Periodic by default: what changed in every tenancy agreement on 1 May 2026

The clause most English tenancy agreements open with, the one setting a fixed term of 12 months, stopped meaning anything on 1 May 2026. Not unenforceable exactly. Simply describing a structure the law removed.

Plenty of agreements still carry it, because template documents outlive legislation and nobody rewrites a pack until something forces them to. The forcing event has already happened; it just did not announce itself in anybody’s document library.

Here is what actually changed in the shape of a tenancy, what it means for the paperwork you are still issuing, and the follow on effects most landlords have not worked through yet.

What changed on 1 May

Phase 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 commenced. Section 21, the no fault eviction route, was abolished. All existing assured shorthold tenancies converted to periodic tenancies, and new ones are created periodic.

Periodic means the tenancy rolls, typically month to month, with no end date. There is no expiry to plan around, no renewal to negotiate, and no natural break where terms were traditionally reopened.

Councils had already gained sharper enforcement powers on 27 December 2025, including inspection, document demands and access to third party data. The two changes work together.

Your tenancy agreement is now wrong

If your template still sets a fixed term, it is describing a tenancy type that cannot be created. That is not merely untidy. A document that misstates the nature of the tenancy is a document a tenant can point at when they dispute what you told them.

Break clauses are similarly stranded. A break clause exists to escape a fixed term, and there is no fixed term to escape. Renewal clauses have nothing to renew.

The practical job is a pass over the whole document pack: agreement, renewal letters, any pre-tenancy communication that describes the term. It is a morning’s work and it removes a class of argument entirely.

Possession without Section 21

Everything now runs through Section 8, which means specifying a ground and evidencing it. That is a different discipline from Section 21, which required no reason at all.

Evidence becomes the whole game. A rent arrears ground needs a clean ledger. An anti-social behaviour ground needs a record of reports and responses. Grounds relating to the landlord’s own use need supporting documentation. What used to be a form is now a file.

Which is why record keeping stopped being administrative hygiene and became the thing that determines whether you can recover your property. It is also why the PRS Database matters so much: an unregistered landlord cannot use Section 8 at all except on anti-social behaviour grounds.

The Information Sheet deadline

Landlords with tenancies that started before 1 May 2026 had to provide the statutory Information Sheet to their tenants by 31 May 2026, in print or electronically. Failure carries a penalty of up to 7,000 pounds.

Where a letting agent manages the property, the agent must also provide the sheet, even if the landlord already has. That duplication is deliberate and it means neither party can rely on the other having done it.

That deadline has passed. If you cannot evidence service, the useful action now is to serve it and record the date, because an undocumented duty is indistinguishable from an unperformed one when a council asks.

What periodic does to planning

Three practical effects worth thinking through.

Void planning changes, because you no longer know when a tenancy ends. Under fixed terms you could forecast turnover from expiry dates. Under periodic tenancies notice can arrive in any month, so forecasting shifts from calendar to probability.

Rent reviews decouple from renewals. There is no renewal moment to attach an increase to, so the review becomes its own scheduled process rather than a conversation at the end of a term.

And sale timelines lengthen. Without Section 21, selling with vacant possession depends on a Section 8 ground, which affects how quickly a property can be brought to market and who will buy it.

How Rentalize handles this

Rentalize models tenancies as periodic by default rather than treating it as a variant, and generates Section 8 notices against the specific ground with the evidence that ground requires attached to the tenancy record.

That sits in Renters’ Rights Act compliance, used by letting agents and private landlords across England.

If you would like to see a Section 8 notice generated against a real ground, you can book a 20 minute walkthrough, or check pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Do fixed term tenancies still exist in England?

No. Since 1 May 2026 all assured shorthold tenancies are periodic. Existing fixed terms converted automatically and new fixed term ASTs cannot be created.

Is Section 21 really gone?

Yes, abolished on 1 May 2026. Possession now requires a Section 8 ground with supporting evidence.

Do I need to rewrite my tenancy agreement?

If it sets a fixed term, contains a break clause or describes renewal, yes. Those clauses describe a structure the law no longer recognises and create arguments you do not need.

What was the Information Sheet deadline?

31 May 2026 for tenancies that began before 1 May 2026, served in print or electronically, with a penalty of up to 7,000 pounds. Where an agent manages the property, the agent must also provide it.

How does this affect selling a property?

Vacant possession now depends on establishing a Section 8 ground rather than serving a no fault notice, which lengthens timelines and narrows the buyer pool for tenanted stock.