Assured, shorthold and periodic tenancies: what each one means now that fixed terms are gone

In England, the Renters’ Rights Act changes mean most private assured lettings now run as assured periodic tenancies rather than assured shorthold fixed terms. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different tenancy systems, so the English Housing Act 1988 answer should not be applied across the UK.

What is an assured periodic tenancy?

An assured periodic tenancy is an English Housing Act 1988 assured tenancy that rolls from period to period, usually matching the rent period, instead of ending on a fixed contractual date. Since 1 May 2026, an assured tenancy that tries to create a fixed term is converted by statute: “Where terms of an assured tenancy are of no effect by virtue of subsection (1)(a) or (b), the tenancy has effect as a periodic tenancy under which the periods of the tenancy are the same as the rent periods.” In plain assured periodic tenancy meaning, the tenancy is “assured” because it falls within the Housing Act 1988, and “periodic” because it renews by reference to weekly, monthly or other rent periods. The official information sheet puts the practical change bluntly: “Any tenancy previously called an Assured Shorthold Tenancy will automatically become an Assured Periodic Tenancy instead.” That is why a periodic assured tenancy is now the normal private rented sector form in England.

Are all tenancies now assured tenancies?

No: in England, private assured tenancies caught by the 1 May 2026 reforms are now assured periodic tenancies, but many lettings are still outside that conversion or outside the assured-tenancy regime altogether. The operative Housing Act rule remains that “if and so long as a tenancy falls within any paragraph in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, it cannot be an assured tenancy,” and section 1 also requires “a dwelling-house in England” let as a separate dwelling. Social-housing assured tenancies held from private registered providers were not brought fully into the same 1 May 2026 restrictions, because GOV.UK says, “For assured tenancies of social housing where the landlord is a private registered provider, the restrictions will apply from a later date.” Assured shorthold tenancy rights therefore did not simply attach to every occupation arrangement on 1 May 2026. Lodgers, some student accommodation, company lets, very high-rent lets, long leases and many social-housing arrangements may sit outside the new private APT system.

Can you still have a fixed-term tenancy agreement?

For an English private assured tenancy, you cannot lawfully create a 12 month tenancy agreement or any other fixed-term assured tenancy after 1 May 2026; the fixed-term wording has no effect and the letting operates periodically. Housing Act 1988 section 4A makes a term ineffective if it provides “for a tenancy to be a fixed term tenancy,” and section 16E prevents a relevant person from purporting to let an assured tenancy “for a fixed term.” The penalty is often misdescribed as a criminal offence, but for purporting to grant the fixed-term assured tenancy the first-breach sanction is civil: “The amount of a financial penalty imposed under this section is to be determined by the authority imposing it, but must not be more than £7,000.” Rolling tenancy agreements are therefore legal, but a fixed-term assured contract is not the route for ordinary private letting in England. Abodient's tenancy agreement generator reflects that: for an English letting it produces a periodic-form agreement rather than defaulting to a fixed-term template that would now have no legal effect. Fixed terms still exist outside this category, such as leases over 21 years, which cannot be assured.

What happens when a fixed term ends?

In England, for private assured tenancies caught by the 1 May 2026 reforms, an old fixed term no longer ends into a fresh AST-style statutory periodic tenancy; it became a rolling assured periodic tenancy. GOV.UK states the change directly: “On 1 May 2026, all assured tenancies, including assured shorthold tenancies, automatically became rolling tenancies.” Where an assured tenancy document still contains a fixed term, Housing Act 1988 section 4A supplies the result: “the tenancy has effect as a periodic tenancy under which the periods of the tenancy are the same as the rent periods.” That means periodic tenancy after fixed term is now mostly the wrong mental model for English assured private renting: the law treats the tenancy as periodic rather than waiting for a contractual end date to arrive. Holding over is different again; a tenant who remains in occupation after a fixed term is not automatically a tenant at will where legislation creates, continues or converts the tenancy.

