Rent period
The interval the rent is paid for, such as a month or a week. Since 1 May 2026 a private assured tenancy can only have periods of a month or 28 days or less.
In short: The rent period is the stretch of time each rent payment covers, usually a calendar month or a week. It sets the rhythm of the tenancy: notice dates, rent increase dates and arrears are all counted in rent periods. Since 1 May 2026 periods longer than a month are not allowed for private assured tenancies.
Rent and rent increasesTenancies and agreements
England. Checked against the law on 5 October 2026. Information, not legal advice.
Section 4A of the Housing Act 1988, added by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, says each rent period of an assured tenancy must be a month, or 28 days or shorter, and the periods of the tenancy follow the rent periods. Quarterly or six-monthly rent periods are no longer possible for these tenancies.
Why it matters day to day:
- A section 13 rent increase must start at the beginning of a rent period.
- A tenant's notice to leave ends on the last day of a rent period (the day before a rent day) unless the landlord agrees otherwise.
- Ground 8 arrears are measured as three months' rent for a monthly tenancy, or 13 weeks for a weekly one.
- No more than one month's rent in advance can be taken before the tenancy starts.
Related: Periodic tenancy, Section 13 notice, Rent in advance
Where this comes from
Guides on this
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
How to raise the rent (once a year, section 13)
In England you can raise the rent once every twelve months, by a section 13 notice on the prescribed form with two months' notice. Here is the procedure and what the tenant can do about it.
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
What to do when a tenant stops paying rent
Rent arrears in England: check the facts, talk early, agree a plan in writing and keep records. If it cannot be solved, possession is by section 8 notice and a court order only. Never change the locks.
Related terms
Glossary
Joint and several liability
When people rent a home together on one tenancy, each of them is responsible for the whole rent and the whole of the tenancy, not just their share.
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
First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
The tribunal that decides many housing disputes in England: challenged rent increases, rent repayment orders, banned fees, licensing appeals and leasehold service charges.
Glossary
Form 4A
The prescribed government form for a section 13 notice proposing a new rent on a private assured tenancy in England.
Glossary
Lodger
Someone who rents a room in the home the landlord lives in and shares living space with them. A lodger is not an assured tenant and has far fewer rights.