If a tenant is currently on a fix term tenancy agreement, that runs to December, and gives notice in March to move out in May, can they under the new laws or would they have to give notice in May to be allowed to leave then in July?
Thanks
The tenant would be bound by the fixed term, then when the RRA comes into force they can then end the tenancy giving two months notice. The notice period must be aligned with the rental periods.
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Itāll depend on your rental period which you havenāt mentioned. From the 1st of May they can give 2 monthsā notice at any point. Those two months are two rental month periods. So, if the rental period is from, say, the 12th of the month and they give notice between the 1st and 11th, theyāre going to be able to leave on the 12th of July.
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Earliest date is today if LL and tenant agree to mutually surrender the tenancy
From 1 may max notice is 2 months under RRA but could be less as I understand it. May depend on current tenancy wording get legal advice
Good luck
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such as? Iām intriguedā¦
This is what the guidance to RRA says
"If the tenancy agreement does not say how much notice your tenant must give, they will need to give at least 2 monthsā notice.
You will be able to agree with your tenant to end the tenancy earlier or have a shorter notice period. This will need to be in writing. Your tenant will need to give their notice:
so the tenancy ends on a day when the rent is due or the day before the rent is due
in writing, for example, by letter, email or text
You will not be able to tell your tenant how they should give their notice.
"
(Source Renting out your property: guidance for landlords and letting agents 13 november 2025)
So it can be shorter than 2 months if already written that way. I think for example a fixed tenancy which had already become rolling periodic with one months notice and set that out, would likely continue to be one monthās notice. But a lawyer could say for sure ..
Hmmmā¦ so youāre saying that from 1 May, according to this guidance, pretty much all existing ASTs will allow their tenants to give only 1 monthās notice?
If so, thatās not something thatās currently well-known and could take a lot of LLs by surprise. In fact, I can see LLs getting into dispute with Ts over this where the T is insisting itās 1 month (based on this guidance you quoted) and LLs who are insisting that itās 2 months because thatās what the RRA is generally known to stipulate for new tenancies.
@tatemono well yes for those where itās already a month at the moment because they are already rolling. For those in the middle of a fixed period if thereās no break clause id expect it will be 2 months. Where there is a break clause and that would have applied but for RRA I expect it will be whichever us lower, the notice period for the break clause in the AST or 2 months
Tho hopefully the stuff we will have to send to tenants before 1 may (that weve not seen yet) will say āitās 2 months notice unless agreed otherwise in your agreement with your LLā and that will prompt the conversations between tenants and LLs needed. Fingers crossed
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None of us have any free fingers left to cross anymore mate 
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My understanding is that like all changes to current regs the new 2 month rule will replace anything in the current tenancy and it wonāt be possible to vary that without issuing a new agreement.
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thatās what I would have assumed, but David240 is quoting RRA guidance soā¦
Also, if the RRA does insist on the 2 month rule from 1st May for all existing tenancies, that is actually a clause against tenants whom the act is designed to protect.
I have started on my toes, it is painful though.
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Suppose as a LL you had an agreement with a tenant at the moment which is written down and would clearly mean 1 months notice if we were on 2 may.
RRA says min 2 months notice if not agreed in current tenancy agreement
Why as a LL would you be unhappy if tenant wanted to give 1 months notice - you are no worse off than before. Why would you try to force them to stay an extra month instead of getting someone new in sooner who actually wants to be there.
So all a bit moot
erā¦ other points of view are available. Hereās one: my tenant whoās lived in the property for, say, 6 years wants to leave. I then realise I have to redecorate, get new carpets, sort that issue in the bathroom that the T and I had mutually agreed theyād live with for now, advertise (oh waitā¦ canāt really do that until Iāve redecorated and put in the carpets) and anticipate a void. Iāve got to line up trades, and a carpet fitter and clear time in my calendar so that Iām available for the check out and the inevitable viewings etc
Personally, Iād rather have two monthsā notice that I have this extra workload on my plate than one.
And if the place is in re-lettable nick, Iād rather have two months to line up an applicant Iāve fully vetted to take over immediately to minimse the void. Again, Iād rather have more time to hit that deadline than less. There are plenty of applicants where Iām at, but finding someone among them I trust to be a decent tenant takes a while.
So, thereās thatā¦
Edited to add that posting that has made me even more grateful that Iāll never have to do this again because as soon as each tenant gives notice, our plan is to sell each property. Oh, and yes, Iād appreciate two monthsā notice to do that too!
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@tatemono yes but my point is that whatever you āpreferā (iād prefer appliances that dont break after 6 months and tenants that always pay on time and tradesmen that complete jobs by the time they say), if I was previously ok with and had specificslly agreed in writing 1 month notice with a tenant, that was the deal I made with the tenant and I should be ok with it one day later. If Iām not i should renegotiate with the tenant.
Good luck with your future sales
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well my point is that I made that agreement when it was the standard notice period so had little choice if I wanted to reflect standard practise. Now that the standard is 2 months, Iād prefer that, and so I am āworse off than beforeā if the RRA guidance allows my Ts to continue to give only one month. In fact, under my current plan Iāll never be able to avail myself of the 2 months if the RRA insists the 1 month still stands. But Iām not going to be crying over that when the last property sale goes through I can promise you that!
Put another way, you buy a car for Ā£15k and youāre happy with the deal. Then, āone day laterā, you see itās discounted for Ā£13k. Still happy?
Anyway, more importantly for this argument is whether in fact the 1 month will still stand. Do you have something I can search for online to verify this?
@tatemono its only the standard if youd agreed nothing beforehand. Even for new tenancies i āthinkā its the max in law not a āstandardā. The idea itās a standard is a myth. The standard will be what the market decides for new tenancies
@tatemono the guidance is exactly what i quoted before. Based on that, if your curent tenancy agreement specifies 10 1/2 days notice including after an initial fixed period that will stand
You have to check what your tenancy agreement says tho. If it didnt mention anything about the period after fixed and you have allowed it to become rolling 1 month with actually specifying that in those circumstances the notice is one month then nothing is agreed and the default 2 months in those circumstances would apply
sighā¦ by āstandardā I meant common practise. Common practise is not a myth. Itās what people expect.
Well i think you are right that expectations of what will be common practice for new tenancies have clouded peoples views on current tenancies and/or the bit in the guidance that says the 2 months is if nothing already agreed has been overlooked or not well communicated as yet.
Because there will actually have to be something from LLs telling tenants about the changes that ought to get people examining it for their own tenancies and not making assumptions based on a summary in the media.
Anyway if a tenant disputes the notice period then it will get resolved in exactly the same way as currently- either or both sides will advice based on the tenancy agreement wording and the law
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