APT vs AST: What Actually Changed When Your Tenancy Converted on 1 May 2026

If you let property in England, you probably went to bed on 30 April 2026 with assured shorthold tenants and woke up on 1 May with assured periodic tenants. Same people, same property, same monthly rent — but the legal framework underneath the tenancy changed overnight.

This isn't paperwork pedantry. The shift from AST to APT (assured periodic tenancy) under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes how you can end the tenancy, how you can increase the rent, and what you can put in the agreement. The conversion was automatic. Your obligations were not.

This guide explains what's different, what's the same, and what you actually need to do as a landlord post-conversion.

The naming change is the smallest part

The Housing Act 1988 used the term "assured shorthold tenancy" to describe the standard private letting in England. The RRA 2025 changes the default tenancy type to an "assured periodic tenancy". Both are still forms of "assured tenancy" under the underlying Act — the shorthold variant has just been removed and replaced.

In practical terms:

• "AST" no longer describes any current tenancy in England. From 1 May 2026, there are no new ASTs.
• Existing fixed-term ASTs converted automatically to APTs. The tenancy didn't end; the framework around it changed.
• Existing periodic ASTs (statutory periodic tenancies that arose at the end of a fixed term) also converted to APTs. Same situation.
• New tenancies from 1 May 2026 are APTs from the start.

If you're drafting any new document referencing the tenancy, use "assured periodic tenancy" or "APT". "AST" is correct only when referring to a historical tenancy that existed before 1 May 2026.

What's actually different

Fixed terms are gone

Under the old AST regime, a tenancy could be granted for a fixed term — typically six or twelve months. After the fixed term, it either ended, was renewed, or became a statutory periodic tenancy.

Under APT:

• No fixed terms. The tenancy is periodic from the start.
• The default rent period is monthly. You can technically agree on a different period, but it must be no longer than 28 days (so weekly, fortnightly, or four-weekly are allowed; quarterly is not).
• The tenant can give two months' notice at any time and walk away. There's no concept of "the tenant is locked in until month six".

This is the biggest substantive change. If your old AST template had a "this tenancy is granted for an initial term of six months" clause, that clause is now void. The tenant can leave with two months' notice from day one.

Section 21 no longer exists

The no-fault eviction route under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 was abolished by the RRA 2025. From 1 May 2026, every reference to Section 21 in any tenancy agreement is meaningless.

If you need possession of your property, you now have one route: Section 8 with a specific ground (see below). The grounds have been restructured and expanded — there are now 37 of them — but every one of them requires you to give a reason.

Section 8 — 37 grounds, new notice periods

The RRA 2025 rewrote Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. There are now:

• 26 mandatory grounds (if proved, court must grant possession)
• 11 discretionary grounds (court decides if eviction is reasonable)

The notice periods changed significantly. The two most commonly used grounds:

• Ground 8 (serious rent arrears): raised from 2 months' to 3 months' arrears. Notice period raised from 2 weeks to 4 weeks.
• Ground 10 / Ground 11 (some arrears / persistent late payment): notice raised from 2 weeks to 4 weeks.

Two new grounds were added that didn't exist pre-RRA:

• Ground 1A — landlord wants to sell. Four months' notice. Cannot use in the first 12 months. If you evict on this ground and then re-let instead of selling, that's a criminal offence with up to a £40,000 penalty.
• Ground 6A — local authority enforcement. Two months' notice. For situations where local authority enforcement requires vacant possession.

If you served a Section 8 notice before 1 May, you can still rely on the pre-RRA grounds and notice periods for that notice. Anything served from 1 May onwards uses the new regime.

See our comprehensive Section 8 guide for every ground, every notice period, and the new Form 3A.

Rent increases — Section 13 only, Form 4A, twice-revised process

Under the old AST regime, you could include a contractual rent review clause in the tenancy agreement (RPI-linked, fixed percentage, annual market review, etc.). These clauses are now void.

The only legal route to increase rent in an APT is Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, using the new prescribed Form 4A. The rules:

• Once every 52 weeks maximum (not "12 months" — the Act uses weeks).
• Two months' notice required (raised from one month).
• The proposed rent must reflect open market rent for the property in its current condition.
• The tenant can challenge at the First-tier Tribunal. The tribunal cannot set the rent higher than what the landlord proposed (this is a key change — pre-RRA the tribunal could set a higher market rent, which deterred challenges).
• The tribunal cannot backdate the increase. If the tenant challenges, the increase takes effect from the determination date, not the original proposed date. Challenging effectively delays the increase by months.

