Inside Lendlord's Updated Tenancy Agreement: Your Solicitor Explains Every Clause

Because the Assured Shorthold Tenancy, as landlords knew it, effectively ceases to exist from 1 May 2026. The Renters' Rights Act abolishes fixed-term tenancies for all new and existing assured tenancies. Every tenancy is now periodic from day one - it rolls month to month with no end date. The agreement reflects this by being titled "Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement, within the meaning of the Renters' Rights Act 2025."

Any landlord who tries to let on a fixed-term basis after 1 May faces a civil penalty of up to £7,000. So this isn't a preference - it's the law.

There are three significant changes landlords need to understand.

First, the only legal way to increase rent is now through a Section 13 notice. You must give at least two months' notice before the increase takes effect, and you can only increase rent once every 12 months. Contractual rent review clauses - the ones many landlords relied on in their old ASTs - no longer have legal effect.

Second, there is a new right for tenants to challenge the initial rent. Within the first six months of the tenancy, a tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal if they believe the rent is above the open market rate. The Tribunal can reduce the rent, but crucially, it cannot increase it above what you've agreed.

Third, rent bidding is now explicitly prohibited. You cannot invite, encourage or accept any offer above your advertised asking price. The rent in the agreement must match the rent you advertised.

The deposit cap remains at five weeks' rent, and you still need to protect it in a government-approved scheme within 30 days. That's unchanged.

What is new, and what catches landlords out, is the restriction on advance rent. You cannot collect more than one month's rent in advance during the tenancy. And critically, you cannot collect any rent at all before the agreement is signed by all parties. Any provision requiring more than one month in advance is void. This prevents the practice of asking for several months upfront, which some landlords used as additional security.

This is one of the most significant new protections. For the first 12 months of any tenancy, you as a landlord cannot use Ground 1 - which is where you want to move in yourself or move a family member in - or Ground 1A, which is where you intend to sell the property.

In practice, this means that when you grant a periodic tenancy, you are committing to that tenant having at least 12 months of security before you can rely on those grounds for possession. If your circumstances might change within a year - say you're considering selling - you need to factor that in before you let the property.

This is the core of the entire legislative change. Section 21 "no-fault" evictions no longer exist. A landlord cannot end a tenancy without proving a specific ground for possession under Section 8 and obtaining a court order.

On the tenant side, the new agreement gives tenants the right to leave at any time - including from the first day of the tenancy - by giving two months' written notice. That notice can even be given by text message or email.

For landlords, the key grounds and their notice periods are set out in the agreement:

Yes, significantly. Under the new Section 16A of the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act, tenants have a statutory right to request to keep a pet. The landlord must respond in writing within 28 days, and - here's the key part - consent must not be unreasonably refused.

If a landlord refuses without clear, written reasons, the tenant can challenge that refusal in court. However, the landlord may require the tenant to maintain appropriate insurance against pet damage, which provides a degree of protection for the property.

This is probably the most operationally urgent clause for landlords right now. The Renters' Rights Act requires every landlord to serve the official Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 on every named tenant. For tenancies that exist before 1 May 2026, the deadline is 31 May 2026.

Failure to comply is a fine of up to £7,000. If the breach continues for more than 28 days after the penalty, further penalties of up to £40,000 may apply.

And there are specific rules about how you serve it. You must provide the actual PDF - either printed or as an email attachment. Sending a link to the PDF is not sufficient. A copy must go to every tenant named in the agreement.

Under the Renters' Rights Act, all disputes must first go through the Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman before any court proceedings can be initiated. Membership of this scheme is a legal obligation - not optional.

For landlords, this means two things. First, you must register with the Ombudsman scheme when it launches. Second, if a tenant has a complaint, you'll go through the Ombudsman process before it can escalate to court. The aim is to resolve disputes faster and more cheaply than going through the court system.

Every private landlord in England will be required to register on the new Private Rented Sector Database. There's a fee involved. But the critical point is this: registration on the PRS Database is a pre-condition for serving valid possession notices. If you're not registered and you try to serve a Section 8 notice, it won't be valid - except in cases of antisocial behaviour.

Failure to register can result in fines of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for repeated breaches. And if you submit fraudulent information, the penalties are even more severe.

Yes. On bill transparency, if a tenant pays the landlord for any utilities or services beyond rent, the amount and notification method must be stated in the agreement per the Assured Tenancies Regulations 2026. There can be no hidden fees.

On equality, the agreement explicitly states that landlords must not discriminate based on the presence of children or receipt of benefits. This applies to everything - viewings, granting the tenancy, and the terms offered. This isn't entirely new law, but the Act reinforces it, and including it in the agreement makes it a contractual obligation as well as a statutory one.

The property must be fit for human habitation at the start and throughout the tenancy, under Section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The landlord must maintain the structure, exterior, drains, gutters, and all installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating.

On safety documentation, you must provide a valid EPC, Gas Safety Certificate, and Electrical Safety Report (EICR). The gas safety check must be done annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the report must be given to the tenant before the tenancy starts and within 28 days of each check. Electrical installations must be inspected every five years.

Yes. Notices under this agreement can be delivered in person, sent by pre-paid first-class post, sent as a PDF attachment by email, or sent by text message. The one thing that is not valid is sending a hyperlink to a document. You must send the document itself.

For the Information Sheet specifically, a link to the government PDF is not valid service. It must be the actual PDF, either printed or attached. This distinction matters - get it wrong and your notice may be invalid, which could derail a possession claim or trigger a penalty.

This is the biggest change to the private rented sector in over 30 years, and it's not optional. Every landlord - whether you have one property or fifty - needs a compliant periodic tenancy agreement in place by 1 May 2026, and every tenant must have received the Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. The penalties are real, they're per tenancy, and they can be issued without a court hearing.

The good news is that the agreement we've built at Lendlord covers all 17 areas of compliance in one document. It's free to generate, it's backed by legal review, and you can download it in minutes. There's no reason to be caught out.

That's exactly why we made this tool free for every landlord. We've seen sign-ups increase by over 300% since March. The urgency is real, and we want to make sure no landlord faces a £7,000 fine because they didn't know where to start. Generate your agreement, serve the information sheet, get your proof of receipt - and do it before 1 May.