Reviewed for the Renters' Rights Act · Updated 20 July 2026

Periodic tenancy: meaning and definition

Definition: a periodic tenancy is a tenancy that runs from one rent period to the next – typically month to month – with no fixed end date, continuing automatically until it is properly ended by either party.

That used to be one option among several. Since 1 May 2026 it is the only one: the Renters' Rights Act abolished fixed-term tenancies in England, so every assured tenancy is now a monthly periodic tenancy from day one.

The characteristics that define it

• No end date. Nothing expires and nothing renews – the tenancy simply continues.
• The period matches the rent. Rent paid monthly means a monthly periodic tenancy; the Act caps rent periods at one month.
• Ending it takes a defined act: the tenant's two months' written notice, the landlord's Section 8 ground and court order, or an agreed surrender – detail in how to end a periodic tenancy.
• Terms persist. The written agreement's terms apply for as long as the tenancy runs, which is precisely why the document matters more, not less, without a renewal cycle.

Terms you'll meet nearby

• Assured periodic tenancy – the full legal name of the standard tenancy in England now; see what is an assured periodic tenancy.
• Statutory periodic tenancy – the pre-2026 tenancy that arose when a fixed term ran out; now historical.
• Rolling tenancy – the informal name for the same thing.
• Contractual periodic tenancy – pre-2026 label for a periodic tenancy written into the contract from the start; the distinction no longer matters.

Why "no end date" doesn't mean "no paperwork"

With no renewals, the agreement you sign is the one that governs the tenancy for years. It needs to state the rent and rent day cleanly (a Section 13 increase builds on them), contain the terms a possession case might rely on, and comply with the written-information duty that now carries fines. That is the document our generator produces.