Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs)

If you served a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026

From 1 May 2026, Section 21 — the no-reason eviction route — has been abolished for private rentals in England. No new Section 21 notice can be served. A Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 can only still be used where possession proceedings were started in time (normally by 31 July 2026, or later only if a breathing-space extension applied) and those proceedings have not finished. Otherwise the tenancy is an assured periodic tenancy and possession runs through Section 8 on Form 3A.

Form 3A is free on GOV.UK: Assured tenancy forms. Official process: Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026. See the guide to evicting a tenant.

What changed under the Renters' Rights Act 2025

Section 21 abolished for private rentals in England. Fixed-term assured tenancies abolished — every assured tenancy is now open-ended. Ground 8 (mandatory rent-arrears possession) now requires three months' arrears (13 weeks if rent is weekly or fortnightly), with four weeks' notice. The Information Sheet deadline was 31 May 2026 (now passed). Read the full Renters' Rights Act 2025 guide.

Assured shorthold tenancies — ASTs — were the default form of private renting in England from 1989 until 1 May 2026, when they were abolished by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. If you are a landlord (or tenant) with a former AST in England, this page explains what happened to it, what a landlord must now do, and what replaced the AST for new lettings.

What was an AST?

An assured shorthold tenancy was the form of residential tenancy created by the Housing Act 1988 and made the default form of letting by amendments in the Housing Act 1996. Its defining feature was flexibility for landlords: after any fixed term ended, a landlord could recover possession using a Section 21 notice — without giving any reason — provided the procedural requirements were met.

For more than 35 years the AST shaped how rental property was let in England. Most six- or twelve-month tenancies signed during that period were ASTs. They were never the only form of tenancy — high-rent lettings, lodger arrangements, and tenancies granted by certain educational institutions and resident landlords sat outside the regime — but they were by far the most common.

What replaced the AST?

From 1 May 2026, every assured tenancy in the private rented sector in England is an open-ended assured periodic tenancy, with a rent period of one month or shorter and no fixed term. The tenancy continues until the tenant gives at least two months' written notice, or the landlord obtains a possession order using one of the statutory grounds in Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by the 2025 Act).

The change is structural, not cosmetic. A periodic tenancy under the new regime is not simply an AST without an end date — the framework around possession, rent, and contractual terms has changed throughout:

• Section 21 — the no-reason eviction route — has been abolished for private rentals in England. No new Section 21 notice can be served. A pre-1 May notice only still helps if possession proceedings were started in time (normally by 31 July 2026, or later only if a breathing-space extension applied) and those proceedings have not finished. Otherwise possession runs through Section 8 on Form 3A.
• Rent increases must follow the Section 13 procedure (Form 4A), with a minimum of two months' notice and no more than one increase in any 52-week period.
• Tenants have a statutory right to request permission to keep a pet; a landlord must not unreasonably refuse; a blanket “no pets” clause is overridden by that implied term.
• Blanket “no DSS” advertising and referencing exclusions are unlawful. Blanket “no children” exclusions are unlawful unless a GOV.UK rental-discrimination exception applies.

For the mechanics of the new possession grounds, see the new Section 8 grounds. For what a compliant tenancy agreement looks like now, see assured periodic tenancy agreement.

What happened to my existing AST on 1 May 2026?

If you had a fixed-term (or expired-fixed-term, now-periodic) AST in England in place on 30 April 2026, it converted automatically to an assured periodic tenancy at midnight on 1 May 2026. Nothing needed to be signed and there was no break in the tenancy — the AST and the new periodic tenancy are treated as one continuous letting. Existing compliance documents (gas safety certificate, EICR, EPC) did not need to be re-served, and the deposit did not need to be re-registered.

The original written agreement was not invalidated. Most of its terms — rent amount, the property description, repairing obligations, the deposit clause — continue to bind both parties exactly as before. However, a small number of clauses that were standard in pre-2026 AST templates are now void or unenforceable, because the Act overrides them by operation of law. The main ones are:

• Fixed-term clauses. Any wording specifying a term of any length (for example "for a term of 12 months") has no effect. The tenancy is periodic and open-ended regardless of what the document says, and a landlord who tries to claim the tenancy is still fixed-term, or adds a purported end date, risks a civil penalty of up to £7,000 under the new enforcement regime.
• Contractual rent review clauses. Index-linked, agreed-formula, and "annual review" provisions in the original agreement no longer operate. Any rent increase after 1 May 2026 must go through the statutory Section 13 mechanism, whatever the tenancy agreement says about rent reviews.
• Landlord break clauses. Clauses letting a landlord end the tenancy early and without a Section 8 ground are now redundant — a landlord can only recover possession using a valid statutory ground, however the agreement is worded.
• Blanket pet-ban clauses. Tenants have a statutory right to request permission to keep a pet; a landlord must not unreasonably refuse; a blanket “no pets” clause is overridden by that implied term.
• Clauses requiring the tenant to give more than two months' written notice. Two months is now both the statutory minimum and, for most tenancies, the practical maximum a landlord can hold a tenant to; any excess above two months in the old agreement is not enforceable.

