Rolling Tenancies Just Became Your Secret Weapon: Here’s Why
When the Renters' Rights Act abolished fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026, replacing them with open-ended assured periodic tenancies, most landlords absorbed it as a loss.
The fixed term had provided certainty: a defined period, a known end date, a structured renewal conversation. The periodic tenancy, by contrast, can be ended by a tenant at any point after the first six months with two months’ written notice. On the surface, that feels less secure.
The case for reframing it is stronger than the initial reaction suggests, and the NRLA’s own data on tenant behaviour provides the evidence.
What the fixed term gave you
It is worth being honest about what a fixed-term tenancy delivered in practice. The end date was real, but the certainty it implied was often overstated. A tenant who wanted to leave mid-term could negotiate an exit. A tenant who reached the end of a fixed term and stayed on was already on a periodic arrangement. And the mechanism most landlords relied upon to end a tenancy when they genuinely needed possession, Section 21, no longer exists regardless of tenancy structure.
The fixed term also generated administrative obligations that periodic tenancies remove. Annual renewal conversations, decisions about whether to issue a new term or allow rollover, and the paperwork cycle that accompanied both are gone. A periodic tenancy continues without action from either party until one of them decides it should end. For a landlord managing multiple properties, that reduction in administrative overhead is real.
Where the periodic model works in your favour
The most commercially significant advantage of the new structure is one that receives almost no attention: it makes tenants more selective about where they commit. Under a fixed term, a tenant who signed a twelve-month agreement was bound to the property regardless of how the relationship developed. Under the new model, a tenant who chooses to stay is making an active, ongoing decision that the property and the landlord relationship are worth maintaining.
Tenants who stay in a periodic tenancy are, by definition, satisfied. Those who are not leave, which is a more honest market signal than a tenant who endures a fixed term and vacates at the first opportunity. For landlords who maintain their properties well, respond promptly to maintenance requests, and treat tenants professionally, the periodic model reflects that quality directly in longer, more stable tenancies.
The possession question answered clearly
The most common concern about periodic tenancies is possession. If a landlord needs to regain their property, the absence of Section 21 feels like a significant loss of control. The expanded Section 8 grounds introduced by the Act is the direct answer. They cover the landlord’s intention to sell, the need for the landlord or a family member to occupy the property, significant rent arrears, and anti-social behaviour. It is worth noting that the grounds for sale and family occupation cannot be used during the first twelve months of a tenancy. For a landlord with a legitimate reason to regain possession beyond that point, a clear and well-evidenced Section 8 claim provides a workable route.
The NRLA is clear that most tenants are good tenants, and most landlords will rarely if ever need to pursue possession proceedings. The periodic model changes the theoretical end-point of a tenancy without changing the practical reality for the vast majority of landlord and tenant relationships that are functioning normally.
The retention calculation
In a market where voids cost income and re-letting costs time, a tenant who stays because they are satisfied is worth considerably more than the administrative convenience a fixed end date once provided. The periodic tenancy does not undermine that calculation. For well-run properties with professional landlords, it reinforces it.
Talk to our lettings team about managing your portfolio.
This article was originally published by BriefYourMarket and is reproduced here with their permission.
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