Do tenancy renewals still exist in England?

No. Fixed-term assured tenancies were abolished on 1 May 2026 and every assured tenancy is now periodic. There is no fixed term to renew, so nothing is signed again when a tenant stays. The tenancy simply continues until the tenant gives notice or the landlord obtains possession on a legal ground.

Can my letting agent still charge a renewal fee?

There is no renewal for the fee to pay for, so ask your agent what the charge covers and ask for it to be removed. Tenants cannot be charged a renewal fee in any case, because the Tenant Fees Act 2019 banned it in England.

When does a new tenancy start now?

When the tenant or the property changes. A new tenant means a new tenancy with the full compliance cycle: Right to Rent check, deposit protected within 30 days, safety certificates and written information about the key terms given before the tenancy is agreed.

How do I increase the rent without a renewal?

Use the section 13 process. Fill out Form 4A and give it to the tenant with at least two months notice. You cannot increase the rent more than once a year, and the tenant can challenge a figure above the open market rent at the First-tier Tribunal.

Did I need to protect the deposit again on 1 May 2026?

No new agreement was needed when existing tenancies became periodic, and a deposit that was already protected stayed protected. A new deposit only has to be protected, within 30 days, when a new tenancy starts with a new tenant.

Tenancy Renewal vs New Tenancy: What Changed in 2026 (Landlord Guide)

14 July 2026 · AgentCheck Editorial · 7 min read

Part of our UK Landlord Legal Guide

Tenancy renewals no longer exist in England. Since 1 May 2026 every assured tenancy is periodic, so there is no fixed term to renew and nothing for a tenant to sign again. A new tenancy now only happens when the tenant, or the property, changes. For a tenant who is staying, the one yearly decision left is the rent review.

Until May 2026, landlords faced a three-way choice whenever a fixed term ran out: renew for another term, let the tenancy roll on, or end it and let the property again. The Renters' Rights Act removed the first option and made the second one automatic. This guide explains what happened to renewals, what still counts as a new tenancy, what each situation costs, and what to check in your agent's fee schedule now that a renewal fee has no work behind it. It covers England.

What happened to tenancy renewals

A renewal used to mean signing the same tenant onto a fresh fixed term, usually 6 or 12 months. The Act abolished fixed-term assured tenancies. The government's guidance for landlords puts it plainly: new tenancies are assured periodic tenancies that run on a rolling basis, and you cannot have an end date on your tenancy agreement.

Tenancies that were already running did not need replacing. Existing fixed terms were converted to periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, and landlords did not have to issue a new agreement. What you did have to do was give any tenant with a written agreement the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. If you missed that, send it now.

Brown concrete building during daytime — Photo: Unsplash

What still counts as a new tenancy

A new tenancy is a legally separate letting. The usual trigger is a change of tenant: one household leaves and another signs. Replacing one joint tenant with another, or moving a tenant to a different property, is normally done with a new agreement and so creates a new tenancy too.

A new tenancy brings the full compliance cycle:

A Right to Rent check on every adult occupier before the tenancy starts.
The deposit protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days, with the prescribed information given to the tenant.
The gas safety record, electrical report (EICR) and EPC given to the tenant.
Written information about the key terms of the tenancy, given before it is agreed.
The rent stated in the advert, and no offer above it encouraged or accepted.
No rent asked for or accepted before the agreement is signed, and no more than one month in advance after that.

Skipping a step costs more than it used to. Section 21 has gone, and a court will only give you a possession order if the deposit has been dealt with properly.

Staying, rent review or new tenant: at a glance

Situation	What it is now	Paperwork	Cost to the landlord
Tenant is staying	The same periodic tenancy carries on	None. Nothing is signed again	Nothing
You want to change the rent	A section 13 rent increase	Form 4A, at least 2 months' notice, once a year at most	Nothing, unless your agent charges to serve the notice
Tenant is leaving	A new tenancy with the next tenant	The full compliance cycle	A set-up or letting fee, plus any empty weeks

A red brick house with a white door surrounded by trees — Photo: Unsplash

What each situation costs

A continuing tenancy costs nothing. There is no document to draw up, so a renewal fee has no work behind it. If your agent's fee schedule still lists one, ask what it pays for. Tenants cannot be charged it in any case: the Tenant Fees Act 2019 banned renewal fees for tenants in England.

Letting the property again is where the money goes. In the fees that letting agents publish and AgentCheck holds, the median set-up fee is £360 including VAT. Where an agent prices a let-only service against the first month's rent, the median is 90% of that month. Then there is referencing, an inventory and any empty weeks. On a rent of £1,000 a month, two empty weeks cost about £460 on their own.

That is why keeping a good tenant is usually worth more than a small uplift from a new one.

Deposits: when nothing changes and when the tenant does

When the tenancy simply carries on, the deposit stays protected where it is. The move to periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026 did not need a new agreement, and the deposit you had already protected did not need protecting again.

When the tenant changes, everything resets. Settle the old deposit through the scheme, take the new one (capped at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000), protect it within 30 days and give the prescribed information. Get it wrong and the tenant can claim one to three times the deposit, and a court can refuse a possession order until it is put right. Our deposit protection schemes guide compares the three schemes.

Rent increases replace the renewal conversation

Under the old system the renewal was the moment to agree a new rent. Now there is one route. You fill out Form 4A and give it to the tenant with at least two months' notice, and you cannot increase the rent more than once a year. A rent review clause in the agreement no longer does the job. A tenant who thinks the proposed figure is above the open market rent can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal, which cannot set a rent higher than the one you proposed.

Pitch the figure at what comparable homes have actually let for. Our guides to rent increases under the Renters' Rights Act and how to set the rent cover the evidence and the process.

A worked example: keep the tenant or let again?

Take a property let at £1,000 a month. The tenant is happy to stay at that rent, but you think a new tenant might pay £1,025.

If the tenant stays: nothing to pay and no gap in the rent. You can still propose an increase with Form 4A.
If you let again: a set-up fee at the £360 median, plus two empty weeks at about £460, comes to roughly £820 before referencing and the inventory.

At £25 a month extra, it takes about 33 months to earn that £820 back, and the new tenant can leave on two months' notice long before then. The figures are an illustration, so put your own rent and your own agent's charges through the same sum before you decide. In most cases the answer is the same: a small uplift rarely pays for a changeover.

If you wanted the certainty of a fixed term

Many landlords renewed because a fixed term felt like guaranteed income. That lever has gone. A tenant can end the tenancy by giving two months' notice, and you cannot write an end date into the agreement to hold them. In return, the grounds for selling or moving in yourself cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy and need four months' notice after that.

The practical substitute for a fixed term is a tenant who wants to stay. Careful referencing, a fair rent and repairs done promptly now do the work that a 12-month contract used to do.

What to check in your agent agreement

Renewal fees. If the schedule still has one, ask for it to be removed or explained.
Rent review charges. Find out what the agent charges to prepare and serve Form 4A, and whether it is in the management fee.
Charges when the tenant changes. Add up set-up, referencing, inventory and check-out so you know the real cost of a new tenancy.
The notice period. Ask how quickly the agent starts marketing once a tenant gives two months' notice.
Everything including VAT. Compare agents on the first-year total, not the headline percentage.

Our letting agent fees index shows what agents publish, area by area.

This guide covers private tenancies in England and is general information, not legal advice. Fee figures were read from AgentCheck's published fee data on 10 October 2026. Last reviewed October 2026.

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