Open-Ended Tenancies (APT) 2026: The New Default UK Tenancy

On 1 May 2026 the assured shorthold tenancy (AST) — the framework that governed the private rented sector in England for 30 years — was abolished. Every existing AST converted, on that date, to an Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT). Every new tenancy since is an APT from day one.

APTs are open-ended. There is no fixed term. There is no 6-month or 12-month period the tenant is locked in for. There is no break clause. The tenancy continues month-to-month until the tenant serves 2 months’ notice to leave, or the landlord obtains possession on a Section 8 ground.

For landlords used to the AST regime, this is a substantial mental shift. There is no natural "end date" to a tenancy any more. Rent reviews work differently. Renewals don’t exist. Fixed-term addendums are void. Clauses you have in your old tenancy agreement — early termination, minimum term, tenant fixed obligations — either no longer apply or expose you to fines.

This guide walks through what an APT is, how it differs from an AST in practice, what stays the same, what you can still negotiate, and how your tenancy agreement needs to be updated.

Not legal advice. Take specific advice on your own tenancy agreement — pre-1 May 2026 agreements may need substantial revision.

What an APT is

An Assured Periodic Tenancy is a form of assured tenancy under Chapter 1 of the Housing Act 1988, with the amendments made by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. The key legal features:

Periodic from day one. No fixed term. The tenancy runs month-to-month (or whatever the rental period is).

Tenant can end it on 2 months’ notice, at any time, without penalty. Section 44 of the RRA 2025.

Landlord can only end it on a Section 8 ground. Section 21 is repealed. There is no other route.

Rent can only be increased once every 12 months, by Section 13 notice. No rent review clauses. No fixed-term increases baked into the agreement.

All other assured-tenancy protections apply: security of tenure, deposit protection, statutory succession rules, Right to Rent, gas safety, EICR, EPC.

The APT is called "periodic" because the tenancy legally exists as a series of rental periods that renew automatically. Practically, it feels to a landlord and tenant like a rolling monthly tenancy that continues until someone deliberately ends it.

The 1 May 2026 conversion

Section 42 of the RRA 2025 provided that all existing ASTs in force on 1 May 2026 automatically converted to APTs on that date. That was true even if the AST was in its fixed-term period. A tenancy that started as an 18-month AST in November 2025 became an APT on 1 May 2026 — the tenant is no longer locked in for the remaining 6 months.

Two categories of tenancy were not converted:

Non-assured tenancies (holiday lets, company lets, agricultural lets, resident-landlord lets, tenancies over £100,000 annual rent). These continue under their existing framework.

Rent Act 1977 tenancies (very few remain). Untouched by the RRA.

For everyone else, 1 May 2026 was the changeover date. Every landlord operating pre-RRA has, by law, transitioned to the APT regime.

Tenant notice: 2 months, any time

Under an APT the tenant can end the tenancy at any time by giving 2 months’ written notice, ending at the end of a rental period. There is no minimum tenancy length. There is no early-termination penalty.

For landlords this is the single biggest practical change. Under an AST a landlord could rely on the tenant’s fixed term as a defence against void periods — a signed 12-month contract meant 12 months of rent (or a break clause). Under an APT there is no such contract; every tenancy is functionally month-to-month.

What you cannot do:

Charge a break-clause fee. Void.

Require the tenant to give more than 2 months’ notice. Void.

Impose an early-termination penalty. Void.

Withhold the deposit for leaving inside a "minimum term". Void — deposit return is governed by the deposit-scheme rules, not by any clause about early leaving.

What you can still do:

Charge for reasonable actual costs of re-letting where the tenant leaves inside a period they have already paid rent for and you have to advertise urgently. But be careful — the Tenant Fees Act 2019 still restricts what you can charge, and re-letting fees are one of the areas HMOs particularly.

Landlord notice: only Section 8

The other big change is on the landlord side. Under an AST, landlords used Section 21 — the "no-fault" notice — for the majority of routine terminations (end of tenancy, sale, moving in, difficult tenant that wasn’t worth a court case). Section 21 gave 2 months’ notice with no ground to prove.

Section 21 is repealed. From 1 May 2026 the only route to end a tenancy is Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, on one of the grounds in Schedule 2 (as amended by the RRA).

The main practical grounds:

Ground 1 — landlord (or defined family) moving in. 4 months’ notice.

Ground 1A — landlord selling. 4 months’ notice.

arrears" class="border-b border-dotted border-emerald-300/60 font-medium text-emerald-800 hover:border-emerald-500 hover:text-emerald-950" data-glossary-link="ground-8-serious-rent-arrears">Ground 8 — 2+ months’ arrears at date of notice and hearing. 2 weeks’ notice.

Ground 10/11 — persistent late payment / any arrears (discretionary). 2 weeks’ notice.

Ground 12 — breach of tenancy other than rent. 2 weeks’ notice.

Ground 14 — anti-social behaviour. 0 days’ notice.

