Renters’ Rights Act: tenant notice periods explained
Since 1 May 2026 every assured tenancy in England is periodic, and a tenant can leave at any time by giving notice. Most people think that means “two months, full stop”. It doesn’t quite.
Luke AshtonFounder of Bricky Bot and Based Lettings · Updated The short answer
- Shorter period agreed in writing? The tenant can use it, for example a one-month notice clause in the tenancy agreement. The agreed period can be anything up to two months.
- Nothing agreed? At least two months, ending on the first or last day of a rent period.
- Clause asks for more than two months? It doesn’t count. Two months is the most a tenant can be held to.
- The notice must be in writing.
What the law actually says
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 rewrote the notice rules in section 5 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. For a tenant of an assured tenancy, a notice to quit is valid if it is given:
(i) not less than any length of time before the date on which the notice is to take effect, not exceeding two months, that the landlord has agreed to in writing, or (ii) in the absence of agreement under sub-paragraph (i), not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect.
Protection from Eviction Act 1977, s.5(1ZA)(a), in force from 1 May 2026
Two things follow. Two months is the default, not a fixed rule. And it’s also the ceiling: a landlord can agree to less, but can’t require more.
The common misconception
You’ll hear it from landlords, agents and tenants alike: “Under the Renters’ Rights Act, tenants have to give two months’ notice.” That’s only true when nothing else has been agreed.
If the agreement gives a shorter notice period, the tenant can use it
If the tenancy agreement says the tenant can give one month’s notice (or four weeks, or six), and the landlord signed it, that is a period “the landlord has agreed to in writing”. The tenant can give that shorter notice. A landlord can also agree a shorter period in writing later, for example by email when the tenant asks to leave early. Our free tenancy agreement template lets you choose one or two months.
If no notice period is mentioned at all, it’s two months, ending on a period boundary
With no written agreement, the tenant must give at least two months’ notice. For a periodic tenancy, the long-standing rule is that a notice to quit should end on the first or last day of a rental period (unless the agreement says notice can end on any day). The government’s guide to the Act says the same: the end date needs to line up with the end of a rent period.
In practice that means a tenant often gives more than two months. Rent runs from the 1st, notice is given on 3 June: two months takes you to 3 August, which is mid-period, so the tenancy ends on 31 August (the last day of that period), or 1 September (the first day of the next). If you agree an earlier leaving date instead, rent already paid for days after it goes back to the tenant: our pro rata rent calculator works out the refund.
| What the tenancy agreement says | Minimum notice the tenant gives |
|---|---|
| Nothing about tenant notice | 2 months, ending on the first or last day of a rent period |
| “Tenant may give one month’s notice” | 1 month (the landlord agreed it in writing) |
| “Tenant must give three months’ notice” | 2 months: an agreed period only counts up to two months |
| Old fixed-term clause (“may not end before the fixed term”) | 2 months: fixed terms ended on 1 May 2026 |
Work out the earliest end date
Notice date calculator (monthly rent)
Earliest date the tenancy can end:
Mon, 30 November 2026
The last day of a rent period. The notice could equally end the next day, Tue, 1 December 2026, the first day of the next period. The minimum notice alone runs to Mon, 30 November 2026.
Assumes monthly rent periods and that the agreement doesn’t let notice end on any day. A guide, not legal advice.
One grey area: agreements signed before 1 May 2026
The Act doesn’t say whether a notice clause in a tenancy agreement signed before 1 May 2026 counts as the landlord’s written agreement to a shorter period. Some commentators and legal insurers read it as not carrying over, so the two-month default applies; others read a signed clause as exactly that written agreement. Until a court decides, the simplest route is to confirm the period in writing (an email is enough) when a tenant on an older agreement gives notice.
Worth knowing
- Withdrawing notice. Once given, a tenant’s notice can only be withdrawn if the landlord agrees in writing before it takes effect.
- Joint tenancies. A shorter period only counts if the landlord agreed it with all the tenants. And one joint tenant’s notice can end the tenancy for everyone. In HMOs let room by room, each room is usually its own tenancy, so this rarely bites.
- Weekly rent. The same rules apply: two months (or the agreed period), ending on the first or last day of a rent week.
- Landlords. The other direction is different: section 21 has gone, and landlords now use section 8 with a ground for possession and its own notice period. Our section 8 notice template fills in Form 3A and works out the earliest court date. Rent increases have their own two-month notice: thesection 13 notice template works out when the new rent can start, and the rent increase calculator what it comes to at CPI or RPI.
Questions landlords ask
How much notice does a tenant have to give under the Renters’ Rights Act?
At least two months, unless the landlord has agreed a shorter period in writing. The notice has to be in writing and, for a periodic tenancy, should end on the first or last day of a rent period.
Can a tenant give one month’s notice?
Yes, if the landlord has agreed to one month in writing, for example in a notice clause in the tenancy agreement. Without that written agreement the minimum is two months.
Can a landlord make a tenant give three months’ notice?
No. The law only recognises an agreed period of up to two months. A clause asking for longer doesn’t count, so the tenant falls back to the two-month default.
Does the notice have to end on the rent day?
For a periodic tenancy, the long-standing rule is that a notice to quit must end on the first or last day of a rent period, unless the tenancy agreement says otherwise. Government guidance also says the end date needs to line up with the end of a rent period.
Can a tenant take their notice back?
Only if the landlord agrees in writing before the notice takes effect. In a joint tenancy, all the tenants and the landlord have to agree.
When did these rules start?
The new tenant notice rules in section 5 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, added by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, are in force from 1 May 2026.
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Book a demoSources
- Protection from Eviction Act 1977, section 5 (legislation.gov.uk, as amended)
- Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act (GOV.UK)
This guide explains the law in England as it stands on the date above. It isn’t legal advice; for a dispute, speak to a solicitor or your landlord association.