did Priya rely on a fixed term, a Section 21 notice or a rent-review clause, none of which exist anymore. The periodic structure, a clear written agreement, the Section 13 process and the Section 8 grounds did all the work.

Common misconceptions about periodic tenancies

• “Periodic means less secure for tenants.” The opposite is true now, tenants gain open-ended security of tenure together with a flexible exit on two months’ notice.
• “I can evict more easily without a fixed term.” No. Possession needs a Section 8 ground; there is no no-fault route at all.
• “I should stop using a written agreement.” You should absolutely still issue one. A periodic tenancy is still governed by its written terms, and a clear agreement remains your best evidence if anything is disputed. The structure simply has no fixed end date.
• “The agreement renews each year.” It does not renew or expire. It is one continuous tenancy that rolls until properly ended.
• “I can take six months’ rent up front to protect myself.” Rent periods cannot exceed one month, so locking a tenant into large advance payments as a substitute for a fixed term is not a route around the rules.

What landlords should do now

1. Stop using old AST templates. Any template referencing a fixed term, Section 21, a break clause or a rent-review clause is now legally unsafe and may expose you to penalties.
2. Issue a compliant written periodic agreement to every new tenant, and check that existing agreements reflect the periodic position rather than a defunct fixed term.
3. Diarise the once-a-year Section 13 window for any rent increase so you never serve two increases inside 12 months.
4. Keep your possession knowledge current, since Section 8 grounds are now your only route and the notice periods differ by ground.
5. Budget for flexibility. Because tenants can leave on two months’ notice, model your finances around shorter guaranteed income and plan to re-let efficiently.

A precise, up-to-date written agreement is the foundation everything else rests on. Get that right and the periodic model is genuinely simpler to run than the old two-stage AST.

Frequently asked questions

Is a periodic tenancy the same as a rolling tenancy?

Yes. “Rolling tenancy” is the everyday term for a periodic tenancy, one that rolls from one rent period to the next with no fixed end date. In England from 1 May 2026 this is the only form an assured residential tenancy can take.

Can a landlord still offer a 12-month fixed term in 2026?

No. Fixed-term assured tenancies have been abolished under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Any clause purporting to create a fixed minimum term is unenforceable, and the tenancy will be treated as periodic regardless of what the paperwork says.

How much notice does a tenant give to leave a periodic tenancy?

A tenant gives two months’ notice in writing and does not need to give a reason. They cannot be tied into a minimum period. The notice should end at the appropriate point relative to the rent period.

Can the rent go up on a periodic tenancy?

Yes, but only through a Section 13 notice on the current prescribed GOV.UK form, no more than once in any 12-month period. Rent-review clauses are banned, and a tenant can challenge the proposed figure at the First-tier Tribunal, which can only confirm or reduce the rent, never increase it above what the landlord proposed.

Does a periodic tenancy ever expire automatically?

No. There is no end date and no renewal event. A periodic assured tenancy continues until the tenant serves notice or the landlord obtains possession on a valid Section 8 ground. It does not lapse simply because time passes.

Do I still need a written agreement if every tenancy is periodic anyway?

Yes, strongly. The periodic structure is the default, but the rights and obligations of each party still come from the written terms. A clear, current agreement protects both sides and is your best evidence in any deposit or possession dispute.

Coming soon

Tenancy Pilot’s Tenancy Agreement generator is built for the new world: it produces a rolling periodic assured tenancy aligned to the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, no fixed term, no banned rent-review clause, no defunct Section 21 wording, ready to issue and e-sign. It is launching soon. Join the waitlist to be ready to create a compliant periodic agreement from day one.

This article is general information, not legal advice. The law changes and individual circumstances differ. Always check the current position on GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk and consult a qualified solicitor before acting.