One important exception — rent paid in advance. Unlike the clauses above, an existing requirement to pay several months' rent in advance (common in some pre-2026 AST agreements) is not automatically void. The one-month rent-in-advance cap introduced by the Act applies to tenancies entered into on or after 1 May 2026. If your original AST required, say, six or twelve months' rent up front, that term continues to apply for the life of that specific tenancy. It only becomes unenforceable if the tenant enters into a genuinely new tenancy after 1 May 2026 (for example, moving to a different property you own).

If your former AST contains any of the now-void clauses, they simply have no legal effect — the tenant cannot be held to them, but they cause no problem sitting unused in the document, and there is no legal requirement to reissue the agreement.

What landlords with former ASTs must do

1. Confirm you gave every existing tenant the government Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. That deadline has passed. If you let a property in England on a tenancy that began before 1 May 2026, and there is a written record of its terms, you were required to give every named tenant the exact Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 PDF. Sending only a link does not count. If it is now overdue, serve the exact PDF now — on paper, or as an email or text attachment — and keep a dated record. A local authority can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for the breach, rising to a maximum of £40,000 if the failure continues or is repeated. If your former tenancy was wholly verbal, you were instead required to provide a written statement of the main terms by the same date — see verbal tenancy agreements. The How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026. It is not a current duty for tenancies in England. Always check the current penalty bands on GOV.UK, as enforcement guidance can be updated.
2. Stop relying on Section 21 unless proceedings were started in time and have not finished. No new Section 21 notice can be served on or after 1 May 2026. A Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 can only still be used where possession proceedings were started in time (normally by 31 July 2026, or later only if a breathing-space extension applied) and those proceedings have not finished. Otherwise use a Section 8 notice on Form 3A. For live possession matters, see how to evict a tenant and when a landlord should use a Section 8 notice.
3. Review your tenancy template before granting any new letting in England. A tenancy granted on or after 1 May 2026 must comply with the post-reform framework in full, including the one-month rent-in-advance cap (which does not apply retrospectively to older tenancies). Old AST templates are not for new private lettings in England. Use an assured periodic tenancy agreement. See how to write a tenancy agreement now.
4. Switch your rent-increase process to Section 13. Increases must use Form 4A, give at least two months' notice, and cannot happen more than once every 52 weeks. See rent increases and Form 4A — landlord's notice proposing a new rent if a rent review is due.
5. Check any rent-arrears cases against the new Ground 8 threshold. Ground 8 now requires three months' arrears (13 weeks if rent is weekly or fortnightly), with four weeks' notice. See dealing with rent arrears and Section 8 grounds for possession.
6. Audit advertising and referencing criteria. Blanket “no DSS” advertising and referencing exclusions are unlawful. Blanket “no children” exclusions are unlawful unless a GOV.UK rental-discrimination exception applies.

Common questions about former ASTs

Do I need to issue a new tenancy agreement?

No. The existing agreement remains valid for everything the Act has not overridden. Re-issuing is optional. A fresh agreement can be argued as creating a new tenancy, which can reset certain protected periods against some possession grounds (for example, the 12-month restriction on using the sale or moving-in grounds against a newly-created tenancy).

My tenant paid several months' rent in advance. Is that still allowed?

A requirement to pay rent in advance in a tenancy entered into before 1 May 2026 is not automatically void. The one-month advance-rent cap applies to tenancies granted on or after 1 May 2026. If the same tenant later signs a genuinely new tenancy with you, that new tenancy is subject to the one-month cap.

Can I still use a Section 21 notice?

Only if possession proceedings were started in time (normally by 31 July 2026, or later only if a breathing-space extension applied) and those proceedings have not finished. Otherwise use Form 3A / Section 8.

My old AST said the tenant must give two months' notice. Is that still binding?

Two months from the tenant matches the statutory minimum under the new regime, so a clause requiring exactly two months continues to operate as a matter of practice. If your AST required more than two months from the tenant, the excess is not enforceable — the tenant cannot be held to anything beyond the statutory two months.

Are old AST templates still useful for anything?

Not for a new private letting in England. Use an assured periodic tenancy (APT) agreement. Pre-reform AST templates contain fixed-term, rent-review and notice provisions that are void or unenforceable if used for a new letting, and using one risks the £7,000 civil penalty regime for failing to meet the current written-statement requirements.

What is Ground 8 and why does the threshold matter?

Ground 8 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 is the mandatory rent-arrears possession ground — if the tenant meets the arrears threshold at both notice and hearing, the court must grant possession. From 1 May 2026 that threshold is three months' arrears (13 weeks if rent is weekly or fortnightly), with four weeks' notice. See GOV.UK's grounds for possession guidance.

Related guides

• Assured periodic tenancy agreement
• How to evict a tenant in England
• Verbal tenancy agreements
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025: a landlord's guide
• How to write a tenancy agreement now

Tenancy Agreement Service is not a law firm and does not give advice on your specific situation. For that, consult a practising solicitor.