With the Renters Rights Act coming into force on 1 May I am trying to work out what actually happens to my two existing ASTs which both have fixed terms running until September. The government guidance says all tenancies become periodic from commencement, but it is not clear whether that means the fixed term simply falls away on 1 May or whether it converts at the next rent date or at natural expiry. I have read the published guidance on gov.uk twice and it manages to be both lengthy and vague on this specific point. The letting agent I use for one of the properties says they are still waiting for their compliance team to issue updated templates. If anyone has seen a definitive legal interpretation of the transitional provisions I would appreciate a pointer, because from where I am sitting we are four weeks out and nobody seems to know what is happening.
@GrumpyLandlord47 my reading of the Act is that existing fixed terms are preserved until their natural expiry, at which point they automatically become rolling periodic tenancies rather than the old statutory periodic. So your September end dates should still hold.. but after that, no more fixed terms.
That said, I have had two agents tell me two completely different things. One (Scotland based, so slightly different regime) insists everything flips on 1 May. The other says fixed terms run their course. The published explanatory notes do actually cover this under the transitional provisions but they are buried in schedule 4 and written in a way that makes you wonder if the drafter was paid by the subordinate clause.
I would not rely on agents for this one. They are scrambling. My Gateshead agent sent me an updated tenancy agreement last week that still had s.21 notice provisions in it.. Cheers!
Schedule 4 paragraph 3. Existing fixed term tenancies continue until the term date, then convert to periodic. Theres no ambiguity if you read the actual Act rather than relying on agents who cant even update a template in time. Your September tenancies run to September.
Slightly tangential to your specific question (which I think @rb471956 has nailed), but has anyone thought through the pet provision and how it interacts with leasehold covenants? From 1 May tenants have the right to request a pet and the landlord can only refuse on reasonable grounds.
But if you own a leasehold flat and let it out, and the lease contains a no pets covenant (as many do), you are stuck between two obligations. Your tenant has a statutory right to request, and you might not have reasonable grounds to refuse under the Act, but saying yes puts you in breach of your lease. The government guidance I have seen so far just says landlords should “check their lease” which is about as useful as being told to check the weather before going outside.
I raised this with my solicitor last month in relation to our own situation (we don’t let, but our neighbour does and the lease has a strict no pets clause) and she said there is no clear answer yet. She expects it will end up at tribunal fairly quickly once the Act is live.
I’d be interested to know if any landlords with leasehold properties have already had the conversation with their freeholder or managing agent about this. Is anyone proactively getting consent varied, or are people just going to wait and see what happens? 
Thanks @rb471956, that clears up the fixed term point. My remaining question is about timing of a section 8 notice if I decide not to continue after September. Under the current regime I would just let the fixed term expire and not renew, or serve a section 21 two months beforehand. Under the new Act neither of those is available. So if I want possession on ground 1 (landlord wishes to sell) I presumably need to serve a four month notice, but can I serve that during the fixed term so it expires on or after 1 May, or do I have to wait until the tenancy has actually converted to periodic? Shelter’s guidance says one thing and the NRLA says something slightly different, which is not particularly reassuring.
@GrumpyLandlord47 my reading is that you cannot serve a ground 1 notice under the new Act until the tenancy has actually converted to periodic.. so for your September end dates, the earliest you could serve would be the day after conversion. Four months notice from that point puts you into January/February 2027 at the earliest.
Also bear in mind ground 1 (intention to sell) has a 12 month restriction.. you cannot use it within the first 12 months of the tenancy. If your ASTs started after May 2025 that clock is still ticking. The NRLA guidance is behind on some of this, I would not rely on it alone.
None of this is legal advice obviously.. worth getting proper counsel if you are seriously looking to exit. Cheers!