When the Renters Rights Act 2025 lands on 1 May this year in England, your tenants gain a right they've never had. They can walk out of their tenancy at any time, from day one, with just two months' notice (Landlord Law Blog, 23 March 2026). No break clause needed. No fixed term lock-in. For landlords managing multiple properties, this reshapes your void risk and cash flow forecasting. But there's a problem buried in the legislation that neither government nor courts have resolved yet.

The question sounds simple: if a tenant serves notice today, when does the tenancy actually end? The answer is anything but.

The Law Says "Two Months", But Two Months From What?

The Renters Rights Act 2025 adds a new rule to the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Notice must be "not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect." Clear enough, right?

Wrong. "The date on which the notice is to take effect" is where things fall apart.

Here's the practical fork in the road.

Option 1: Rent Day Calculation The traditional common law approach says a Notice to Quit (formal written notice ending a tenancy) must expire on the final day of a tenancy period. Most landlord practice favours this method. If your tenant pays rent on the 1st, the 15th, or on a Friday, the notice must end on one of those dates. Apportionment (splitting rent proportionally for a partial period) applies if it doesn't align.

Option 2: Government Guidance The UK government (via informal guidance, not binding law) recommends that notices expire "on a day when the rent is due or the day before". This is essentially Option 1 dressed up for the civil service.

Option 3: Simple Two-Month Method Count two months forward from the date of service. If it falls mid-month, calculate apportionment and move on. No special calculation required.

Why This Matters to Your Yield

Under the old fixed-term model, this question barely mattered. Your tenants were locked in. But from May onwards, this becomes the difference between a predictable turnaround and a legal dispute.

Imagine a tenant in a monthly tenancy (rent due the 1st) serves notice on 10 February. Under Option 1, the notice can't take effect until 10 April at the earliest - but needs to end on a rent day, so 1 May. Under Option 3, it's simply 10 April. That's roughly three weeks' difference in your void period and your ability to re-let.

Now multiply that across 10 properties. One interpretation keeps your portfolio aligned. The other creates chaos.

Worse: if a tenant serves invalid notice (under one framework), can you ignore it? Can they serve again? Will you end up in tribunal defending a notice you thought was solid?

What Happens Now?

The legislation is clear that two months' notice is required. But the legislation is silent on which calculation method is correct. No statutory guidance has landed from government. No court has yet ruled on what "the date on which the notice is to take effect" actually means in practice.

This is classic legal ambiguity - and someone's going to litigate it.

Until that happens, you have three choices. You might use the rent-day method (safest, closest to established practice). Alternatively, consider the government's preferred language (government backing, but not law). Or pick the simplest method, though tenants may later challenge it.

What to Do Before 1 May

Consider inserting an explicit notice expiry calculation into every new tenancy agreement signed from now on. You may wish to get all joint tenants to sign off on this. It won't guarantee you'll never see a tribunal. But it shifts the burden: if your tenant signed the agreement, they can't easily argue a different method applies.

For existing tenancies, you might consider sending a notice variation or side letter. Making it bilateral (you propose the method, they agree) is lower-friction than a full variation and creates clear evidence.

If you manage a large portfolio, speaking to your lettings lawyer before May is worth considering. This isn't an emergency, but May is coming fast.