Periodic tenancy
A tenancy that runs from one rent period to the next, such as month to month, with no end date until someone ends it properly.
In short: A periodic tenancy rolls on from one rent period to the next until the tenant or landlord ends it in the way the law allows. Since 1 May 2026 every private assured tenancy in England is periodic, so there is no longer a separate step of a fixed term ending.
England. Checked against the law on 5 October 2026. Information, not legal advice.
Before 2026 a tenancy often started with a fixed term and became periodic when the term ran out (a statutory periodic tenancy). Since the Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026, private assured tenancies in England are periodic from the first day.
What follows from that:
- The tenancy does not end on a date: it needs a tenant's notice, a surrender agreed by both, or a court order after a landlord's section 8 notice.
- Notice dates are counted against the rent period, so it matters whether the rent is monthly or weekly.
- There is no "renewal" and no renewal fee: the same tenancy simply continues.
The law is the Housing Act 1988 as amended, including the new section 4A.
Read more: The assured periodic tenancy explained
Related: Assured periodic tenancy, Rent period, Tenant's notice to leave
Where this comes from
Guides on this
Guide
What changed for landlords on 1 May 2026
The Renters' Rights Act came into force in England on 1 May 2026. Section 21 is gone, every tenancy is now periodic, and rent rises follow one procedure. Here is what a self-managing landlord actually has to do differently.
Guide
The assured periodic tenancy explained
Every private tenancy in England is now an assured periodic tenancy. What that is, how it starts, how it ends, and what your agreement can and cannot say.
Guide
Pet requests: you have to consider them
Since 1 May 2026 a tenant in England can ask to keep a pet, and the landlord must not unreasonably refuse. How the request works, what counts as reasonable, and what you can ask for in return.
Guide
First-time landlord checklist for England
From deciding to let to the first rent arriving: the consents, safety checks, licence, right to rent, written statement, deposit, inventory, landlord database and tax, in order, as the law stands after 1 May 2026.
Related terms
Glossary
Assured periodic tenancy
The standard private tenancy in England since 1 May 2026: it rolls on month to month (or shorter) with no end date until the tenant or landlord ends it properly.
Glossary
Assured shorthold tenancy (AST)
The usual private tenancy in England from 1997 until 30 April 2026. On 1 May 2026 existing ASTs became assured periodic tenancies and no new private ones can be made.
Glossary
Check-in and check-out
The visits at the start and end of a tenancy where the home is inspected against the inventory, keys are handed over and meter readings are taken.
Glossary
Council tax liability
Who must pay council tax on a home. Usually the tenant living there; the owner for an HMO, an empty home or where nobody lives there as their main home.
Glossary
Guarantor
A person who promises in writing to pay the rent, or cover other losses, if the tenant does not. Often asked of students or people on a lower income.
Glossary
Inventory and schedule of condition
A dated record of what is in the home and the condition of each room and item at the start of a tenancy, usually with photos, signed by both sides.