Resources · Rent Increases
Periodic Tenancy Rent Increase Rules
- Since 1 May 2026, every assured tenancy in England is a periodic tenancy — fixed terms were abolished, and existing ones converted automatically.
- One set of rules applies to all of them: a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, at least two months’ notice, and no more than once every 52 weeks.
- The rent period — weekly or monthly — doesn’t change the process, but it can occasionally change the arithmetic behind the 52-week clock.
- A rent-review clause in the tenancy agreement, old or new, no longer has any legal effect.
A periodic tenancy has no fixed end date — it rolls from one rent period to the next until ended by valid notice. Since 1 May 2026, that description covers every assured tenancy in England: the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies, so there is no longer a separate rent-increase process for “fixed-term” and “periodic” lettings. This page sets out the complete rent-increase rules that now apply, whatever your tenancy used to be.
Why Every Tenancy Is Now Periodic
Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, landlords in England can no longer grant a new fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy. Every assured shorthold tenancy that existed on 1 May 2026 — regardless of how long was left on its term — converted to an assured periodic tenancy on that date, with the periodic term matching the rent-payment frequency: monthly rent means a monthly periodic tenancy, weekly rent means a weekly one. For the full conversion picture, see the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 guide.
The practical result for rent increases: there is now a single rulebook. It doesn’t matter whether your tenancy was always periodic, or converted from a fixed term on 1 May 2026, or is a brand-new letting granted after that date. The rules below apply equally.
The Rent Increase Rules for Any Periodic Tenancy
Section 13 and Form 4A only. Under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, the landlord serves a notice in the prescribed form — Form 4A from 1 May 2026 — proposing the new rent. No letter, email, or verbal agreement can lawfully raise the rent on an assured periodic tenancy. See the Form 4A template.
Two months’ minimum notice. The notice must give the tenant at least two months before the new rent takes effect, up from one month before 1 May 2026.
Once every 52 weeks. A second increase cannot take effect inside 52 weeks of the last one, however the tenancy agreement is worded. For exactly how that interval is measured, see how often rent can be increased.
The market rent test sets the practical ceiling. There is no statutory cap on the figure you propose, but if the tenant refers the notice to the First-tier Tribunal, it assesses the open-market rent under section 14 of the Housing Act 1988 — and from 1 May 2026 it can only confirm or reduce your figure, never raise it. See rent increase limits for the full picture.
Weekly vs Monthly Periodic Tenancies: Does the Period Length Matter?
The process is identical either way — the same notice, the same form, the same 52-week and two-month rules. What differs is the arithmetic behind the 52-week clock. A calendar year is not an exact multiple of 52 weeks, so a monthly periodic tenancy with a long unbroken run of on-time annual increases can occasionally need a 53-week gap, rather than 52, to keep the effective date aligned to the start of a rent period. Getting this wrong doesn’t just delay the increase — it can void the notice outright. See the 53-week rule for exactly when it applies and how to check it.
A common assumption is that a periodic tenancy is inherently more flexible for the landlord — no fixed term to wait out, so rent can be adjusted whenever it suits. It isn’t. A periodic tenancy is less flexible on rent than many landlords expect: the 52-week interval and two-month notice period apply exactly as strictly to a rolling monthly tenancy as they ever did, and there is no shortcut for a landlord who simply wants to move faster.
The other common error is assuming a periodic tenancy that began life as a fixed term somehow inherits extra flexibility from that history — for example, that the 52-week clock restarted on the conversion date, or that the old agreement’s rent-review clause still applies until the fixed term would originally have ended. Neither is true. The clock runs from the date of the tenant’s last actual rent increase, and any contractual rent-review clause stopped working on 1 May 2026, whatever the original agreement said.
Statutory Periodic vs Contractual Periodic: A Distinction That No Longer Matters Much
Landlords researching this topic sometimes come across the older distinction between a statutory periodic tenancy — one that arose automatically when a fixed term ended and the tenant stayed on without signing anything new — and a contractual periodic tenancy, agreed directly between landlord and tenant, sometimes with its own rent-review terms built in. Before the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, that distinction occasionally mattered for how a rent increase could be structured.
It is now largely historical. Since fixed terms have been abolished, there is no longer a transition from fixed term to statutory periodic to track, and any rent-review terms in a contractual periodic agreement no longer take effect. Whichever category your tenancy used to fall into, the rent-increase process today is the same: Section 13, Form 4A, two months’ notice, once every 52 weeks. See rent review clauses under the Renters’ Rights Act for what happened to those older contractual terms specifically.
Check a compliant rent increaseRelated guides
How Often Can Rent Be Increased?
Once every 52 weeks via Section 13 — why the tenancy agreement can't override it, and the 2-month notice rule.
Renters' Rights Act 2025: Landlord Guide
What changed on 1 May 2026, what didn't, and the new s.14ZB tribunal cap most coverage missed.
The 53-Week Rule Explained
Section 13(3B) Housing Act 1988. Why long-running tenancies sometimes require 53 weeks, not 52.
Rent Review Clauses Under the Renters' Rights Act
Why contractual rent-review clauses are no longer enforceable and what replaces them from 1 May 2026.
Form 4A Template: Free Download
The official PDF, why there's no Word version, and how to fill it without voiding the notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a periodic tenancy?
A periodic tenancy has no fixed end date. It rolls automatically from one rent period to the next — weekly if rent is paid weekly, monthly if rent is paid monthly — until it's ended by a valid notice or agreement. Since 1 May 2026, every assured tenancy in England is periodic: fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies can no longer be granted, and existing fixed terms converted to periodic on that date.
Do rent increases work differently on a periodic tenancy than a fixed-term one?
No, and that distinction no longer exists in practice. Before 1 May 2026, a landlord could sometimes raise rent within a fixed term only if the agreement allowed it; a periodic tenancy relied on Section 13. Since every assured tenancy is now periodic, there is one process for everyone: a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, at least two months' notice, once every 52 weeks.
My tenant signed a fixed-term agreement before 1 May 2026 — do periodic tenancy rules already apply?
Yes. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 converted every assured shorthold tenancy in England to an assured periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026, regardless of the term originally granted or when it was due to expire. A three-year fixed term signed in 2025 became periodic on 1 May 2026, not when the three years were up. From that date, Section 13 is the only lawful route to a rent increase.
Is the process different for a weekly periodic tenancy versus a monthly one?
The rules are the same — Section 13, Form 4A, two months' notice, once every 52 weeks — but the 52-week calculation can behave differently depending on the rent period. Because 52 weeks isn't an exact number of months or years, a tenancy with a long unbroken run of increases can occasionally need a 53-week gap to keep the effective date aligned to the rent period. See the 53-week rule for exactly when this applies.
What's the difference between a statutory periodic tenancy and a contractual periodic tenancy?
Before 1 May 2026, a statutory periodic tenancy arose automatically by law when a fixed term ended and the tenant stayed on without a new agreement; a contractual periodic tenancy was one the landlord and tenant agreed to directly, often with its own rent-review clause. Since the Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished fixed terms, this distinction is now mostly historical — every assured tenancy is simply periodic, and any contractual rent-review clause from an old agreement no longer takes effect regardless of which category it came from.
Can a periodic tenancy agreement include its own rent-review clause?
It can be written into the agreement, but it has no legal effect. From 1 May 2026, Section 13 is the only lawful mechanism to increase rent on an assured periodic tenancy. A clause that tries to set automatic increases, link rent to an index, or allow reviews more often than once every 52 weeks does not override the statutory process.