Stay Put Or Move On? There's Nothing To Renew Now

This used to be a decision with a deadline attached. Your fixed term was ending, an agent was asking whether you wanted another twelve months, and there was often a renewal fee involved.

None of that exists any more. Since 1 May 2026 there are no fixed terms, no renewals and no renewal fees, which turns "should I renew" into a much better question: is this still the right place, and if not, when do I go?

The short version

• There's nothing to renew. Tenancies are periodic and roll on until someone ends them.
• You give two months' notice, any time, in writing.
• Nobody can charge you a renewal fee. It was already banned, and now there's nothing to charge for.
• Work out the real cost of moving before assuming a cheaper flat is cheaper.

What replaced renewal

All assured shorthold tenancies converted to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. They continue indefinitely until you end them, or the landlord uses a valid ground.

What follows from that:

• No fixed term to be trapped inside. You aren't locked in for a year at a time.
• Two months' notice from you, whenever you like, in writing.
• No new agreement needed, and no fee if a landlord chooses to issue one anyway.
• No Section 21. A landlord can't end it because you asked for a repair or queried a rent rise. They need a specified ground and have to prove it.
• One rent increase a year, on two months' notice, challengeable at tribunal.

If an agent contacts you about "renewing" or offers a new twelve-month agreement, you don't have to sign anything and you certainly can't be charged. Signing a new fixed term would remove flexibility you now have by default. What the Act changed.

So: stay or go?

Since the deadline pressure has gone, the honest way to decide is to look at three things.

1. Is the property actually working?

• Are repairs dealt with, or do you chase everything three times?
• Is it warm and dry in winter, or are you fighting mould every February?
• Is the space still right for your life, not the life you had when you moved in?
• What are the bills really costing you?

The winter test is the useful one. A flat that's hard to heat is a flat you'll resent for five months a year, and no landlord relationship fixes that.

2. Is the money right?

Compare your rent to four or five genuinely comparable properties advertised nearby, and be honest about condition rather than picking the nicest ones.

If you're paying over the odds, that's a negotiation rather than automatically a reason to move. Landlords dislike voids: an empty month, re-letting costs, referencing and a new tenant of unknown quality is worse for them than a reliable tenant staying. You have more room than it feels like. Handling a rent increase.

3. What would moving actually cost?

The part people underestimate. Add up:

• A new deposit, up to five weeks' rent, before the old one comes back
• Up to one month's rent in advance, which is now the legal cap
• Removals, or a van and two days
• Overlap, if the dates don't line up
• Time off work, for viewings, moving and setting up
• Setting up again, broadband, and whatever doesn't fit the new place
• Cleaning and making good at the old place

A realistic total is often well over a thousand pounds. A £50 monthly saving takes nearly two years to recover that. Moving house.

If you're staying

Use the moment rather than letting it pass.

• Get outstanding repairs onto a list, in one email, with photographs. This is the point in the year when a landlord is most receptive.
• Ask for the things you've been meaning to ask about. A pet, redecorating, a better shower, replacing a fifteen-year-old cooker.
• Check your paperwork. Deposit still protected, gas safety certificate current, electrical report within five years.
• Don't sign a new fixed term unless there's something specific in it for you.
• Don't pay a renewal fee. Prohibited, and recoverable if you already have.

If you're going

1. Check your notice requirements, normally two months in writing. In a joint tenancy, notice from one tenant can end it for everyone, so agree it together first.
2. Give notice in writing, dated, and keep a copy. Email is fine and creates the record.
3. Don't leave before securing somewhere. Line the dates up.
4. Photograph everything at check-out, matching the day-one photos.
5. Ask for the deposit back in writing, and use the scheme's free adjudication if there's a dispute. Getting your deposit back.

And leave properly. A reference from this landlord is worth having, and it costs nothing to hand the place over well.

The one thing people get wrong

Staying somewhere because moving is exhausting.

That's a real cost and it's a legitimate factor. It stops being legitimate when the property is making you ill, or the landlord is genuinely negligent, or you're paying substantially over the odds for something that doesn't work.

There's no prize for outlasting a bad tenancy. And if you do leave one, you can still pursue what you're owed afterwards, whether that's a deposit, banned fees or a rent repayment order. Claiming money back.

The honest summary

There's no renewal decision any more, which is a genuine improvement. Your tenancy rolls on, you can leave on two months' notice, and nobody can charge you for either.

So judge it properly: is the place working, is the rent right, and what would moving really cost? If you're staying, use the moment to get repairs and requests dealt with. If you're going, give notice in writing and photograph everything.

And either way, review your landlord and the property. Two years of knowing what the place is actually like is worth a great deal to whoever views it next.

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This guide covers England and reflects the Renters' Rights Act 2025 as in force from 1 May 2026. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ. General information rather than legal advice. Sources: GOV.UK, Renters' Rights Act overview for tenants, GOV.UK, rent increases.