What is a periodic tenancy agreement?

Periodic vs fixed term

A fixed-term tenancy locked both sides in for an agreed period, usually six or twelve months. A periodic tenancy instead repeats for each rent period — normally monthly — and continues until either side brings it to an end in the way the law allows. For most private landlords this removes the renewal paperwork entirely: there is one agreement, and it stays live.

What the agreement should contain

• The full names of every landlord and tenant, and an address for service.
• The address of the property and what is included (furnishings, parking, garden).
• The rent, the rent period, the day it falls due and how it is to be paid.
• The deposit amount, capped at five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000, and the scheme it will be protected in.
• The start date of the tenancy — but no end date, because there isn't one.
• Repairing obligations, access arrangements, and rules on pets, smoking and subletting.
• Any special conditions the landlord and tenant have specifically agreed.

How rent increases work

In a periodic assured tenancy the rent is normally increased by serving a statutory notice of a proposed new rent (a section 13 notice) rather than by asking the tenant to sign a new agreement. The notice must give the tenant proper warning before the new rent starts, and increases can only be made once in a twelve-month period. A tenant who thinks the proposed rent is above market rate can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal before the start date on the notice.

Ending a periodic tenancy

A tenant ends a periodic tenancy by giving notice in line with the agreement and the statutory minimum — typically two months. A landlord must rely on one of the statutory grounds for possession and serve the corresponding notice; there is no route to possession simply because a term has expired. Getting the notice period and the grounds right matters, because a defective notice usually means starting again.

Getting the agreement signed properly

An agreement is only as useful as the evidence that both sides accepted it. Signlet drafts a periodic tenancy agreement from a standard clause library, lets you add your own special conditions, and takes a timestamped electronic signature from the landlord and the tenant against the exact document they read. The deposit, the rent record and every message then sit alongside it.