From 1 May 2026, landlords in England must give tenants prescribed written information about key tenancy terms in specified circumstances. This is not the same as saying every tenancy agreement must be a written contract. An assured periodic tenancy can still be agreed orally, but the required key information must also be supplied in writing.
The correct document and deadline depend on when the tenancy was created and whether its terms were already recorded in writing.
The three tenancy situations
The current GOV.UK guidance separates tenancies into three practical groups:
| Tenancy position | What the landlord must provide | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| New tenancy created on or after 1 May 2026 | Prescribed written information about key terms | Before signing or otherwise agreeing the tenancy |
| Tenancy created before 1 May 2026 with wholly or partly written terms | Exact Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 | 31 May 2026 |
| Tenancy created before 1 May 2026 and agreed wholly orally | Prescribed written information about key terms | 31 May 2026 |
This distinction matters. Giving the Information Sheet does not replace the written-information duty for a new or wholly oral tenancy. Equally, a landlord did not need to replace an existing pre-May written agreement merely because the tenancy became periodic.
New tenancies from 1 May 2026
For a tenancy created on or after 1 May 2026, the landlord must give the prescribed information before either:
- the landlord and tenant sign a tenancy agreement; or
- they otherwise agree the tenancy, including an oral agreement.
The information can be included in a written tenancy agreement or supplied in a separate written document. A landlord who uses a separate document should ensure it is delivered before the tenancy is agreed, not afterwards as part of a move-in pack.
The complete list of required information is maintained in the official government landlord guidance and its linked final PDF. Using that current list is safer than relying on an old tenancy template or a summary copied before the final requirements were published.
The written information covers the key facts and terms government requires the tenant to receive. It does not prevent a landlord and tenant from agreeing other lawful terms. Any additional clauses must remain consistent with the assured periodic tenancy system and other current rental rules.
Existing written tenancies before 1 May 2026
A tenancy created before 1 May 2026 did not require a replacement agreement where its terms were already wholly or partly recorded in writing. The tenancy moved into the assured periodic system automatically, and any fixed end date ceased to operate.
Instead of reissuing the agreement, the landlord or letting agent had to give every tenant named on the agreement the exact Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026. The sheet explains how the law changed the existing tenancy.
The valid delivery methods were:
- a printed copy posted or handed to the tenant; or
- the government PDF sent as an attachment, for example by email or text message.
A link alone did not satisfy the Information Sheet delivery instructions. Our separate guide explains who had to receive the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet, including the narrow later transitional case involving pre-May possession notices.
Existing wholly oral tenancies
Where a tenancy created before 1 May 2026 was based entirely on an oral agreement, the Information Sheet was not the correct substitute. The landlord had to give the prescribed written information about the tenancy's key terms by 31 May 2026.
The tenancy itself did not become invalid merely because it began orally. The compliance requirement was to put the specified key information into writing and supply it by the deadline.
A landlord reviewing an older oral tenancy should therefore distinguish between:
- evidence about what the parties originally agreed; and
- the prescribed written information that the law required the landlord to provide.
Those are related records, but they are not necessarily the same document.
Assured periodic tenancies do not have a fixed end date
The Renters' Rights Act changes that began on 1 May 2026 moved existing assured and assured shorthold tenancies into the assured periodic system. A new assured periodic tenancy cannot be created with an operative fixed end date. It runs on a rolling basis, such as weekly or monthly.
This does not mean an existing written agreement has to be discarded. Its continuing lawful terms can still record the agreement, while a term that conflicts with the new statutory system cannot override the law.
The tenancy continues until the tenant ends it correctly, both parties agree to end it, or the landlord obtains possession through the lawful process. A date written into an old agreement is no longer, by itself, the date on which the tenant must leave.
Changing tenancy terms
Current GOV.UK guidance states that both landlord and tenant must agree to changes to the tenancy agreement. A landlord should not treat the written-information duty as authority to rewrite agreed commercial terms unilaterally.
Where an agreed change affects information that was previously supplied, the updated record should clearly identify what changed and when the parties agreed it. Separate rules govern matters such as statutory rent increases and possession notices; rewriting a tenancy clause does not replace those procedures.
Enforcement and financial penalty
A tenant can report a failure to provide required written information to the local council. Current GOV.UK guidance states that the landlord or another responsible person can receive a financial penalty of up to £7,000.
The current guidance does not state that this breach, by itself, carries an automatic £30,000 penalty or creates a Rent Repayment Order. Those sanctions should not be presented as consequences of the written-information duty without a separate applicable offence and current source.
A practical document check
For each tenancy, a clear record can answer:
- Was it created before or after 1 May 2026?
- Were the original terms written, partly written or wholly oral?
- Which government document or prescribed information applied?
- Was it supplied before agreement or by the relevant transition deadline?
- Which tenants received it and by what method?
- Have both parties agreed any later changes?
This record helps identify the applicable route, but the content itself should be checked against the latest GOV.UK document. The wider tenancy framework is summarised in our Renters' Rights Act 2025 guide.
This is general information for England, not legal advice; check current GOV.UK guidance or obtain advice for a specific case.