Lease Generator for Rental Property

What Changed for England Landlords on 1 May 2026

Before 1 May 2026 a private landlord in England granted an assured shorthold tenancy, usually with a 6-month or 12-month fixed term, and ended it with a Section 21 notice. Both went away on 1 May 2026: the Renters' Rights Act 2025 replaced them with assured periodic tenancies, and most existing ASTs converted to assured periodic tenancies on that date (CoryVu's rent review notice generator uses the same start date for Section 13 timing). A new tenancy now runs periodic from day one, with rent payable at regular intervals and no fixed term to serve notice against.

One duty is new and easy to miss. For any tenancy created after 1 May 2026, the landlord must give the tenant written information about the key terms of the tenancy before the agreement is signed, and a local authority can fine up to £7,000 for failing to do it. The information can sit inside the tenancy agreement itself or be handed over separately, but it has to exist before signatures are collected (GOV.UK, Assured periodic tenancies: written information). These heads of terms are only a partial draft, not a complete tenancy agreement or compliant written statement. Complete the landlord’s England/Wales address for notices, payment method, any unresolved initial payment amount, repair and fitness duties, landlord possession process and all other applicable requirements using the official checklist before agreeing/signing.

The payment rules tightened at the same time. A landlord cannot ask a tenant to pay rent before the agreement is signed, and after signing can usually ask for at most one month's rent, or 28 days' rent for non-monthly rents, during the pre-tenancy period. The only exceptions are social or supported housing and tenancies the council agreed for people who are legally homeless.

How the Deposit Cap Is Worked Out

The Tenant Fees Act 2019, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, caps an England tenancy deposit in weeks of rent rather than in pounds. Below £50,000 of annual rent the maximum is 5 weeks' rent; from £50,000 up to £100,000 it is 6 weeks' rent; above £100,000 the Act does not apply at all (GOV.UK, Tenant Fees Act 2019 statutory guidance, updated 1 May 2026).

Because rent is usually quoted monthly, the conversion is the part people get wrong. A £1,250 monthly rent is £15,000 a year and £15,000 ÷ 52 = £288.46 a week, so the deposit ceiling is £288.46 × 5 = £1,442.31. The statutory guidance's own worked example uses three joint tenants sharing a £240 weekly rent: the maximum deposit for the property as a whole is £1,200, not £1,200 each. That is why this tool divides the deposit by the number of named tenants for display but applies the cap to the property.

Two neighbouring limits move with the same weekly figure. A holding deposit, taken to reserve the property while checks run, cannot exceed one week's rent, and it must be refunded when the tenancy is agreed unless it is lawfully retained under the Act's schedule. The default signing deadline after a holding deposit is 15 days. Keep the holding deposit and the tenancy deposit separate in the paperwork: they have different caps and different refund rules.

What a Landlord May and May Not Charge For

The Act bans almost every fee around a tenancy and keeps a short permitted list. Rent itself, a refundable holding deposit up to one week's rent, a refundable tenancy deposit within the cap, utilities the tenant has agreed to pay, a council tax or television licence charge the tenant would owe anyway, and three default charges are all allowed. The default charges are narrow: a late-rent fee that only bites once rent is 14 days overdue and is capped at 3% above the Bank of England base rate, the reasonable evidenced cost of a replaced key or security device, and up to £50, or proved reasonable costs above that, for a tenancy change the tenant asks for.

Everything else is a prohibited payment, including referencing fees, inventory charges, renewal fees and required insurance. A first breach can cost the landlord or agent a financial penalty of up to £5,000, and a repeat breach within 5 years is a criminal offence carrying up to £30,000 or prosecution. The excess of an over-cap deposit sits in exactly this category, which is why the dashboard flags the precise figure rather than a vague warning.

The 30-Day Deposit Protection Clock

Any deposit taken for an assured periodic tenancy must be protected in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days of payment, and the tenant must be given the required information about the scheme, the deposit and the prescribed details. Receipt is day 1: the displayed last day is receipt date + 29 calendar days, following Housing Act 2004 section 213’s wording “beginning with” receipt. For money received 12 October 2026, day 30 is 10 November 2026, irrespective of move-in. No precise deadline is shown without the receipt date. A zero deposit creates no protection deadline.

Protection and information are two separate duties on the same clock. Doing one late, or one without the other, still leaves the landlord exposed: in England a court will generally refuse possession under most Section 8 grounds while a deposit is unprotected or the information has not been given, even if the landlord protects it late afterwards. The compensation award runs from 1x the deposit up to 3x. Diarise both duties immediately on receipt. Protect early rather than wait for the last day or move-in.

Pets, Notices and Ending the Tenancy

Since 1 May 2026 a tenant asks for a pet in writing, describing the animal, and the landlord has 28 days to answer in writing. More information can be requested inside that window, which buys a further 7 days after the reply. Refusal has to rest on a fair reason: another tenant's allergy, a property too small for the animal, an illegal species, or a leasehold ban. Disliking pets, or past damage from a previous tenant, is not a fair reason, and once a pet is agreed the landlord cannot change the tenancy term to remove it later.

Notice runs the other way too. An assured periodic tenant can end the tenancy at any time with a maximum of 2 months' notice, served in writing, ending on a day the rent is due or the day before. Rent keeps being payable through that notice period unless the landlord agrees an earlier end in writing. With joint tenants, one tenant giving notice usually ends the entire joint tenancy, so a landlord expecting some tenants to stay needs a fresh agreement with them.

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