If your old AST had a "rent shall increase annually by RPI + 1%" clause, that clause is gone. You serve Form 4A or you don't increase the rent.

Pet consent — 28 days, no pet insurance, no blanket bans

Under the old AST regime, blanket "no pets" clauses were standard. Under APT they're prohibited.

The new framework:

• Tenant submits a written pet request.
• Landlord has 28 days to respond (extendable to 7 days after the tenant provides additional information if requested).
• Refusal must be on reasonable grounds (property unsuitable for size/type of pet, allergies, freeholder restrictions, illegal pet).
• The pet insurance amendment that was in the original Bill was removed before enactment. You cannot require a tenant to take out pet damage insurance. The existing 5-week deposit cap is the only protection.
• If you fail to respond within 28 days, the tenant's remedy is to apply to court for specific performance or raise the issue with the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman. There is no explicit "deemed consent" rule despite what some secondary sources claim.

See our pet consent guide for the step-by-step process and reasonable-refusal wording.

Advance rent — capped at one month

The RRA introduced an explicit prohibition on requiring more than one month's rent in advance. If your tenancy agreement asks for two months' rent upfront or six months' rent paid in advance as a "security measure", the clause is void and probably also a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

Information Sheet replaces How to Rent guide

The "How to Rent" guide is replaced by the Government Information Sheet from 1 May 2026. For existing tenancies, you must serve the new Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 — and missing this deadline is one of the easiest compliance failures to make. The Information Sheet must come from gov.uk (use the current published version) and you serve a copy on every tenant. We cover this separately: see our Information Sheet deadline guide.

What stayed the same

Plenty did not change:

• The tenant's right to live in the property as their home.
• Deposit protection rules (30 calendar days in England, scheme prescribed information, up to 3x deposit penalty for failure).
• The five-week deposit cap (Tenant Fees Act 2019).
• The Right to Rent check requirement (carried out before the tenancy starts, repeated for time-limited visa holders).
• Gas Safety Certificate (CP12), Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), and smoke/CO alarm requirements.
• The £7,000 / £30,000 penalty regime for serious compliance failures.

If you were running a compliant AST in April, most of your compliance documents still work. What changed is the framework around possession, rent increases, and pet handling.

What you actually need to do

For every existing tenancy that converted on 1 May:

1. Audit your current tenancy agreement. If it contains a fixed term, a Section 21 reference, a contractual rent review clause, a blanket pet ban, or a "more than one month's rent in advance" requirement, those clauses are void. You don't need to issue a new agreement, but the void clauses simply stop having effect.

2. Serve the Government Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. This is a hard deadline with a £7,000 penalty for failure. Use the current sheet from gov.uk, email or post a copy to every tenant, and keep proof of service.

3. Update your possession and rent increase processes. If you've been planning to serve notice on a tenant, the new grounds, forms, and notice periods apply to anything served from 1 May onwards.

4. Replace your tenancy agreement template before granting any new tenancy. Don't sign a new tenant on a pre-RRA AST template. The clauses are void from the start and you'll create exactly the dispute risk the new framework was designed to avoid.

5. Document your pet policy and process. If a tenant asks for a pet, your 28-day clock starts. Have a template response ready for both "yes" and "reasonable refusal" scenarios so you don't miss the window.

What this means for new tenancies

If you're about to sign a new tenant, here's the practical version of the APT framework:

• Use an APT agreement template, not an old AST.
• Don't grant a fixed term. Don't include a Section 21 clause. Don't include a contractual rent review mechanism. Don't include a blanket pet ban. Don't ask for more than one month's rent in advance.
• Serve the Information Sheet at the start of the tenancy.
• Protect the deposit in an approved scheme within 30 calendar days and serve the prescribed information.
• Be prepared for the tenant to give two months' notice at any time, including day one.

The new framework gives tenants more flexibility and removes some of the tools landlords previously had. It's not necessarily worse for landlords — it just requires different paperwork and different process.

The bottom line

The AST is dead. The APT is the new default. The substantive changes are around possession, rent increases, pets, and advance rent. Most of your compliance burden (certificates, deposit protection, Right to Rent) hasn't changed.

If your tenancy agreement template still says "assured shorthold tenancy" at the top, it's not just out of date — the document itself describes a tenancy type that no longer exists. Generating a new, RRA-compliant APT agreement is the foundation everything else rests on. Without that, the rest of your compliance is built on a contract that disagrees with the law.

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This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific legal situations, consult a qualified property solicitor.