Do Landlords Need New Tenancy Agreements After the Renters’ Rights Act?
England · private residential tenancies
Source checked: 9 September 2026

Landlords do not need to replace every existing written tenancy agreement simply because the Renters’ Rights Act took effect. Most affected tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, with the law overriding incompatible terms. Keep the original agreement, meet the appropriate information duty and check transitional exceptions before changing records or asking tenants to sign anything.

ACTION CHECKLIST
- Preserve signed agreements and all later variations.
- Identify written, verbal, new and transitional tenancies.
- Check the correct information duty for each group.
- Stop renewal messages based only on a historic end date.
- Review rent-increase and tenant-notice workflows.
- Check guarantees and related documents separately.
- Record actual dates and avoid backdating.
- Keep an exception list for missing handover evidence.


Read the full guide: https://help4landlords.co.uk/guides/existing-tenancy-agreements-renters-rights-act/

Official sources:
Information Sheet and existing agreements: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-renters-rights-act-information-sheet-2026
Written tenancy information for landlords: https://www.gov.uk/assured-tenancy-agreements-a-guide-for-landlords/written-information-you-need-to-give-to-your-tenant

General information, not tailored advice. Verify current requirements before acting.