Rolling agreement

This is called a Periodic Tenancy.

Am I to understand you have been drawing up a completely new contract every 6 months? There is no longer any need for this, since by default an Assured Shorthold Tenancy automatically converts to a Periodic Tenancy once the initial period has expired.

There is a statutory minimum notice period. The landlord has to give at least 2 months' notice to the tenant (ending the day before a rent day, so it could be up to 3 months), even if the lease says otherwise. The lease can allow the tenant to give 1 month's notice if you're happy with that.

None whatsoever. The only reason for going for a new full six month renewal each time is if you want to. There is an operational advantage to landlords to do this, because, in theory at least, that gives them a "safe" income for the next 6 months, so that if the tenants want to leave earlier they still have to pay the rent (or find suitable replacements for themselves at their expense). Of course in practice they can just scarper leaving no forwarding address.

There has always been one contract in place and this has as you describe it has become a Periodic Tenancy. I was concerned because no further contacts have been signed and I didn't research the legalities when the property was let.

I thought there might be an expiry date to how long a Periodic Tenancy lasts for.

I got the strange idea thinking how squatters move into a place and become rightful owners and similar situation could arise, if I didn't re-draw the agreements.

Ronald, Thank you for your valued comments

Where did you acquire the wording for your contract? Did you make it up from nothing? Or did you get a "proper" one off the shelf from legal stationers, or maybe just copy someone else's?

It just lasts "forever", until one of the parties wants it to stop.

There can be no question of tenants acquiring "squatters' rights" given that they are there with your permission, and they re-acknowledge that they are there with your permission each time they pay you rent.

In practice you shouldn't have anything to worry about, especially if, as you say, the suggestion came from your tenants.

One thing that might be worth doing, instead of drawing up a new contract, is simply to write down a "minute of agreement", in which landlord and tenants confirm that a tenancy has been in place since dd/mm/yy and that it remains in force with all T&Cs unchanged except that (1) blah blah blah is amended to rhubarb rhubarb and (2) the agreed rent is reviewed and from dd/mm/yy shall be £xxxpm.

Get everyone to sign and then everyone will know where they stand.

If your existing agreement doesn't say enough about months notice by either side, or about becoming periodic, you may prefer just making a new one. If it follows an existing AST with the same tenants, the new AST need not be for a minimum of 6 months, only for the minimum 2 months notice period.

As long as you are demanding rent, you are asserting your ownership of the place, so squatters rights will not apply.