You went to view a flat, liked it, and the agent slid a "12-month tenancy agreement" across the desk. Sign here, and you're committed to a year. Maybe you've already signed one and now your circumstances have changed. Either way, the same question is sitting in your stomach. Are you locked in?
The short answer is no. Since 1 May 2026, a landlord cannot tie you into a fixed term. Nearly every private tenancy is now periodic, rolling on month to month, and a clause that says you're bound for a year has no legal force. You can still leave on two months' notice, whatever the paper says.
Are fixed-term tenancies still legal under the Renters' Rights Act?
No. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 made every assured tenancy periodic from the day it starts, with a rent period of no more than a month (section 1). At the same time it abolished the old assured shorthold tenancy, the type that used to carry a fixed term (section 2).
Put simply: a landlord can no longer create a new fixed-term private tenancy at all. There is no six-month minimum, no 12-month commitment, no "initial term" you have to see out. The tenancy exists, but the fixed period does not.
This is the ordinary rule for private renters. Purpose-built student accommodation keeps a narrow carve-out, and student house shares have their own possession ground, which we cover in student renting under the Renters' Rights Act. For everyone else, periodic is the only option.
What happens to a 12-month term written into your tenancy agreement?
It has no legal effect. A landlord or agent can still print "the term is 12 months" on the agreement, but the words do not bind you. The law treats the tenancy as periodic no matter what the document calls it.
If you were already on a fixed term on 30 April 2026, it did not survive. Existing fixed terms converted to periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026 under the transitional rules that brought the Act into force. So even a tenancy you signed in early 2026 for "a year" is now rolling month to month.
That does not make the rest of your agreement meaningless. Rent, the deposit, repairing duties and house rules all still apply. It is only the lock-in to a fixed period that falls away.
Can a landlord refuse to rent to you unless you sign a fixed term?
A landlord can decide who to let to, but they cannot make a lawful fixed term a condition of the tenancy, because a lawful fixed term no longer exists. If an agent insists you commit to 12 months before they will hand over the keys, they are asking for something the law will not enforce.
So why are landlords and agents still offering these contracts? Mostly because their templates have not caught up. A letting agent using last year's paperwork will keep producing 12-month agreements out of habit. Signing one does not trap you for the year. It is still worth reading the whole agreement, though, because an out-of-date template can carry other clauses that no longer hold up either.
Can you leave before the end of a fixed term you've already signed?
Yes. Because your tenancy is periodic, you end it by giving two months' notice to quit, and that notice has to expire at the end of a rent period. A "12-month" clause cannot override this. You are not stuck until the year is up, and you do not need the landlord's permission to go.
The two-month rule and the timing of the notice matter, so it is worth getting the dates right the first time. We walk through exactly how to serve it in how to end your tenancy with a notice to quit in 2026.
One thing to keep in perspective: no fixed term cuts both ways. It gives you the flexibility to leave, but it does not mean the landlord can remove you whenever they like. Section 21 "no fault" evictions ended on 1 May 2026, so a landlord now needs one of the Section 8 grounds to take possession. For more on that change, see what the end of Section 21 means.
What can you do if a landlord tries to hold you to a fixed term?
Start from the strong ground. The lock-in has no legal effect, so you can leave on two months' notice regardless of what the landlord claims, and you do not owe rent for months beyond a properly served notice. If they are threatening to charge you for breaking a "contract", that threat rests on a term the law does not recognise.
If a landlord or agent purports to grant or enforce a banned fixed term, that is a breach of the new rules the Act inserted into the Housing Act 1988 (section 16E, added by section 13 of the Renters' Rights Act). Your local council enforces this. A council can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first breach, rising to up to £40,000 for a serious or repeated one. You can report the landlord to the council's private-sector housing team and keep any emails or messages where they insist on the fixed term.
What to check before you sign a tenancy agreement in 2026
Before you sign anything, a few quick checks tell you whether the paperwork matches the current law:
- Ignore any "minimum term" or "initial term" wording. It has no effect. You are on a periodic tenancy from day one.
- Check the rent in advance. A landlord can ask for at most one month's rent up front, plus the deposit. A demand for six months in advance is a red flag.
- Check the deposit is within the cap and will be protected in a government scheme within 30 days.
- Read the clauses on notice and leaving. If the agreement says you must give more than two months' notice, or pay to leave early, that clause is trying to reimpose the lock-in the Act removed.
To understand what you get from a periodic tenancy, and why it gives you more flexibility than the old fixed term, see assured periodic tenancies under the Renters' Rights Act.
Not sure whether a clause in your agreement binds you? Remedy can read your tenancy and tell you where you stand before you sign or before you give notice.
