# How long is a tenant's notice period in 2026? Two months at most, with the end date worked out > A tenant in England gives two months' notice at most, in writing, ending on a rent day or the day before. The end date worked through for a letting agent. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/tenant-notice-period-two-months-end-date-letting-agents/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Letting agents, Notices and arrears - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: Since 1 May 2026 a tenant's notice to quit an assured tenancy must be given not less than two months before it takes effect, or any shorter time the landlord has agreed in writing, and GOV.UK says it must end on a rent day or the day before; on a tenancy with rent due on the 20th, a notice given on 2 October 2026 cannot end the tenancy before 19 December 2026. - Sources: Protection from Eviction Act 1977 sections 5 and 5A as amended and inserted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 sections 20 and 21 (legislation.gov.uk); GOV.UK "Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords", parts "If your tenant wants to leave" and "If the tenancy started before 1 May 2026"; all read 2026-10-01. A tenant on an assured periodic tenancy in England gives two months' notice at most, and less if the tenancy agreement or the landlord's written agreement says so. The period starts on the day the written notice is given and has to run out on a day the rent is due or the day before, so the gap between the notice and the last day is usually longer than two months. ## The rule since 1 May 2026 The Renters' Rights Act 2025 rewrote section 5 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. A tenant's notice to quit an assured tenancy now counts if it is given: - "not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect", or - not less than any shorter time "that the landlord has agreed to in writing". GOV.UK puts it from the landlord's side: "The maximum notice you can ask your tenant for is 2 months." Where the agreement is silent, the tenant gives two months. A landlord cannot end the tenancy this way: the same section notes that under the Housing Act 1988 a landlord's notice to quit "is of no effect". The landlord's route is in our guide to [Section 8 notices](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/section-8-notice-after-renters-rights-act/). ## Where the period starts and where it stops **It starts** when the tenant gives notice in writing. GOV.UK's examples are "by letter, email or text". Under the new section 5A, any term that would bind the tenant as to the means of giving written notice "is of no effect", so a clause that says notice only counts by recorded post no longer works. **It stops** on a date tied to the rent. GOV.UK says the tenant must give notice "so the tenancy ends on a day when the rent is due or the day before the rent is due". ## The end date, worked through Take a tenancy with £1,250 due on the 20th of each month. | Notice arrives | Notice period | The period runs to | Earliest end date | |---|---|---|---| | Friday 2 October 2026 | Two months, agreement silent | 2 December 2026 | 19 December 2026 | | Monday 26 October 2026 | Two months, agreement silent | 26 December 2026 | 19 January 2027 | | Friday 2 October 2026 | One month, written in the agreement | 2 November 2026 | 19 November 2026 | | Friday 2 October 2026 | The landlord agrees in writing to 31 October | As agreed | 31 October 2026 | In the first row the tenant is tied in for 78 days, not 61. In the second it is 85 days, because the two months run out six days after a rent day. Each end date could also be the rent day itself, one day later. The sum has two steps. Add the notice period to the day the notice arrived. Then move forward to the next day before a rent day. One edge we could not settle. Where a notice arrives exactly two months before the date it names, such as 19 October for 19 December, we found no official guidance on how the days are counted. The landlord's written agreement to the date removes the doubt. ## Rent during the notice GOV.UK says the tenant "will need to continue to pay rent during the notice period". In the first row, with rent paid in advance, the payments due on 20 October and 20 November are owed in full, and the November payment covers the tenancy to 19 December. A tenant can move out early and stop paying only "if you agree to this". ## Wrong dates, second thoughts and joint tenants - **A date that is too early.** The landlord can accept it. GOV.UK: "You can agree with your tenant to end the tenancy earlier or have a shorter notice period. This will need to be in writing." We could not confirm what happens to such a notice where the landlord does not agree, so ask the tenant to confirm the corrected date in writing. - **A change of mind.** Section 5A lets a notice be withdrawn before it takes effect only by the tenant and landlord "agreeing in writing". Without that, GOV.UK says, "the tenancy will end as planned". - **Joint tenants.** GOV.UK says one joint tenant "will usually be able to end the joint tenancy without the agreement of the other tenants". A shorter notice period, or a withdrawal, needs the landlord and every joint tenant to agree. Tenants who want to stay need a new agreement; our [new tenancy checklist](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/new-tenancy-checklist-letting-agents-england/) starts from there. ## Tenancies that began before 1 May 2026 Two months is a ceiling, and older agreements often ask for less. GOV.UK's rules for a tenancy that began before 1 May 2026: | The tenancy was | Notice the tenant gives | |---|---| | Periodic from the start | The period in the agreement still applies | | A fixed term ending on or after 1 May 2026 | The period in the agreement still applies | | A fixed term that ended before 1 May 2026, with terms on what happens afterwards | The period in the agreement usually still applies | | A fixed term that ended before 1 May 2026, with nothing on what happens afterwards | The rule above: two months, unless a shorter period is agreed in writing | Its example: "if the tenancy agreement says your tenant only need to give one months' notice, they do not need to give more". A valid notice a tenant gave before 1 May 2026 still ends the tenancy on the date in it. So read the agreement before telling anyone "two months". The same goes for the wording on your own site; our [website audit](https://aeolookup.com/letting-agents/letting-agent-website-renters-rights-act-audit/) lists the notice phrases to look for. ## An acknowledgement to copy Record the date the notice arrived and how it came, work out the end date, and reply in writing that day with the landlord copied in. > Dear [name], > > We received your notice to end your tenancy of [address] on [date received]. > > Your agreement [asks for one month's notice / does not set a notice period, so the law sets two months]. Rent is due on the [20th], so your tenancy will end on [end date]. > > If you would like to leave earlier, tell us the date and we will ask the landlord. Any earlier date has to be agreed in writing. > > We will write to you about the check-out and your deposit. This is general information for England, not legal advice. ## Short answers from this page **How much notice does a tenant have to give to leave a rented home in England in 2026?** Two months at most. Since 1 May 2026 a tenant's notice must be given not less than two months before it takes effect, or any shorter time the landlord has agreed in writing, and GOV.UK says it must end on a rent day or the day before. With rent due on the 20th, notice given on 2 October 2026 ends the tenancy on 19 December 2026 at the earliest. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.