Mark Walsh Estates 

Unless otherwise stated, this guidance applies to all assured tenancies (including assured tenancies that were assured shorthold tenancies) in England.  

You will probably have one of these tenancies if :

• It is on or after 1 May 2026

• The tenants have exclusive occupation over the whole property or a room within the house

• The rent is between £250 and £100,000 per annum

• The tenants are people rather than an organisation such as a company

• The property will be the tenant's main home

• The landlord does not live in the same property as the tenant.

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Tenancies to be periodic from the start

From 1 May 2026, fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies will no longer exist. Instead, tenancies will be periodic assured tenanices from the outset.

This change also applies to fixed term ASTs entered into before the commencement date. These will convert to assured periodic tenancies (APTs) on the commencement date. 

New tenancies entered into on or after 1 May 2026 must provide for the rent to be paid monthly (or for any period up to 28 days in length), and landlords cannot demand more than a month's rent at any one time.

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Duty to provide a written statement for new tenancies

From 1 May 2026, the Renter's Rights Act imposes a new duty on landlords to provide a written statement of key tenancy terms and obligations to their tenants before an assured tenancy is entered into (i.e., signed by all parties).

This written statement must include the mandatory information and statements required by the Government; failure to do so may result in you being fined up to £7,000. 

How to give the written statement to your tenant

The mandatory information in the written statement can either be included in a larger tenancy agreement or given as a standalone document.

We recommend including it in your full assured tenancy agreement so tenants can sign it and confirm they understand and agree to all their obligations and rights under the tenancy. The NRLA's assured periodic tenancies will include all of this information. 

What content is required in a written statement?

The Government has published (in draft) the mandatory information that will have to be included in the written statement:

• Details of the tenancy: The names of all landlords and tenants, the address of the property being let out, the date the tenant is first entitled to possession, and an address in England or Wales where the tenant may serve notice on the landlord. 

• Details of the rent and other payments: The amount of rent payable and when it is due (no more than a month for any one rental period), a statement that rent may only be increased via a Section 13 notice, the amount of security deposit taken, whether any relevant bills are included in the rent, and whether any additional payments for relevant bills must be made (including details of when and how these payments will be made).
  
  Relevant bills include payments for council tax, utilities, communication services, a TV licence, or Green Deal energy efficiency improvements. 

• Ending the tenancy: The minimum notice period a tenant must give to end the tenancy - normally two months' but you can agree for this to be shorter.
  
  Also, a statement explaining that, usually, the landlord can end a tenancy only by obtaining a possession order and enforcing it, and obtaining a possession order will usually require the landlord to serve a Section 8 notice in a prescribed form, which sets out a possession ground and gives notice in line with that possession ground. 

• Safety duties: Statements summarising the landlord's obligations to keep the property in repair, fit for human habitation, and to ensure the gas and electrical safety regulations are followed. 

• Equa

• If you agreed your tenancy before 1 May 2026 and it is in writing, then you will not need to provide a written statement or rewrite your existing tenancy agreement. 

• Instead, you will need to provide a Government-produced information leaflet outlining the key changes to the existing tenancy. This must be provided to all tenants by 31 May 2026, unless you try to regain possession of the property before 1 May 2026.

• You can give them the sheet before the Act commences. You should do this in one of two ways:

• As a printed hard copy posted or given by hand to the tenant, or,

• Attaching the PDF to an email or text message

• You shouldn't email or text them a link, as this will not count for service.

• Failure to give the Information Sheet in time can result in result in committing an offence which carries a maximum £7000 penalty for a first offence. Continuing to not give the sheet after incurring a penalty can incur a second offence with a maximum £40,000 penalty.

• lity Act improvement requests: A statement explaining that a tenant with a disability may request adjustments to the property to facilitate their enjoyment of the property. This information should include a statement that landlords may not unreasonably refuse a tenant's request in these cases. 

• Pets: A statement explaining that tenants may request a pet in writing and that a landlord may not unreasonably refuse the request. 

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Written statement requirements for existing tenancies

When Renters' Rights comes into force on 1 May 2026, it will not only affect new tenancies.

Most existing assured and assured shorthold tenancies will also turn into assured periodic tenancies on the commencement date. They will have to follow virtually all the same rules as new tenancies. 

However, the rules for providing a written statement differ for existing tenancies and change depending on whether your current tenancy is in writing or not, and whether you try to regain possession before 1 May 2026. 

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Existing tenancy that is already in writing

If you agreed your tenancy before 1 May 2026 and it is in writing, then you will not need to provide a written statement or rewrite your existing tenancy agreement. 

Instead, you will need to provide a Government-produced information leaflet outlining the key changes to the existing tenancy. This must be provided to all tenants by 31 May 2026, unless you try to regain possession of the property before 1 May 2026.

