Renters’ Rights Act: Updates to Alto

Renters’ Rights Act Converter Tool

You can use the Converter Tool to bulk convert relevant tenancies and properties so they are managed in line with Renters’ Rights Act requirements.

The conversion process works in two main stages:

• Converting tenancies and properties to support Assured Periodic Tenancies
• Sending or recording the Information Sheet for tenants, where required

The Converter Tool remains available after the 31st May Information Sheet deadline, so you can continue to review outstanding records, resolve delivery failures, and maintain your audit records.

You can use the Converter Tool to review and update existing tenancies and properties that need to be converted from Assured Shorthold Tenancies to Assured Periodic Tenancies.

Tenancies can also be converted manually by creating a New Periodic Term with a Contract type of Assured Periodic Tenancy. The same tenancy updates will then be applied.

To access the Converter Tool:

1. Click Tools (the cog) on the main navigation bar
2. In the dropdown menu, click RRA Converter Tool

Converting marketed properties

You can use the Properties section to convert properties that are currently being marketed but do not yet have an active or periodic tenancy. 

This updates the property record so any future let is completed as an Assured Periodic Tenancy without requiring additional setup later in the process.

Which properties appear

In the Properties Selection tab, Alto shows existing properties that are available for conversion where they:

• Have a Category of Residential
• Have a postcode in England, or in the borderlands between England and Scotland or Wales
• Do not have an associated tenancy with a status of Active or Periodic
• Can include properties with no tenancy, or a tenancy with a status of Proposed, Renewal in Progress or Vacate in Progress

If a property shown in this list is not relevant for the Renters’ Rights Act, you can use Mark as Ignore to remove it from this section.

You’ll also see Queued and Failed tabs, so you can track records that are waiting to be processed or need attention.

What happens when you convert a property

When you convert a marketed property:

• The property record’s Tenancy type is updated to Assured Periodic Tenancy
• Renters’ Rights Act restrictions are enforced
• Rental Frequency is updated to Monthly if it was previously greater than monthly
• Price Qualifier is updated to per month if the Rental Frequency is updated
• Marketing information is updated to allow Children and Pets, unless you choose otherwise in which case you'll need to record the Reason
• Future lets follow the compliant APT workflow automatically, helping to ensure the property is marketed and managed in line with Renters’ Rights Act requirements

How to convert properties

1. From the Properties Selection tab, use the individual tickboxes, or select the tickbox in the header to select all the properties in the list that you want to convert
2. Click Convert selected
   
3. The property record(s) are automatically updated in line with Renters’ Rights Act requirements

If the Renters’ Rights Act doesn't apply to a property

If a property is listed in the tool but is not relevant for the Renters’ Rights Act:

1. Select the property you want to ignore
2. Click Mark as Ignore
3. The ignored property will move to the Completed / Ignored section for your records
   

Converting tenancies

You can use the Tenancies section of the Converter Tool to update existing tenancies to Assured Periodic Tenancies (APT) in one go, saving significant time compared to updating each record manually. 

This helps ensure your existing tenancies are aligned with Renters’ Rights Act requirements, as fixed-term Assured Shorthold Tenancies are no longer the default structure for relevant tenancies.

Which tenancies appear

In the Tenancies Selection tab, Alto shows tenancies that are available for conversion where they:

• Have a Contract type of Assured Shorthold Tenancy
• Have a status of Active or Periodic
• Do not have a status of Proposed or Renewal in Progress 
• Are associated with a property that has a Category of Residential
• Are associated with a property that has a Postcode in England, or in the borderlands between England and Scotland or Wales
• Are not associated with an archived property

Tenancies with a status of Vacate in Progress are included. When converted, the property will be updated, but a new tenancy term will not be created.

If a tenancy shown in this list is not relevant for the Renters’ Rights Act, you can use Mark as Ignore to remove it from this section.

What happens when you convert a tenancy

When you convert an existing tenancy:

• The existing AST tenancy term is ended the day before the conversion date
• A new Assured Periodic Tenancy term with a Contract type of Assured Periodic Tenancy is created from the conversion date
• Associated recurring rent charges continue without an end date
• Notice to Quit, Renewal and Term End management dates are removed
• A Rent History is generated for the tenancy
• An APT Rent Review management date is added to the tenancy

The tool also automatically updates the associated property in the same way as the Properties conversion section:

• The property record’s Tenancy type is updated to Assured Periodic Tenancy
• If required, Rental Frequency is updated to Monthly
• If required, Price Qualifier is updated to per month
• Marketing information is updated to allow Children and Pets, unless you choose otherwise

If a tenancy has a status of Vacate in Progress, only the associated property will be updated. A new Assured Periodic Tenancy term will not be created.

