Renters’ Rights Act: FAQs and troubleshooting guidance

Renters’ Rights Act Converter Tool questions

Why are some of my tenancies missing from the Converter Tool?

The first thing to check is both the Properties and Tenancies sections within the RRA Converter Tool.

The Properties section displays properties without an active, periodic, or vacate-in-progress tenancy (including renewal-in-progress tenancies).

The Tenancies section displays active, periodic, or vacating tenancies.

To ensure all applicable records are converted, review and process both sections.

Secondly, you should also review the Requires Review tab within the Tenancies section. 

Tenancies appear here when:

• the tenant currently pays quarterly or yearly
• the property is currently on the market

These tenancies can still be converted, but may require additional review before proceeding.

For quarterly or yearly payment frequencies, you may wish to:

• record tenant consent
• update the payment frequency manually on the tenancy record
• review any associated charges

If the property is currently being marketed, you may wish to review the property listing as it may still be live on property portals.

Thirdly, the converter only displays tenancies where:

• the property category is set to Residential
• the property is located in England, or has a postcode that straddles the border with Scotland or Wales
• the tenancy is Active, Periodic, or Vacate in Progress

The converter doesn’t display:

• vacated tenancies
• renewal in progress tenancies
• properties categorised as Commercial
• properties outside England, unless the postcode straddles the border with Scotland or Wales

Renewal in progress tenancies aren’t displayed because they are currently in the middle of a tenancy change.

If the tenancy is being renewed to increase the rent, you should either:

• create a new periodic term instead, or
• convert the tenancy to an Assured Periodic Tenancy first and then create a Rent Review

If a tenancy still doesn’t appear after checking the above, you can contact our support team by clicking Contact support below and completing the contact form, providing them with the property address and tenancy details.

Do I need to convert properties as well as tenancies?

Yes, we recommend reviewing and converting both where applicable.

When you convert a tenancy, Alto also updates the associated property.

The Properties section of the RRA Converter Tool includes properties that don’t currently have an Active, Periodic, or Vacate in Progress tenancy linked to them. This may include properties that are:

• vacated
• no longer on the books
• currently on the market with no active tenancy

We recommend reviewing and converting these properties where appropriate, especially if they are currently being marketed.

Converting the property helps ensure it follows the updated listing rules and validation introduced for the Renters’ Rights Act.

Can I manually convert a property to Assured Periodic Tenancy?

Yes. You can manually update a property by changing the Tenancy type field to Assured Periodic Tenancy.

When you save the property, Alto applies the updated validation rules. You may need to resolve validation messages before the property can be saved.

For example, you may need to review:

• the Marketing information as to whether Children or Pets are marked as not being Acceptable without a reason being entered
  
• if the Rental Frequency is greater than Monthly
  
• Price Qualifiers that are no longer allowed, such as Guide price or Offers over
  

Can I manually convert a tenancy to Assured Periodic Tenancy?

Yes. You can manually convert a tenancy by creating a New Periodic Term and setting the Contract type to Assured Periodic Tenancy. To do this:

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 New Periodic Term
6. Set the required term details, i.e. the required Start Date
7. Update the Contract field to Assured Periodic Tenancy
8. Click New Periodic Term

This updates the available progressions on the tenancy and moves the tenancy to the Information Sheet stage of the RRA Converter Tool.

Converted tenancy questions

If I have converted a property incorrectly, can I undo this?

Yes. You can move a tenancy back to a non-APT type by creating a New Periodic Term and selecting the required non-APT Contract type - for example, Assured Shorthold Tenancy or Company Let. 

To move a tenancy back to a non-APT tenancy type:

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 New Periodic Term
6. Set the required Start Date
7. Update the Contract field to the required non-APT tenancy type (for example, Assured Shorthold Tenancy or Company Let)
8. Click New Periodic Term

This will reset the tenancy back to the non-APT type.

If the tenancy should be on a fixed term, once you've moved it to a non-APT periodic term, you can then click Renew Tenancy to create a new fixed term.

Why have my term dates changed after converting my tenancies?

When AST tenancies are converted using the RRA Converter Tool, Alto closes the latest tenancy term and creates a new APT tenancy term.

The new APT term starts:

• on 1st May 2026, if the tenancy was converted before 1st May 2026
• on the day of conversion, if the tenancy was converted after 1st May 2026
• the day after a future dated term begins, where a future term already existed

This ensures future tenancy changes are preserved correctly.

Your:

• rent payment dates
• charge dates
• active charges
• rent history

remain aligned with the previously used term dates.

Why have my terms been set to 1st May 2026, and does this affect my charges?

Tenancies converted before 1st May 2026 have the new APT term set to start on 1st May 2026, when the Renters’ Rights Act changes came into effect.

This doesn’t change the tenant’s rent payment date.

For example, if the tenant previously paid rent on the 20th of each month, the rent payment date remains the 20th.

Any active charges are copied over from the previous term unchanged.

Why doesn’t the APT term start on 1st May 2026?

If the tenancy was converted after 1st May 2026, the new APT term starts on the day the tenancy was converted.

This avoids complications from editing historic tenancy terms and has no impact on the tenancy's functionality or your legal compliance.

Why does the APT term start one day later than I expected?

This happens when a tenancy already has a future dated term.

For example, if a future term was created to record a rent increase, Alto sets the new APT term to begin one day after that future term starts.

This preserves the future dated term and the changes already recorded against it.

The rent charges are carried over in the same way as other converted tenancies, with the charge dates kept intact.

Can I realign the APT term dates?

Yes, but this needs to be done manually per tenancy.

