Assured Shorthold Tenancies: What Replaced Them In 2026
If you signed a tenancy in England before May 2026, it was almost certainly an assured shorthold tenancy. That's what nearly every private let had been since 1997.
Assured shorthold tenancies no longer exist. On 1 May 2026 they were abolished, and existing ones converted automatically to something different. You didn't have to do anything, and you may not have noticed.
Here's what you have now, and what changed.
The short version
- ASTs were abolished on 1 May 2026. Existing ones became assured periodic tenancies automatically.
- You didn't need a new agreement. Your old one still governs rent, deposit and obligations.
- Fixed terms are gone. Every tenancy now rolls, and you can leave with two months' notice.
- Section 21 went with them, so no more eviction without a reason.
What an AST was
Worth understanding, because it explains what changed.
The assured shorthold tenancy was the standard private let from 1997 onwards. It gave you a fixed term, usually six or twelve months, during which you had security, and after which the landlord could recover possession using a Section 21 notice without giving any reason at all.
That was the bargain: real protection for six or twelve months, and very little after it. It's why so much of renting revolved around renewal dates, and why people put up with things rather than risk a notice.
What you have instead
An assured periodic tenancy. The important differences:
No fixed term. It runs from period to period with no end date. There's nothing to renew and nothing to serve out.
You can leave any time with two months' notice. Not at a break clause, not at the end of a term. Any point.
The landlord needs a reason. Possession requires one of the specified grounds, a valid notice, and proof in court if you don't leave. Selling or moving in needs four months and can't be used in the first twelve months of a tenancy.
Rent rises follow one route. Once a year, never in the first twelve months, two months' notice on the prescribed form, and challengeable at tribunal if above market rate.
What didn't change
Quite a lot, and it's worth being clear about it.
- Your existing agreement still applies for rent, deposit, repairs, pets, guests and everything else. It isn't void.
- Deposit protection works exactly as before: a government scheme within 30 days, plus prescribed information. Your deposit rights.
- Repair obligations are unchanged. Structure, exterior, plumbing, heating, gas and electrics remain the landlord's by law. What your landlord must fix.
- Safety duties are unchanged: annual gas check, five-yearly electrical inspection, working alarms.
- You still owe rent, and arrears are still a ground for possession. Three months is mandatory.
Do you need a new agreement?
No. The conversion happened by law and your existing document continues to operate.
Some landlords have issued new agreements anyway. There's nothing wrong with that, but read one carefully before signing, and be alert to two things: a term that contradicts the new rules has no effect, and you shouldn't be charged for a new agreement, because that's a banned fee.
If a clause in your old agreement conflicts with the current law, the law wins. A rent review clause that increases rent automatically each April, for instance, no longer takes effect.
Other tenancy types you might have
Not everyone is on an assured periodic tenancy.
A licence, not a tenancy. If you live with your landlord as a lodger, you're a licensee. Fewer rights, no deposit protection requirement, and much shorter notice. The test is whether you have exclusive possession of your own space.
Company lets. Where the tenant is a business rather than an individual, different rules apply.
Student halls and some purpose-built accommodation sit outside the assured regime.
Social housing has its own framework, and Awaab's Law already applies there.
If you're not sure which you have, the agreement and the living arrangement together decide it, and free advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice will tell you in a phone call.
What this means practically
More security. Nobody can move you on without a reason they can prove. That's the change that matters most, and it removes the threat that kept a lot of people quiet about disrepair.
More flexibility. Two months' notice at any time, with no early termination fee, because there's no term to break.
One thing to watch in a shared house. On a joint tenancy, any one tenant's notice ends the tenancy for everybody. That's worth a conversation before anyone serves anything. Shared house rights.
What to do now
- Find your agreement and read it, knowing that terms conflicting with current law don't apply.
- Check your deposit is protected with one of the three schemes, by address.
- Check you have a current gas safety certificate and an EPC.
- Report anything outstanding in writing, now that the retaliation risk has largely gone.
The honest summary
Assured shorthold tenancies ended on 1 May 2026 and yours became an assured periodic tenancy without you doing anything. Your old agreement still governs the day-to-day, but the fixed term and Section 21 are gone.
You have more security and more flexibility than an AST gave you, and any clause that contradicts that has no effect.
Fuller detail in what the Renters' Rights Act changed and when, and why the written agreement still matters.
And whatever kind of tenancy you're on, review your landlord and agent. The law sets the floor. Reviews are how the next tenant finds out what someone is actually like.
This guide covers England and reflects the position at August 2026. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own tenancy regimes, and the terminology differs. General information rather than legal advice. Sources: GOV.UK, Renters' Rights Act overview for tenants, GOV.UK, Guide to the Renters' Rights Act.