You can give them the sheet before the Act commences. You should do this in one of two ways:

• As a printed hard copy posted or given by hand to the tenant, or,

• Attaching the PDF to an email or text message

You shouldn't email or text them a link, as this will not count for service.

Failure to give the Information Sheet in time can result in result in committing an offence which carries a maximum £7000 penalty for a first offence. Continuing to not give the sheet after incurring a penalty can incur a second offence with a maximum £40,000 penalty.

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Existing tenancy that is not in writing

Importantly, if your current assured shorthold tenancy is a verbal agreement, you must provide a written statement that sets out the mandatory terms of the assured periodic tenancy by 31 May 2026 unless you are trying to regain possession before 1 May 2026. 

If you intend to continue with the tenancy, we recommend negotiating a renewal before 1 May 2026 so you can negotiate all the terms you need for your tenancy, such as when you can make a deduction from the deposit. Setting out all the terms and obligations, not just the key ones, will make your life easier after commencement.

If you do manage to negotiate a renewal, then you should hand over the government's information leaflet within a month of commencement. 

If you don't agree a renewal before 1 May 2026, then you should provide the tenant with a written statement of the mandatory terms. 

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Existing tenancy where the landlord is seeking possession

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f you try to regain possession of the property before 1 May 2026, then your tenancy will remain as an assured shorthold tenancy until possession proceedings conclude. 

This means that your tenancy will remain as an AST while you have:

• Served a valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice before 1 May 2026, and it has not expired yet;

• An ongoing possession claim following a Section 21 or Section 8 notice served before 1 May 2026;

• A possession order due to either of the above. 

While the tenancy remains an AST, the Renters' Rights Act changes to tenancies don't apply. Accordingly, you will not need to provide a written statement or the information sheet.

However, if your possession proceedings fail, or your notices expire without being used, the tenancy will become an assured periodic tenancy. At that point you will have one month to provide the information sheet (if the tenancy is in writing) or the written statement of terms (if the tenancy is not in writing). 

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New offences relating to tenancies

The Renters' Rights Act will create several new duties for landlords of assured tenancies.

The general duties are that you may not – 

• Try to let a property on a fixed-term tenancy;

• Try to end the tenancy via a notice to quit or verbally

• Serve a possession notice other than the prescribed Section 8 notice (ie a Section 21 notice or similar document).

• Misuse a Section 8 notice possession ground by using it where they do not reasonably believe they may be able to obtain a possession order.

• Market or relet the property within the ‘prohibited period’ (typically 16 months) after serving a Section 8 notice that includes Grounds 1 (moving the landlord or a family member in) or 1a (selling the property). 

Failure to comply with these duties could result in criminal prosecution or a civil penalty of between £7,000 and £40,000, depending on the offence, and many of them are easy to do mistakenly. 

For example, if a landlord is unaware that the Act is in force and offers a fixed-term AST to their tenants, that could potentially be a civil penalty offence. Similarly, if a letting agent does not update their software to periodic tenancies ahead of the commencement date, they would breach these duties. 

In addition to this, if a civil penalty is issued and the behaviour continues for more than 28 days after, tenants may seek a rent repayment order in addition to the civil penalty.

This means that compliance will be extremely important, and you will have to ensure you follow all of these rules from 1 May 2026 to ensure you are not caught out.

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The end of Section 21 notices and the update of Section 8 grounds

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From 1 May 2026, it will no longer be possible to serve a  Section 21 notice to regain possession.

Instead, you will have to rely on one or more possession grounds that you have available, such as rent arrears or anti-social behaviour, when you serve a Section 8 notice.

The existing Section 8 grounds will be significantly updated, with some new possession grounds created and restrictions or longer notices added to older grounds. Changes of particular note include –

• Grounds 1 and 1A  allow you to regain possession where you intend to sell or move family in. You are restricted from reletting the property for over a year after using these grounds.

• Ground 8 (rent arrears) will be significantly amended, requiring four weeks' notice (instead of two) and three months' arrears (instead of two) before it can be used. In addition, any arrears built up through delays in DWP payments of Universal Credit do not count towards arrears.

• A new ground for student HMOs has been introduced (Ground 4a) that allows some student landlords to regain possession during the summer so they can relet to another group of students. 

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Older possession notices

If you served a Section 21 or Section 8 notice before 1 May 2026, there are transitional arrangements that allow these older notices to continue for a short time.

• For older Section 21 notices, you may apply to court until 31 July 2026 or within six months of serving the notice (whichever comes first).

• Similarly, for older Section 8 notices, you can apply to court until 31 July 2026 or within 12 months of serving the notice (whichever comes first).

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       Jemma Jones ​

       jemma@walshestates.co.uk

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