Renters' Rights Act: What happens to tenancies signed before 1st May 2026?

On 1 May 2026, most of the Renters' Rights Act comes into force. This brings significant changes to the way your tenancies work, including:

• Abolishing Section 21 notices — landlords will need to use a Section 8 notice, citing one or more legal grounds to end a tenancy
• Removing fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies and replacing them with rolling periodic contracts from the outset
• A requirement to provide tenants with a written statement of key tenancy terms and obligations before the tenancy begins
• Limiting rental periods to no more than one month at a time, and preventing landlords from demanding more than one month's rent at a time
• Restricting rent increases to those made via a Section 13 notice
• Giving tenants a contractual right to request a pet
• Banning rent from being taken before a tenancy is signed

This is the most significant overhaul of private rented sector legislation in more than 30 years. We'd encourage you to familiarise yourself with all the changes so you feel confident and prepared. Full guidance on the Renters' Rights Act is available on our dedicated hub.

This guide is aimed at preparing you for the changeover on your 'existing tenancies'. It explains how the Renters' Rights Act affects them and when, how serving notice may affect them, and provides a number of handy templates and links to help members transition to the new tenancy regime with confidence.

The Renters’ Rights Act doesn't just apply to new tenancies. Most existing assured and assured shorthold tenancies will also convert to the new assured periodic tenancy regime on 1 May 2026. From that date, they will normally lose access to Section 21 notices, the tenancy will become periodic, any fixed terms will end, and new rules around rent increases will apply.

What counts as an existing tenancy?

An existing tenancy is any assured or assured shorthold tenancy that was entered into (i.e. signed by all parties) before 1 May 2026. This includes tenancies signed before that date even if the tenants don't move in until after it.

Tenancies and licences that are not assured do not have to comply with the new rules. These include lodger agreements, company lets, tenancies where it is not the tenants main home, or ones where a resident landlord lives in the same building.

When do the new rules apply to existing tenancies?

On 1 May 2026, almost all existing assured and assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) will automatically convert into assured periodic tenancies (APTs), ending your fixed terms, abolishing Section 21 notices,  and requiring you comply with most of the Renters' Rights Act from that point. This is known as the commencement date.

There is one exception: a tenancy will not convert on 1 May 2026 if you served a valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice before that date and possession proceedings have not yet concluded. In those cases, the commencement date is delayed and the tenancy will remain an AST until proceedings have concluded (see the transitional rules for possession claims later in this guide).

Do I need to issue a new tenancy agreement when mine converts to an APT?

No. Your tenancy converts to an assured periodic tenancy automatically — you don't need to renew it or draw up a new agreement. You will, however, need to issue some paperwork to your tenants.

It is very important you don't miss the deadline for serving this paperwork as there are fines for not doing it. 

Within one month of the commencement date, you'll need to provide one of the following to all of your tenants on an assured periodic tenancy:

• The Government's official Information Sheet for existing tenancies — if your tenancy is wholly or partially in writing
• A written statement setting out the key terms of your tenancy — if it is a wholly oral tenancy

What is the deadline for issuing this paperwork?

Both the Information Sheet and the written statement must be provided within one month of the commencement date — meaning the deadline is 31 May 2026, unless you served a valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice before 1 May 2026, in which case the commencement date may be delayed. See the transitional rules for possession claims section of this guide for more detail.

What are the penalties for missing the deadline?

Failing to provide the Information Sheet or written statement on time can result in a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first offence. If the failure continues after a penalty has been issued, a second offence can carry a penalty of up to £40,000.

Information Sheet for existing tenancies

If you entered into an assured or assured shorthold tenancy before 1 May 2026, and it was wholly or partly in writing, you must give all your tenants the Government's official Information Sheet.

Where to find the Information Sheet

The document is only valid if it is downloaded from this link. You must not send or share a link to the PDF — you must provide the document itself to each tenant.

Who should serve the document?

If you have a managing agent, the Government's guidance states they should provide the Information Sheet to each tenant, even where you have already served the document. 

How to serve the Information Sheet

When serving the document, make sure you also check what your tenancy agreement says about how notices should be served. If your tenancy doesn't permit email service, it's safer to issue a hard copy of the document for each tenant.

Evidencing service

Ensure you have evidence you have served this document. NRLA members have access to templates and guidance to help prove the Information Sheet has been served correctly. 

Written statement for wholly oral tenancies

If your existing tenancy is a wholly verbal tenancy, you won't comply with the rules if you serve the Information Sheet. Instead, you'll need to provide a written statement that sets out the mandatory information required by the Government. Failing to provide the written statement can lead to a fine, even if you serve the Information Sheet. 

If you'd prefer, you can formalise your current tenancy agreement in writing before 1 May 2026. This has the benefit of clearly setting out your expectations for the tenancy. If you do agree a tenancy before in writing before 1st May, you'll need to issue the Information Sheet rather than a written statement.

How to serve the written statement

Where there are no written terms specifying how documents should be served, you should serve the statement in person wherever possible. If that isn't possible, you'll need to obtain confirmation from the tenant that they've received it.