How to convert tenancies

1. From the Tenancies Selection tab, use the individual tickboxes, or select the tickbox in the header to select all the tenancies in the list that you want to convert
2. Click Convert selected
   
3. The tenancy and property records are automatically updated in line with Renters’ Rights Act requirements. Converted tenancies will then be available in the Information Sheet section, where you can send or record delivery of the Information Sheet, where required.

Some tenancies may require additional review before they can be converted. If so, they’ll appear in the Requires Review tab. From here, you can expand a tenancy row to see more detail about why it requires review, and if you’re happy to continue, you can tick to process the tenancy from this tab.

You’ll also see Queued and Failed tabs, so you can track tenancies that are waiting to be processed or that couldn’t be processed.

You may notice that the number of tenancies shown in the Converter Tool doesn't match totals shown elsewhere in Alto. This is expected, as the tool only displays tenancies that meet the criteria for conversion.

If the Renters’ Rights Act doesn't apply to a tenancy

If a tenancy is listed in the tool but is not relevant for the Renters’ Rights Act:

1. Select the tenancy you want to ignore
2. Click Mark as Ignore
3. The ignored tenancy will move to the Completed / Ignored section for your records

Sending the Information Sheet to tenants

Once tenancies have been converted, you can use the Information Sheet section of the Converter Tool to send the required document to tenants and record how it was delivered.

The 31st May Information Sheet deadline has now passed, but the tool remains available so you can continue to review Information Sheet delivery status, resolve send failures, record Information Sheets served outside of Alto, and export audit records.

The Information Sheet tab shows tenancies that have already been converted to Assured Periodic Tenancies and are ready for you to send or confirm delivery of the document. This includes tenancies that are in the process of vacating, allowing you to complete Information Sheet delivery where required.

You can also use the tabs at the top of the screen to track progress:

• Queued - Information Sheets waiting to be processed and sent
• Send Failures - Emails that could not be delivered successfully

Emailing the Information Sheet

You can email the Information Sheet directly to tenants from within the tool, allowing you to send the document to multiple tenancies in one action while tracking delivery automatically.

To send the Information Sheet:

1. From the Information Sheet tab, use the individual tickboxes, or select the tickbox in the header to select all the tenancies where you want to email the document
2. Click Email Information Sheet
   
3. You’ll be asked to choose an Email Template - one will be available for you to use (RRA Information Sheet [System Added]). Alto will automatically attach the Renters’ Rights Information Sheet 2026
   
4. Click Email Information Sheet and Alto will send the email to every tenant on the tenancy, whether the tenant is a separate contact or a second person on the same contact
5. The tenancies may move to the Queued tab while emails are processed. Once sent, the tenancies will move to the Completed / Ignored section for your records

Alto can confirm whether Information Sheet emails have been delivered and/or opened.

If an email bounces, the tenancy row will move to the Send Failures section, where you can update the email address and try again, or share the Information Sheet in person or by post and then record that in the tool.

If any tenancies are missing valid tenant email addresses, the Information Sheet cannot be sent until those contact records are updated.

Recording delivery by other methods

If you’ve already shared the Information Sheet outside of Alto (for example by post or in person), you can still record this within the tool. To do this:

1. From the Information Sheet tab, use the individual tickboxes, or select the tickbox in the header to select all the relevant tenancies
2. Click Mark as done
   
3. Confirm that the Information Sheet has been shared

The tenancies will then move to the Completed / Ignored section for your records.

Tracking delivery and progress

As you process Information Sheets, Alto automatically separates tenancies into different states so you can clearly track progress:

• Information Sheet - Ready to send or mark as complete
• Queued - Waiting to be sent
• Send Failures - Emails that failed to send
• Completed / Ignored - Successfully processed or manually marked

This allows you to:

• See which tenants have received the document
• Identify and resolve any failed deliveries
• Maintain a clear record of how and when the Information Sheet was shared

The audit remains visible in the Completed section of the tool, and a Timeline entry containing the email tracking is written to the Contact record. This tracking history remains in Alto indefinitely.

Downloading the Information Sheet audit export

From the Completed tab within the Completed / Ignored section, you can click Export records to download a .csv audit of Information Sheets that have been sent or recorded through the RRA Converter Tool.

The export includes one row per tenant and contains key audit information, including:

• Information Sheet sent, delivered and opened timestamps, where available
• The name of the attachment sent, where applicable
• Tenant contact information
• Property details
• Landlord details
• The user who sent or recorded the Information Sheet
• Details of Information Sheets recorded as sent outside of Alto, for example in person, by ad-hoc email or by post

This provides a single downloadable record that you can keep for your own audit purposes. You can also filter the export, for example by landlord, if you need to provide evidence that Information Sheets have been served.

The export can also help you compare Information Sheet delivery records from the RRA Converter Tool against other Alto data exports and reports.