How much notice applies to an assured periodic tenancy?

For an English assured periodic tenancy, a tenant usually gives at least 2 months’ notice unless the agreement allows a shorter written period, while a landlord must use section 8 and the notice period depends on the possession ground, commonly 2 to 4 months or longer. The tenant rule is stated on GOV.UK as: “If your tenancy agreement does not say how much notice you must give, you need to give at least 2 months’ notice.” For landlords, do not use a single assured shorthold tenancy notice period figure: section 21 is gone, and GOV.UK says, “You cannot serve a section 21 notice to end a tenancy from this date, even if the tenancy agreement says you can.” The section 8 table is the safer anchor because it requires the notice date not to be before “the end of the longest period shown in the following table for any ground specified in the notice.” Two GOV.UK pages describe the usual landlord figure differently, so landlords should check the precise ground rather than rely on a generic period.

What are the disadvantages of a periodic tenancy?

The main disadvantage of an assured periodic tenancy in England is loss of certainty: landlords no longer get a guaranteed 6 or 12 month minimum stay, and tenants can usually end the tenancy on 2 months’ notice. The NRLA summarises the operational issue as “tenants can serve two months' notice at any time (less if agreed in writing) to end the tenancy.” That makes a periodic tenancy better for tenant flexibility but worse for landlords who rely on fixed occupancy windows, mortgage conditions, school-year lets or planned sale dates. The financial risk is not only the rent lost during the notice period; reletting work, voids, advertising, referencing and agent fees can make a short stay much more expensive than the notice period suggests. The legal trap is also important: trying to recreate a fixed term inside an assured tenancy is not a criminal offence for that act, but it can trigger a civil penalty capped at £7,000, because “The amount of a financial penalty imposed under this section… must not be more than £7,000.”

How can you let a property for just a few months now that fixed terms are gone?

In England, you usually cannot guarantee a private assured letting for just 3 months by using a fixed term; you either grant an assured periodic tenancy and let the tenant’s notice bring it to an end, or use a genuinely non-assured structure such as a true holiday let where the facts support it. The assured-tenancy rule is blunt: if a fixed-term clause is ineffective, “the tenancy has effect as a periodic tenancy under which the periods of the tenancy are the same as the rent periods.” A tenant can make a short stay happen by giving notice, and the default statutory floor is “not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect” unless a shorter written period is agreed. If the purpose is genuinely a holiday, Schedule 1 excludes “A tenancy the purpose of which is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy the dwelling-house for a holiday.” A sale or possible owner-occupation plan is not, by itself, a holiday purpose.

What is a 12-month protected tenancy?

There is no tenancy type called a 12-month protected tenancy in England; the phrase usually refers to the first-year restriction on using some possession grounds, especially Ground 1 for landlord or family occupation. The government information sheet says, “You cannot be required to leave under some grounds for the first 12 months of a tenancy.” For Ground 1, the statutory wording requires that “The current tenancy began at least 1 year before the relevant date” before the landlord can recover possession for occupation by the landlord or specified family members. That is not a new protected-tenancy category and it is not a revival of Rent Act protected tenancies. It is also not Ground 6 redevelopment: treating every sale, move-in and redevelopment ground as having the same 12-month bar is too broad. MHCLG’s possession guidance says notice can be served during the first year, but “it cannot expire before the 12 months has ended.”

Which tenancies cannot be assured?

In England, a tenancy cannot be assured if it fails the Housing Act 1988 conditions or falls within Schedule 1, including company lets, certain high-rent lettings, long leases over 21 years, holiday lets and other listed exclusions. Section 1 starts with the individual-tenant rule: “the tenant or, as the case may be, each of the joint tenants is an individual.” Schedule 1 then excludes high-rent tenancies where “the rent payable for the time being is payable at a rate exceeding £100,000 a year,” and long leases described as “A fixed term tenancy of a term certain of more than 21 years from the date of the grant of the tenancy.” A holiday letting is also outside assured status where the tenancy’s purpose is holiday occupation. The practical answer to what is not assured shorthold tenancy is therefore now broader: since ASTs have been abolished in England, the question is whether the letting is assured at all before considering the new assured periodic tenancy rules.

