Does the Renters Rights Bill allow me to cancel my tenancy early?

I'm looking for my next rental property after my landlord gave me notice last week. The problem is that I am planning to buy a home next year and so I don't want to be tied into a rental contract for more than 12 months.

I've found I'm losing out as landlords prefer those that are willing to sign up to two-year tenancies. I've heard that fixed-term tenancies will be banned under the upcoming Renters' Rights Bill, though. Would this mean that, if I signed a two-year contract today, I'd be able to exit it without any penalties once that becomes law?

Ed Magnus of This is Money replies: You have stumbled across a rule change that is going to take many renters by surprise. It appears that some letting agents are not aware of the new rules either. I was looking at rental properties recently and was surprised that some letting agents seemed to think existing fixed term contracts would protect landlords with tenants in existing contracts when the Renters' Rights Bill comes into force.

They are wrong, however, as the Renters' Rights Bill will put an end to fixed-term tenancies with all rental agreements converting into rolling periodic ones. This means a landlord can't tie a tenant into a 12-month contract where they are obliged to pay rent for the whole period, even if they leave. Instead, all tenancies will be rolling, meaning a tenant can leave at any time provided they give the required notice of two months.

It will apply retrospectively, so that even if someone is in the middle of a two or three-year rental agreement without a break clause, they should be able to serve two months' notice and leave once the Renters' Rights Bill comes into force. The Government guidance states: 'the new tenancy system will apply to all private tenancies - existing tenancies will convert to the new system.

'A one-stage implementation will prevent a confusing two-tier system, and give all tenants security immediately.' The only question mark is when that time will come. The Renters’ Rights Bill has returned to the House of Lords this week and is likely to receive Royal Assent soon after. For expert advice, we spoke to campaigner Paul Shanks of the Renters' Reform Coalition.

Paul Shanks (pictured) replies: Sorry to hear you've been given notice and are struggling to find a new home to rent – it's hard enough at the best of times. The good news is that the Renters' Rights Bill will convert all existing fixed term tenancies into open-ended, rolling tenancies once it is implemented, as well as making that the default for all new tenancies.

So you are correct that you shouldn't be 'locked in' to a two year tenancy, as when the bill comes into effect, you will be able to give your landlord two months' notice to leave even if you originally signed up to a fixed contract. However, an important point to note is that we don't yet know when the bill will come into force. It should pass its final stage in parliament quite soon – possibly later this month or early November.

But the Government has said there will be an 'implementation period' before the new law actually comes into force, to give landlords and letting agents time to prepare. We don't yet know how long that window will be. At the moment it looks likely that this implementation period could be about six months, but we won't know for certain until the Government announces it.

My best guess is that implementation of the new tenancy system will be in spring next year, but I wouldn't take that to the bank. At the Renters' Reform Coalition, we're calling for a three month period at the most – we think renters have waited for these changes long enough.