Property record changes

Pre-Appraisal - Support for Assured Periodic Tenancy added

1. Click Properties on the main navigation bar
2. Select the relevant property from Recent & Favourite Properties
   1.  Alternatively, find the property using the Search Properties bar in the top right
3. Click Appraisal on the side menu

A Tenancy type field appears when a property is given a Category of Residential, allowing you to select:

• Assured Periodic Tenancy
• Other (when a property is not applicable for Renters’ Rights Act)

By setting a property to an Assured Periodic Tenancy, the changes and restrictions detailed further in this article apply, reflecting the shift away from fixed-term agreements to tenancies that continue until ended by either party under the new rules.

Properties set to Other are not subject to these Assured Periodic Tenancy changes and can continue to be managed as non-Renters’ Rights Act applicable properties, for example Commercial properties and those outside of England.

Pre-Appraisal - Children and Pets fields default as Acceptable

For properties set to Assured Periodic Tenancy, the Children and Pets fields now default as Acceptable, reflecting the increased emphasis on tenant rights, meaning restrictions must now be justified rather than applied by default.

If you choose to untick Children or Pets, mandatory Reason fields will appear where you must provide justification for this decision. For example, you might state 'Retirement community' as the Reason for Children, or, 'Superior lease' as the Reason for Pets.

Comments entered here are for your records and aren't published to portals.

If these fields aren’t completed, the property cannot be saved and an error message will be displayed.

Pre-Appraisal - Term length field removed

For properties set to Assured Periodic Tenancy:

• The Term length field has been removed

Post-Appraisal - Price qualifiers

1. Click Properties on the main navigation bar
2. Select the relevant property from Recent & Favourite Properties
   1.  Alternatively, find the property using the Search Properties bar in the top right
3. Click Appraisal on the side menu
4. Click the Post-Appraisal top tab

As the legislation aims to prevent rental bidding wars and promote fairness and transparency in the lettings process, the following Price Qualifiers are no longer supported:

• Offers over
• Guide price

For Assured Periodic Tenancy properties, the Price Qualifier is limited to Per week, Per month, Per calendar month or PCM.

Post-Appraisal - Rental frequencies limited to monthly or less

For Assured Periodic Tenancy properties, Rental Frequency options above monthly are restricted.

Instructing a property

The above restrictions, along with the removal of the Term length field, continue through to the Instruct Property window (Actions > Instruct) for an Assured Periodic Tenancy property.

Property - Marketing tab changes

When the property is Instructed and Available, the same restrictions and changes (listed above) also continue to the Property > Marketing tab.

To help you, guidance is displayed within Alto during the property listing stage.

Offers & Tenancy progressions changes

Making an offer changes - No offers over the listing price

You are no longer able to accept an offer above the original listing price, ensuring that all applicants are treated fairly and that properties are let at the advertised price rather than through competitive bidding.

This applies when following the Actions > Make an Offer process via a Property or Contact, or from a Viewing.

This restriction also applies to the Application form (when following the NEW Lettings progressions process), where the rent value is capped at the current marketed price on the property.

If you attempt to enter an offer above the listing price, an error will be displayed.

Tenancy progression changes - Redundant fields removed

The following fields are removed from the progressions screen and the Edit Tenancy > Tenancy Details window, for tenancies with a Contract type of Assured Periodic Tenancy:

• Renewal Date
• Notice Date
• Term Length
• End Date

Assured Periodic Tenancies create an initial periodic term

• The first term for Assured Periodic Tenancies is created with a status of Periodic
• Any automatically generated recurring rent charges have no end date
• Notice to Quit, Renewal and Term End management dates are not generated
• An APT Rent Review management date is generated

Tenancy - Property Marketing changes

1. Click Tenancies on the main navigation bar
2. Select the relevant tenancy from Recent & Favourite Tenancies
   1. Alternatively, find the tenancy using the Search Tenancies bar in the top right
3. Click Tenancy on the side menu
4. Click the Property Marketing top tab

The status of the property listing is logged against the tenancy at the point the offer is accepted, including:

• The list Price
• The Letting Type, for example long term, short term or student
• Whether Children and Pets were Acceptable

NEW Lettings progressions changes

1. Click Progressions on the main navigation bar
2. In the dropdown, click NEW Lettings progressions

The NEW Lettings progressions process is only available on properties with a Tenancy type of Assured Periodic Tenancy, and will create tenancies with a Contract type of Assured Periodic Tenancy.

Any progressions mid-progress remain accessible and can still be progressed.

