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If you are letting your home for a while and plan to move back in, the rules changed on 1 May 2026 and the old assumption no longer works. You cannot agree a fixed twelve month tenancy and expect the keys back at the end of it. You cannot ask for the property back at all until your tenant has been there twelve months, and you then have to give four months’ notice. Meanwhile your lender’s permission to let runs on a completely separate timetable. Lining those two clocks up before the tenant moves in is the whole job.
Why does letting your home temporarily work differently now?
The Renters’ Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026. It abolished assured shorthold tenancies in England, converted every existing one into an assured periodic tenancy, and removed the ability to grant a tenancy with a fixed end date. That was aimed at giving tenants more security, and it does. The side effect is that the standard arrangement people used for a temporary let, a twelve month fixed term with the property handed back at the end, no longer exists.
What happened to assured shorthold tenancies and fixed terms?
Government guidance is blunt about it. You cannot create an assured shorthold tenancy, and you cannot create an assured tenancy with an end date. Every tenancy now runs on a periodic basis until either the tenant ends it or the landlord uses one of the legal grounds for possession. There is no natural expiry to plan around.
The Renters’ Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026 and abolished fixed term assured shorthold tenancies.
You cannot use the ground for moving back into your own home until the tenant has been there twelve months.
Four months’ notice is required before applying to court on that ground.
Your lender’s permission to let runs on its own separate timetable, which may not line up with the tenancy rules.
Some lenders block a rate switch while the property is let, which can leave you on a reversion rate.
How do I get my own home back when I want to move in?
There is a specific ground for a landlord or a close family member moving into the property. Using it means serving notice and, if the tenant does not leave, applying to court. The two constraints that catch people out are the notice period and the protected period at the start of the tenancy.
How much notice do I have to give, and when can I give it?
Four months’ notice is required before you can apply to court on that ground. Notice can be served earlier than the twelve month point, but the date in the notice has to fall after the tenant has been in the property for twelve months. In practice that means the earliest realistic date you can get your own home back is around the twelve month mark, and only if you have planned the notice properly rather than starting to think about it at month eleven.
What does the twelve month protected period mean in practice?
It means a six month secondment is now awkward. If you let your home and your posting ends after eight months, the ground for moving back in is not available to you yet. Your options at that point are asking the tenant whether they would agree to leave, which they are under no obligation to do, or finding somewhere else to live until the ground becomes available and the notice period has run. Neither is a disaster, but both are a great deal easier to handle if you knew about them before you signed anything.
Does your lender’s consent period match the tenancy rules?
No, and this is the part almost nobody joins up. Permission to let is granted by your lender on its own terms, and those terms were not written with the Renters’ Rights Act in mind. Some lenders grant permission for a defined window, one large lender allows temporary letting for up to 27 months. Others grant it open-endedly until you tell them you have stopped letting, and add a margin to your interest rate for the period the property is let.
The trap is that the two timetables are set by completely different rules. Your lender may be happy for you to let for two years. The law may prevent you getting the property back inside the first year. Or your lender’s permission may expire while a tenant is still perfectly lawfully in place. Read both sets of terms together, not separately.
What if you decide to sell instead of moving back in?
There is a separate ground for selling, and it carries the same four months’ notice and the same twelve month protected period. So the answer is the same: selling with vacant possession is not something you can arrange quickly. If a sale is even a possibility, factor that timing in at the start.
Speak to an expert
Letting your home for a while and not sure how the timings work? Call me on 01425 203055 or email info@htgmortgages.com. Working out where you stand costs nothing.
What should you sort out before the tenant moves in, not after?
Four things, in this order. Get your lender’s written permission before anyone moves in, not afterwards. Read what that permission stops you doing, because some lenders block you from switching to a new rate, adding borrowing or changing the term while the property is let, which can leave you sitting on a reversion rate when your fix ends. Work backwards from the date you actually want to move back in and check the notice timings against it. And tell your insurer, because a residential policy on a let property is usually not valid.
Is this a consumer buy to let?
Often, yes. Letting a home you used to live in is the classic case that falls inside consumer buy to let, which is the FCA regulated corner of buy to let. That changes which lenders will look at it and what protections apply. It is worth knowing which side of the line you are on before you start.
Where to get this checked
I am a mortgage broker in Winchester and this is a case type I see regularly. If the arrangement turns out to be permanent rather than temporary, the buy to let remortgage route is usually the next conversation, and there is more detail on the mechanics in my guide to how a buy to let remortgage works. I charge a flat £350, payable only once your mortgage offer is issued, and here is how that compares with percentage broker fees. Information correct as at August 2026. This is general information, not advice on your own situation, and the right answer depends on your circumstances.
If your home is shared ownership, the rules are different again and usually stricter; see can you rent out a shared ownership property.
One route I have not covered here is nightly letting: if Airbnb is the plan, the mortgage rules are different again, covered in my Airbnb mortgage guide.
Need Personal Mortgage Advice?
Every buyer’s situation is different. While this guide explains the general rules, the right mortgage for you depends on your income, deposit, credit history and future plans. If you’d like tailored advice, I’m here to help, with whole-of-market coverage.
