Converted Tenancies: What Happened to Your AST on 1 May 2026

On 1 May 2026, every assured shorthold tenancy in England converted — automatically, with no paperwork — into an assured periodic tenancy. Nobody signed anything. Nothing was re-issued. And yet the legal position of every tenancy you hold changed overnight. This guide covers what converted, what survived, and where landlords are still getting caught out months later.

What your old agreement still does

Conversion did not tear up your tenancy agreement. The terms you agreed remain evidence of the deal: the rent, the deposit, who lives there, tenant obligations, your access rights. What changed is the framework those terms sit inside.

Still effective:

• The rent amount and payment frequency
• Deposit arrangements (and your protection obligations)
• Tenant obligations — care of the property, nuisance, permitted occupiers
• Your repair obligations (statutory ones never depended on the contract anyway)

No longer effective:

• The fixed term. End dates mean nothing now. The tenancy simply continues, period to period, until the tenant leaves or you obtain possession on a ground.
• Rent review clauses. However carefully drafted, they are unenforceable. Section 13 with Form 4A is the only route to a rent increase.
• "No pets" blanket clauses. Tenants now have a statutory right to request a pet, and you cannot unreasonably refuse — see pets under the new rules.
• Break clauses and notice mechanics. The statutory framework governs how each side ends the tenancy: tenants give two months' notice ending on a rent-period day; you need a Section 8 ground with its notice period.

The transition traps

The Section 21 window has closed

Section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026 stayed usable for a short transition — but court proceedings had to be issued by 31 July 2026. That window is shut. If you were relying on a pre-commencement notice and didn't issue, it is now void, and possession means starting again under the new grounds.

The protected period applies to converted tenancies by tenancy age

Grounds 1 (moving in) and 1A (selling) cannot be used in a tenancy's first 12 months. For converted tenancies, that clock runs from the original tenancy start date — so most converted tenancies are already past it. Where it bites is recent tenancies and new purchases: the clock does not restart when a property changes hands.

"Expiry" conversations with tenants

Some landlords are still writing to tenants about "renewing" or "extending" the tenancy at the old fixed-term end date. There is nothing to renew — the tenancy continues automatically, and renewal paperwork at best confuses things and at worst introduces terms that conflict with the statutory framework. If you want to update terms mid-tenancy, both parties must genuinely agree, and nothing can override the statutory minimums.

Deposits and paperwork gaps became more expensive

Possession on any ground now runs through court scrutiny of your paperwork. An unprotected deposit, missing prescribed information, or unserved statutory documents that previously surfaced only in deposit disputes now surface in possession claims too. The conversion is a good prompt for a one-off audit: deposit protected, prescribed information served, statutory documents current, proof of all three on file.

A converted-tenancy checklist

• Stop diarising "tenancy end dates" — diarise rent-increase eligibility (52 weeks from the last increase) instead
• Audit each tenancy: deposit protection, prescribed information, statutory documents, proof of service
• Retire template letters that reference fixed terms, renewals, or Section 21
• Recheck which possession ground you would actually use per tenancy, and what evidence you hold
• If any agreement contains a rent review clause, note that your next increase is Section 13 or nothing

Sources

• gov.uk — Private renting
• gov.uk — Evicting tenants
• Housing Act 1988 (as amended)

Change log: 20 Aug 2026 — first published.