Accepting/rejecting applications - Rejection reasons for unsuccessful applications

You are now prompted to provide reasons for:

• Accepting applications
• Rejecting applications

When you accept an application:

• Rejection reasons are automatically populated for all other applications based on the successful application’s reasons
• You can click Edit rejection reasons to manually edit the rejection reasons if you want to provide more specific information

Sharing additional documents - Certificates can be shared alongside the tenancy agreement

When following the NEW Lettings progressions process, you'll soon be able to share additional documents such as certificates, alongside the tenancy agreement.

By uploading and selecting the relevant certificates/documents, they can be emailed to the tenants.

Tenancy & Progressions changes (Property Management)

Tenancy - Tenancy tab changes - Rent Review button and window

1. Click Tenancies on the main navigation bar
2. Select the relevant tenancy from Recent & Favourite Tenancies
   1. Alternatively, find the tenancy using the Search Tenancies bar in the top right
3. Click Tenancy on the side menu
4. Click the Tenancy top tab

A Rent Review button is available for Assured Periodic Tenancies.

This replaces the Renew Tenancy button, which remains available only for non-APT tenancies.

Under the Renters’ Rights Act, rent increases are more tightly controlled to provide tenants with greater stability and predictability, meaning you’re now only allowed to increase rent:

• Every 12 months
• Using a Section 13 notice
• With at least 2 months’ notice before the rent increase takes effect

If you click the Rent Review button, the Rent Review window opens:

• Rent rise history is auto-generated for all APT tenancies, whether the tenancy is converted via the Converter Tool, or manually, by creating a new term with a Contract type of Assured Periodic Tenancy
• The system management date on APTs is set for 12 months after the latest rent rise

Rent Review progression

The Rent Review progression helps you work in line with Section 13 rent increase requirements.

It does this by:

• Showing backfilled historical rent rises
  • History displays every time the rent has been updated for the tenancy
  • If the tenancy has recurring rent charges, they are the source of truth for rent prices
  • Otherwise, the rent stored on the tenancy term is used
• Calculating the eligible next Rent Notice Served Date based on the APT Rent Review date
• Validating that the proposed effective date is at least 2 months after the rent notice served date
• Allowing you to upload supporting documents so you can record your market appraisal
• Providing a system management Event Date for rent rises - APT Rent Review
  • It's set to 12 months from the last time the rent increased in the rent history. You are notified of the date 90 days before the 12 month timer has elapsed. (You can adjust this via Group Settings > Management Diary Events)
    
• Providing a default set of milestones designed around the Section 13 process
• Displaying a confirmation window if you attempt to increase the value of a rent charge manually, and collecting confirmation that you are allowed to do so
  • The confirmation is logged to the Timeline with the user who made the change
    
• Restricting the New Periodic Term functionality so it cannot be used for rent increases
• Updating the APT Rent Review date whenever the rent is updated, either through the Rent Review process or by updating the recurring rent charge

You can undertake a Rent Review at any stage. Alto provides the relevant dates and information, but does not prevent you from proceeding outside the APT Rent Review date.

You can view all Rent Review progressions in a lettings progressions group.

1. Click Progressions on the main navigation bar
2. In the dropdown, click Lettings progressions
3. In the Lettings section, click Rent Review

Tenancy - Tenancy tab changes - New Start Vacate options

1. Click Tenancies on the main navigation bar
2. Select the relevant tenancy from Recent & Favourite Tenancies
   1. Alternatively, find the tenancy using the Search Tenancies bar in the top right
3. Click Tenancy on the side menu
4. Click the Tenancy top tab
5. Click Vacate Property

New Section 8 progression on APT tenancies

Soon, when you select Vacate Property, you'll be presented with a window where you can choose who is initiating the vacate:

• Agent/Landlord (Possession)
• Tenant (Notice to Quit)
• Mutual surrender

Agent/Landlord (Possession) - Section 8 progression

Selecting this option will start a Possession progression, reflecting the removal of Section 21 and the requirement for possession to follow defined legal grounds under Section 8 with appropriate notice periods and supporting evidence.

• You can select the ground(s) used to enforce possession. Each ground has its own notice period requirement 
• The Target Vacate date is validated against the Notice Served Date to ensure the correct notice period is enforced. Where multiple grounds are selected, the longest notice period is used
• You can upload supporting evidence and documents
• New Property Possession milestones are available to manage the process
• You can capture key information such as the Hearing date, as well as add Notes

The Property Possession progression will remain permanently accessible for historical records, even after the vacate is completed.

You can view all Property Possessions in a lettings progressions group.

Tenant (Notice to Quit) and Mutual Surrender

Selecting either Tenant (Notice to Quit) or Mutual surrender will launch an updated Vacate Property window that allows you to upload supporting documents.

For Notice to Quit, the Target Vacate Date is automatically set to 2 months from the current date.

Finalised progressions

All finalised progressions are now available to view via the Tenancy top tab.

Rent Reviews and Section 8 Possessions are read-only to preserve the audit history of those progressions.