What is a periodic tenancy?

Updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025: a periodic tenancy (officially an Assured Periodic Tenancy) is now the standard tenancy model for every private rental in England, not a fallback that only applied after a fixed term ended.

Since 1 May 2026, there's no such thing as a new fixed-term tenancy - every tenancy is periodic (rolling, typically month-to-month) from the day it starts. Existing tenancies that were fixed-term automatically converted to periodic on that date too.

Key things to know:

• You can generally give notice to leave more flexibly than under the old fixed-term system - check your specific notice period, but you're not locked into a fixed term anymore
• Landlords still need a valid Section 8 ground to end your tenancy - moving to periodic didn't reduce tenant protections; if anything it increased them since Section 21 no longer exists
• Rent increases are still subject to specific rules and notice periods regardless of the tenancy being periodic

This is a big shift from the old system, where periodic tenancies were just what a fixed-term AST rolled into if nobody renewed it.