To realign the term dates, create a new periodic term with the required dates.

For example, if the tenancy term currently starts on 1st May 2026, the payment date is the 15th of the month, and you want the new period to start on the 20th of the month, you could create a new periodic term using:

• Start Date: 20th June 2026
• First Full Rent Date: 15th July 2026
• Next Review Date: the same date currently recorded, unless this also needs changing

Alto may display a warning if the next review date is earlier than 12 months after the last rent increase.

Information Sheet questions

Why are Information Sheets failing to send?

Information Sheet failures are usually caused by the contacts email address being unable to receive mail.

In the Information Sheet section, within the Send Failures tab, failures may display as:

• Dropped - the email address could not accept the email
• Bounced - the receiving mailbox rejected the message

This may happen because:

• the email address was entered incorrectly
• the mailbox is full or unavailable

Emails that fail due to internal delivery issues are automatically retried by Alto.

If you need to update an email address, update it directly from the Information Sheet > Send Failures tab to preserve the email audit trail.

How can I track who has received the Information Sheet?

The Completed / Ignored section displays all successfully completed tenancies.

This section is split into:

• Completed - converted tenancies where the Information Sheet has been served
• Ignored - tenancies you have intentionally excluded from conversion

You can also filter the Completed list by how you served the Information Sheet using the Information Sheet Filters on the left hand side menu.

You also have the option to 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.

Can I move tenancies back to the Information Sheet stage after they’ve been completed?

Tenancies can’t be moved back to the Information Sheet stage by the user once they are in the Completed section.

If you need tenancies moved back to the Information Sheet stage, you can contact our support team by clicking Contact support below and completing the contact form.

When contacting support, include the following in the contact form:

• the agency name
• the relevant property or tenancy details
• how many tenancies you expect to be moved
• any specific filtering requirements, for example whether the Information Sheets were emailed, posted, or marked as served in person

Can I send the Information Sheet on behalf of both the agency and landlord?

If you need the Information Sheet email to make clear that it is being sent on behalf of both the agency and landlord, we recommend creating your own email template using the example template in the RRA Converter Tool as a starting point.

Your template should clearly state that the Information Sheet is being served on behalf of the agency and the landlord.

You may also want to include both the agency and landlord names in the email footer, using the available merge codes.

You can then select this template when sending the Information Sheet through the RRA Converter Tool.

If you have already sent Information Sheets and need to send them again, contact our support team by clicking Contact support below and completing the contact form.

Rent Review (section 13) questions

How is the APT Rent Review date calculated?

For converted periodic tenancies:

The review date is set to 12 months after the most recent rent increase, based on the tenancy's charge history. If no charge history is available, Alto falls back to the rent recorded on the tenancy terms.

For converted active fixed-term tenancies:

The review date is set to the later of: 12 months after the most recent rent increase, or the renewal date recorded on the active term.

How can I update the APT Rent Review date?

You can update the APT Rent Review date from the tenancy record, or via the Event Dates widget on the Property Management Dashboard.

To do this from the tenancy record:

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 Dates on the side menu
4. Find the APT Rent Review date, select it, and update the Due Date as required
   
5. Click Update

To update the date from the Event Dates widget on the Property Management Dashboard, click the relevant due date entry.

How do I remove the APT Rent Review date on let only tenancies?

You can control whether an APT Rent Review date is created for a tenancy using the Create APT Rent Review Date setting on the tenancy record.

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 Details top tab

This setting defaults to:

• enabled (ticked) for Managed properties
• disabled (unticked) for non-managed properties

If you don’t want an APT Rent Review date for a specific tenancy, open the tenancy record and untick Create APT Rent Review Date.

What should I do if I’ve set the wrong date on a Rent Review?

Once a Rent Review progression has been finalised, the date can’t currently be amended directly.

You may also see an error if you try to finalise a Rent Review, or create a new periodic term, with a start date earlier than an existing term’s start date.

If you’ve finalised a Rent Review with the wrong date, before making further changes to the tenancy, contact our support team by clicking Contact support below and completing the contact form.

What should I do if a rent increase is due in less than two months?

Under the Renters’ Rights Act, the Proposed Effective Date must be at least two months after the Rent Notice Served Date. 

However, the Rent Notice Served Date can be set to any date, regardless of the Next Calculated Rent Notice Serve Date (Section 13) we recommend in the Rent Review progression.

If a rent increase was agreed before the Renters’ Rights Act changes took effect, and needs recording within Alto (for example, an increase effective 10th May after notice was served on 10th April), we recommend you:

1. Start a new Rent Review progression
2. Set the Rent Notice Served Date to 10th March
3. Set the Proposed Effective Date to 10th May
4. Record a Note in the progression stating that the notice was actually served on 10th April and is valid under the RRA transitional provisions

This helps maintain a clear audit trail against the tenancy record.

Pet request questions

Is there a pet request tracker in Alto?

A dedicated pet request tracker is planned for a future Alto release.

We’ll update the Help Centre when more information is available.

How should I record pet requests in the meantime?

Until a dedicated pet request tracker is available, you can record pet requests manually in Alto.

We recommend that you:

1. Add a custom management date called Pet Request Response Deadline
   (Templates and admin>System Administration>Group Settings>Management Diary Events>Create Management Date)
2. Record the request by Adding a File Note (+ icon alongside Recent Activity) on the tenancy
3. Include what has been requested, the date the request was made, and which tenant made the request
4. Set the Pet Request Response Deadline date to 28 days from the date the request was made

This keeps a clear record and ensures the 28 day response window is visible in your calendar.