Written statement template

The NRLA has prepared a written statement template for members to use if they have oral tenancies. 

To support landlords with ongoing possession claims during the transition, the Renters' Rights Act allows certain tenancies to continue as Assured Shorthold Tenancies for a period after 1 May 2026.

In these cases, the Information Sheet or written statement will only need to be served within one month of the tenancy ceasing to be an AST. The point at which that happens depends on where you are in your possession proceedings.

Remains an AST while a possession claim is in progress

A tenancy will remain an AST after 1 May 2026 if you have:

• Already started a possession claim before 1 May 2026 and it is still ongoing, or
• Applied to court between 1 May and 31 July 2026 on the basis of a valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice served before 1 May 2026

In these cases, the tenancy remains an AST until possession proceedings conclude. The Act doesn't define what "concluded" means precisely, but it is likely to mean the point at which a bailiff enforces a possession order. To avoid any complications, you're advised to act promptly in enforcing any possession order you receive.

If your possession order is refused, you should treat the tenancy as having become an assured periodic tenancy at that point and serve the Information Sheet or written statement within one month of that date.

Remains an AST while a valid notice has been served but court proceedings haven't begun

Your tenancy will also remain an AST if you served a valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice before 1 May 2026 and that notice has not yet expired (i.e. you are still within the window to apply to court).

As a guide to notice expiry timescales:

• A Section 21 notice normally expires six months after the date it was served, or four months after the requested leave date if you were required to give more than two months' notice
• A Section 8 notice expires 12 months after the date it was served

Please note that any notice will automatically expire on 31 July 2026 if you haven't applied to court by then — regardless of how much time would otherwise remain on the notice.

If your notice expires without a possession claim being made

If your notice expires before you've applied for a possession order, your tenancy will become an assured periodic tenancy on the date of expiry. From that point, you'll need to follow the Renters' Rights Act rules, including serving the Information Sheet or written statement on all tenants within one month.

What rules apply to your tenancy while it remains an AST?

While your tenancy continues as an AST, Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Renters' Rights Act will not apply. Among other things, this means:

• A fixed-term tenancy will continue if one is still in place
• You can still rely on a Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026
• The new landlord duties — including serving the Information Sheet or written statement — and the associated offences will not yet apply
• The new and updated possession grounds introduced by the Renters' Rights Act cannot be used
• The contractual right for tenants to request a pet will not apply

Can I serve the Information Sheet or written statement while the tenancy is still an AST?

Yes, this should be possible. The Information Sheet has been written with this scenario in mind — page 2 explicitly states that some of the changes described may not yet apply if the landlord has previously served a Section 8 or Section 21 notice.

However, bear in mind that this could cause confusion for tenants who are receiving mixed messages about their tenancy status. If you do serve the documents early, it's worth explaining clearly that you're doing so in case the tenancy later converts to an assured periodic tenancy.

My fixed-term tenancy expires on 15 August 2026. Can I serve a valid Section 21 notice that expires before 31 July 2026?

This won't be possible unless your tenancy agreement contains a break clause that you're able to rely on. A valid Section 21 notice cannot expire within a fixed-term tenancy without such a clause, and serving one means the fixed term will remain in place until 31 July 2026.

Alongside the transitional rules for possession claims, there are several further rules that apply to existing tenancies once they convert to assured periodic tenancies.

Transitional rules for rent increases

From 1 May 2026, it will no longer be possible to increase rent without first serving a Section 13 notice.

The Section 13 process is also changing, with landlords required to give longer notice periods. Additionally, if a tenant challenges a rent increase, the tribunal will not be able to backdate the increase to before the hearing date or set a rent higher than the landlord's proposed figure. Further information on rent increases after 1 May 2026 is available here.

Government guidance has confirmed that these changes will not apply to Section 13 notices served before 1 May 2026, even where the proposed rent increase is due to take effect after that date. Notices served before 1 May will continue to follow the old rules, and tribunals will still be able to backdate rent increases in those cases. Guidance on this is available here.

If you're using a rent review clause, please note that any increase must take effect before 1 May 2026 to be valid under that clause. Any rent increases taking effect on or after that date must be initiated via a Section 13 notice.

Rent in advance

If your tenancy was agreed before 1 May 2026 and includes an arrangement for rent to be collected in advance of a rental period, you may continue to collect it in advance until that tenancy comes to an end.

For tenancies signed on or after 1 May 2026, different rules apply — landlords will not be able to require payment before a rental period starts once tenants have moved in. See our guidance on rent payments for more information.

The student possession ground (Ground 4a)

A new possession ground — Ground 4a — has been introduced to allow student HMO landlords to regain possession ahead of the new academic year.

For existing tenancies, Ground 4a is available where:

• The property is an HMO (at least three people occupy the property as their main home, at least two of whom are unrelated)
• All tenants meet the student test
• You provide tenants with a written statement by 31 May 2026, confirming that you may use Ground 4a because the tenants met the student test and that you intend to let to a new group of students at the next relet

Resources for student landlords

NRLA members can download a standalone Ground 4a written statement for existing tenancies, as well as a range of tenancies for student HMOs  that can be used before and after the 1st May 2026.