The new United Kingdom Renters’ Rights Act is effective from May 1, 2026 and this means existing fixed term tenancies will be converted into periodic tenancies.The UK government announced on its website that current fixed terms leases will be converted to periodic tenancies, meaning landlords will no longer be able to issue new Section 21 or the old-style Section 8 eviction notices to their tenants. This means that effective from May 1, 2025 everyone will follow the UK Renters' Right Act. Thus in a way it is a unified date that aims to eliminate a confusing two-tier system, and provide immediate security for all tenants.For example, your tenancy agreement is for 12 months terms. After May 1, 2026, since UK Renters' Right Act came into force, it will not be possible for assured tenancy agreements to have a fixed term or a set end date. All tenancies will automatically become rolling tenancies from May 1, 2026 (sometimes known as ‘periodic tenancies’). Your tenancy will keep going on a rolling basis.This will usually be monthly, unless your tenancy agreement sets out a shorter period, for example weekly or fortnightly. If your tenancy had an end date, it will no longer apply. Your tenancy will continue until:you and your landlord decide together to end the tenancyyou end your tenancy by giving noticeyour landlord ends it, if they have a valid legal reasonAlso read: UK Renters Right Act: Landlords can’t use rent increase clause as an indirect means to evict tenants; Here’s the new process of increasing rentHow it impacts landlords and tenantsUnder the old law, if a landlord had a tenant that didn’t really want to re-rent to, in theory, they could simply wait until the end of the fixed term, serve a ‘no-fault eviction notice’ on the tenant and the tenancy would have ended, without the landlord having to give any reason.Also read: UK Renters’ Rights Act: These are the 11 legal grounds landlords can still use to evict tenantsNow since the new law (Renters’ Act) has removed fixed term tenancy, it means landlords no longer have any assurance about when the tenant might decide to leave. A tenant might claim that they want to rent the property for, say, two years, but if they decide to move out earlier, the landlord can’t enforce the two-year commitment.This, combined with the end of so-called ‘no fault’ eviction under Section 21 of the Housing Act, means the landlord now must have a ‘reason’ to terminate a tenancy, marking a significant shift from the old system and culture.However, it’s not all bad for landlords, it just requires a different mindset, because the new law also provides some new ways for the landlord to end the tenancy which did not exist previously. While we are in early days yet, the point made above applies equally to landlords. Just as tenants do not sign up for a fixed term of say two years, neither do the landlords.Also read: UK Renters Right Act: Landlord can’t evict tenants during 12 months protected period; Here’s when landlords can get possession of the propertySo, subject to certain legal requirements about pre-notice and minimum notice requirements, the landlord also has the flexibility to deal with their asset without needing to wait until the end of the fixed term.Ian Morgan, Managing Senior Associate, Pinsent Masons, told Economic Times Wealth Online: “It will be interesting to see how this will change the approach in the market. Under the previous system, both landlords and tenants would generally try to work around each other so that once a lease had been agreed for a fixed term, it was generally understood that the lease would run its intended term of say 2 years.”Also read: UK Renters’ Rights Act: Landlords face £7,000 fine if ‘Information Sheet’ isn’t given to tenants by May 31, 2026; Know how to downloadAccording to Morgan, since the new system will not have a minimum term, it will be interesting to see whether landlords and tenants work together to agree to such minimum terms in practice, or whether it will lead to an increased practice of notice-serving.Morgan explains this using an example: “To take a practical example, a tenant may previously have been contacted a few months before the end of their tenancy agreement by their landlord to ask whether they want to renew, or advise that the landlord does not wish to, under the new system, a different type of conversation may need to take place.”