The tenancy agreement that almost every private landlord in England has relied upon for the past 30 years — the Assured Shorthold Tenancy, or AST — no longer exists in law. As of 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 swept away the AST framework that has governed the private rented sector since 28 February 1997. In its place sits a fundamentally different creature: the Assured Periodic Tenancy, or APT.
This is not a minor administrative update. It is the most significant restructuring of residential landlord and tenant law in nearly four decades — and if you are a landlord with a tenancy currently in place, you need to understand what has changed, what remains enforceable, and what you must do now to protect your legal position.
What Was an AST and Why Did It Dominate the Market?
Between 28 February 1997 and 30 April 2026, the Assured Shorthold Tenancy was the default tenancy type for the vast majority of private residential lettings in England. Its defining characteristic was the fixed term — typically six or twelve months — during which both landlord and tenant were bound by the agreement. At the end of that fixed term, a landlord could recover possession by serving a Section 21 notice, commonly known as a “no-fault” eviction notice, without needing to give any reason for requiring the property back.
This combination of a fixed term and a straightforward Section 21 exit route gave landlords certainty. It also gave lenders and insurers a predictable framework. The AST underpinned the buy-to-let market, shaped letting agent practices, and generated a standard-form tenancy agreement recognised across the industry.
That framework is now gone.
What Is an Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT)?
An Assured Periodic Tenancy is, by design, open-ended. There is no fixed term. The tenancy rolls forward — typically month to month — indefinitely, until it is brought to an end by one of the parties following the correct legal process. Fixed-term clauses written into tenancy agreements no longer have any legal effect. Any provision in an existing agreement stating that the tenancy runs “for a term of 12 months from [date]” is now unenforceable by operation of law.
For tenants, the APT brings new rights. A tenant wishing to end their tenancy need only give two months’ written notice at any time — including from day one of a new tenancy. There is no minimum period they must serve.
For landlords, the change is more significant. The no-fault Section 21 notice is abolished. To recover possession, a landlord must now serve a Section 8 notice citing one of the statutory grounds set out in the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Most of those grounds require evidence — rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, the landlord’s intention to sell, or the need to occupy the property as a family home, for example. The notice periods for many grounds have also been extended, typically to four months.
What Happened to Existing ASTs on 1 May 2026?
This is where many landlords are understandably confused. If you already had a valid AST in place before 1 May 2026, you did not need to do anything for the conversion to occur — it happened automatically by operation of law under section 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
Every AST that existed on 30 April 2026 became an APT on 1 May 2026. The AST and the APT are treated as one continuous tenancy. There is no break in the legal relationship between landlord and tenant, and there is no need to re-serve compliance documents such as the Gas Safety Certificate, Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), or Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) simply because of the conversion.
However, one technical nuance is worth noting: if 1 May 2026 fell in the middle of a rental payment period, the tenancy only converted at the beginning of the next rental period. For example, where rent is paid on the fifteenth of each month, the conversion would have taken effect on 15 May 2026, not 1 May.
There is one category of tenancy that did not automatically convert on 1 May 2026: where a landlord had served a valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice before that date and possession proceedings had not yet concluded, the tenancy could continue as an AST after 1 May 2026 until those proceedings reached their conclusion. However, any landlord in that position who had served a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026 and wished to rely on it needed to apply to court for a claim form to be issued by 31 July 2026.
What Provisions in Your Old AST Are Now Void?
This is the practical heart of the matter. Several clauses that were standard in AST agreements are now null and void and cannot be enforced against tenants:
Fixed-term clauses — Any clause specifying that the tenancy runs for a set period has ceased to have legal effect. A tenant on a twelve-month fixed term that started in December 2025 cannot be held to the remaining months of that term. They can give two months’ notice at any time.
Rent-in-advance clauses — For new tenancies entered into on or after 1 May 2026, tenants can only be required to pay a maximum of one month’s rent in advance, and this cannot be requested before the tenancy agreement is signed. For existing pre-May 2026 tenancies, certain saving provisions apply, but landlords should take legal advice if they are uncertain whether their existing arrangements remain enforceable.
Rent review clauses — Contractual rent review mechanisms in old ASTs are no longer valid. From 1 May 2026, rent increases can only be implemented once every twelve months, and not within the first twelve months of a new tenancy. Landlords must use Form 4A and give at least two months’ written notice of any proposed increase. Tenants have the right to challenge any proposed increase they consider to be above market rent.
Section 21 rights — These no longer exist. Any Section 21 notices that were not supported by ongoing possession proceedings before 31 July 2026 are now spent.
What Must Landlords Do Now?
1. Serve the Government’s Information Sheet
If you had a tenancy in writing before 1 May 2026, you were legally required to give every tenant named on the agreement the official Government Information Sheet produced under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, by no later than 31 May 2026. If you used a letting agent, the obligation fell on them.
Failure to serve this document on time can result in a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first offence. Continued failure after a penalty has been issued carries a risk of penalties of up to £40,000. Critically, the Information Sheet is only valid when downloaded directly from the Government’s official publication page — you cannot send a link to the PDF by email or text and satisfy the obligation.
2. Understand Your New Possession Rights
You cannot serve a Section 21 notice. To recover possession of your property, you must identify and satisfy one of the statutory grounds under Section 8. Key grounds you are likely to rely upon include: significant rent arrears (at least two months’ worth), antisocial behaviour, intention to sell the property (Ground 1A), or intention to occupy the property as a home for yourself or a close family member (Ground 1). Each ground has specific evidential and procedural requirements, and most carry a four-month notice period.
3. Review How You Increase Rent
Your old AST may contain a contractual rent review clause. That clause is no longer the mechanism for increasing rent — you must now follow the Section 13 process, using Form 4A, with at least two months’ notice and no more than one increase per twelve-month period.
4. Take Advice on Your Specific Agreement
No two tenancy agreements are identical. Some ASTs contain break clauses, unusual payment arrangements, or bespoke provisions that may interact with the transitional rules in ways that require individual analysis. Before taking any step to increase rent, recover possession, or enforce obligations against a tenant, we recommend taking specialist legal advice.
The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters
The abolition of the AST is not merely a technical legal reclassification. It fundamentally shifts the balance of the landlord-tenant relationship. Tenants now have significantly greater security of tenure. Landlords no longer have a readily available route to possession without establishing fault or specific circumstance. The buy-to-let landscape has changed permanently.
For landlords with existing tenancies, the immediate risk is one of inadvertent non-compliance: relying on provisions in your old agreement that are now void, failing to follow the correct process for rent increases, or attempting to use a Section 21 notice that can no longer be served. Each of these errors exposes you to penalties, invalid proceedings, and potential liability.
How Our Team Can Help
Our Real Estate and Dispute Resolution teams advise landlords, letting agents, and property investors across England on all aspects of residential tenancy law. We can advise you on your obligations under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, review your existing tenancy documentation, guide you through the Section 8 possession process, and represent you in any possession proceedings before the courts.
If you have an existing tenancy and are unsure of your current legal position, contact our team today for a confidential initial discussion.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The law is stated as at May 2026. You should seek specific legal advice in relation to your individual circumstances.