What is a contrived tenancy?

A contrived tenancy is not a tenancy-law category in England; it is a welfare-benefit label for a rent liability created to obtain or increase Universal Credit or Housing Benefit housing costs. The Universal Credit rule is headed contrived liability and says: “A claimant is to be treated as not liable to make payments where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the liability to make the payments was contrived in order to secure the inclusion of the housing costs element in an award of universal credit or to increase the amount of that element.” Housing Benefit uses similar statutory language without creating a special tenancy type, refusing support where “the appropriate authority is satisfied that the liability was created to take advantage of the housing benefit scheme.” A family letting is not automatically contrived; the question is whether the liability was created improperly for benefit purposes. A typical example is someone living rent-free who only becomes liable to pay rent when making a benefit claim.

Sources

• Housing Act 1988 s.4A — “Where terms of an assured tenancy are of no effect by virtue of subsection (1)(a) or (b), the tenancy has effect as a periodic tenancy under which the periods of the tenancy are the same as the rent periods.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 — “Any tenancy previously called an Assured Shorthold Tenancy will automatically become an Assured Periodic Tenancy instead.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.1 — “Subject to subsection (3) below, if and so long as a tenancy falls within any paragraph in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, it cannot be an assured tenancy; and in that Schedule—” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.1 — “A tenancy under which a dwelling-house in England is let as a separate dwelling is for the purposes of this Act an assured tenancy if and so long as—” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.1 — “the tenant or, as the case may be, each of the joint tenants is an individual; and” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.16E — “purport to let a dwelling-house on the tenancy for a fixed term.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.16I — “The amount of a financial penalty imposed under this section is to be determined by the authority imposing it, but must not be more than £7,000.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 Schedule 1 — “A fixed term tenancy of a term certain of more than 21 years from the date of the grant of the tenancy.” Source
• GOV.UK assured periodic tenancies for tenants — “On 1 May 2026, all assured tenancies, including assured shorthold tenancies, automatically became rolling tenancies.” Source
• GOV.UK ending an assured periodic tenancy — “If your tenancy agreement does not say how much notice you must give, you need to give at least 2 months’ notice.” Source
• GOV.UK assured tenancy agreements: ending a tenancy — “You cannot serve a section 21 notice to end a tenancy from this date, even if the tenancy agreement says you can.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.8 — “If a notice under this section does not specify Ground 7A or 14 in Schedule 2, the date specified in the notice as mentioned in subsection (3)(b) must not be before the end of the longest period shown in the following table for any ground specified in the notice.” Source
• NRLA creating an assured periodic tenancy — “This means you cannot offer fixed-term tenancies, and tenants can serve two months' notice at any time (less if agreed in writing) to end the tenancy.” Source
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5 — “not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 Schedule 1 paragraph 9 — “A tenancy the purpose of which is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy the dwelling-house for a holiday.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 — “You cannot be required to leave under some grounds for the first 12 months of a tenancy.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 Schedule 2 Ground 1 — “The current tenancy began at least 1 year before the relevant date and the landlord who is seeking possession requires the dwelling-house as the only or principal home of any of the following—” Source
• GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance — “You can give notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy, but it cannot expire before the 12 months has ended.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 Schedule 1 — “the rent payable for the time being is payable at a rate exceeding £100,000 a year.” Source
• Universal Credit Regulations 2013 Schedule 2 paragraph 10 — “A claimant is to be treated as not liable to make payments where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the liability to make the payments was contrived in order to secure the inclusion of the housing costs element in an award of universal credit or to increase the amount of that element.” Source
• Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 regulation 9 — “the appropriate authority is satisfied that the liability was created to take advantage of the housing benefit scheme established under Part 7 of the Act.” Source

Last reviewed September 2026.