Each of these has evidential requirements, procedural traps and hearing risk. There is no more no-fault route. That is why compliance evidence — deposit protection, Info Sheet delivery, gas safety, EPC — is now the difference between winning and losing possession, not just a paperwork exercise.

Rent reviews: only Section 13, only once a year

The RRA 2025 also changed how rent can be increased. Under an AST a landlord could either use a fixed-term increase clause ("rent will increase by 5% at the start of year 2") or serve a Section 13 notice at the end of the fixed term.

Under an APT:

Rent can only be increased by Section 13 notice. All rent-review clauses in tenancy agreements are void.

Section 13 requires at least 2 months’ notice.

Section 13 can be served at most once every 12 months. No mid-year adjustments.

The proposed rent must be "at market rate" for a comparable property. Wildly excessive Section 13 rents can be challenged at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), which can set a market rent — potentially lower than the current rent.

Section 13 form is Form 4A — the private-sector rent-increase form from 1 May 2026.

Two practical implications:

1Rent-review clauses in old tenancy agreements are void. Do not attempt to enforce them.

2Time your annual Section 13 notice carefully. A poorly-drafted or aggressive Section 13 can result in a tribunal-set rent that is worse than not raising rent at all. LetCompliance drafts Section 13 with tribunal-safe comparable-rent evidence built in.

Tenancy agreements: what needs updating

If you were using a standard AST template pre-1 May 2026, the following clauses are now void or need rewording:

Void (do not enforce):

Fixed-term / minimum term

Break clause with penalty

Rent review / rent escalation clauses

Tenant early-termination fee

Landlord early-termination for "no reason"

Needs rewording:

Notice provisions — tenant now has statutory 2 months, landlord has statutory Section 8 grounds only

Rent — the amount and payment cycle only; not review formula

Grounds for termination — refer to Section 8 rather than repeating grounds in the agreement

Right to Rent clause — updated post-2026 wording

Awaab’s Law — reference the RRA 2025 framework and note secondary legislation is awaited before the timescales bind private landlords (expected 2027)

Can still include:

Property condition and end-of-tenancy standards

Deposit amount (still capped at 5 weeks’ rent)

Reasonable clauses on pets (subject to RRA 2025 pet-consent rules — 28 days, unreasonable refusal void)

Reasonable clauses on lodgers, alterations, insurance

ASB clause (belt-and-braces alongside Ground 14)

We (LetCompliance) provide an APT-compliant tenancy template updated for the 2026 regime — the specific clauses are revised roughly quarterly as case law under the RRA develops.

What stays the same

Not everything changed on 1 May 2026. The core landlord duties are unchanged:

Gas Safety Certificate — annual, HSE-approved engineer

EICR — every 5 years

EPC — minimum band E for now (band C from 1 October 2030 for new tenancies)

Deposit protection — 30-day rule, Prescribed Information, one of the three schemes

Right to Rent — pre-tenancy check, follow-up for time-limited leave

Fire safety — smoke alarms, CO alarms, HMO fire safety

Awaab’s Law — currently in force in social housing; the RRA 2025 contains the framework to extend it to private landlords, but secondary legislation is required first. Expected commencement in the private sector is 2027; treat social-housing timescales as the direction of travel, not yet as private-landlord duty.

If anything, the shift to an APT regime makes these compliance duties more important, not less — because they are now the evidence base for every Section 8 possession claim.

Sources

legislation.gov.uk — Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Part 1 (assured periodic tenancies)

legislation.gov.uk — Housing Act 1988, Chapter 1 (as amended)

GOV.UK — How to end a tenancy (post-RRA guide)

GOV.UK — Rent increases: Section 13 notice

Free PDF · instant by email

Section 21 → Section 8 Transition Map (2026)

Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026. Map every active S21 / Form 6A scenario onto a valid Section 8 ground with this 2-page transition guide.

Pre-1 May 2026 Form 6A — still valid? Decision tree
Map every S21 trigger to a Section 8 mandatory / discretionary ground
Ground 8 (rent arrears) — 13-week threshold under RRA 2025
Top 5 evidence packs courts now expect for possession

Frequently asked questions

When did assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) end?

1 May 2026. All existing ASTs converted to Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs) on that date, whether or not they were in a fixed term. Every new tenancy since 1 May 2026 is an APT from day one.

How much notice does a tenant have to give under an APT?

2 months’ written notice, ending at the end of a rental period. No minimum tenancy length applies — a tenant can serve notice on day 1 of the tenancy. Clauses in tenancy agreements imposing longer notice or early-termination penalties are void.

Can I still use rent review clauses in an APT?

No. Rent under an APT can only be increased by Section 13 notice, once every 12 months, with at least 2 months’ notice, using the current Form 4A. Rent-review clauses in tenancy agreements are void and unenforceable.

Are fixed-term tenancy agreements void from 1 May 2026?

The fixed-term element is void — a tenant cannot be locked into an 18-month period. Other clauses (deposit amount, property condition, pets, alterations) remain enforceable if they comply with law. Update your template to reflect APT rules; do not attempt to enforce fixed-term or break-clause penalties.