The new subscription law for gyms, in plain English
From 1 January 2027 a new UK law covers every membership that renews by itself. You will have to email members before you charge them, give new joiners 14 days to change their mind, and let anyone who joined online cancel online in one step. Miss a reminder and you are in breach. Miss the 14 day email and a member can claim a refund up to a year later. We plug into Stripe and do all of it for you.
Your typical plans and what the law asks for each
| Plan | What the law asks for |
|---|---|
| Monthly rolling, 14 day free trial | An email before the trial ends saying the first payment is coming. A 14 day change of mind period when they join and another when the trial ends, each with its own email. Then a payment reminder at least once every six months. |
| Monthly rolling, no trial | A 14 day change of mind period and email when they join. Then a payment reminder at least once every six months, each saying the amount, the date, the last day to cancel and how. |
| Annual membership paid upfront, renews each year | A change of mind period when they join. A reminder before every annual renewal. A fresh 14 day change of mind period, with its own email, every time it renews. |
| Monthly with a 12 month minimum term | Every renewal signs the member up for another 12 months, so each one needs a reminder first and opens a new change of mind period. The total they commit to must be on the join page. |
| Membership plus locker or class add-ons | The add-ons are tied to the membership. If the member cancels inside a change of mind period, the add-ons end too and the refund covers them. |
What we do for your gym
We connect to your Stripe account and read your plans and members. From then on it does three things. It reminds members before you take their money, with the emails the law requires, on time and in your branding. It gives every member a cancel page that works like the join page, one step, no phone call. And it keeps a record of every email, click and refund, so if the regulator asks you have the answer.
You keep running the gym and Stripe keeps taking the payments. Nothing about your prices or your members changes.
Your join page has to say more
The price card on your join page must say, in plain words and next to the price: that the membership renews by itself, how often you charge, how much, the total a member commits to, how they cancel and by when, and that you will email reminders and when. A link to the terms is not enough. See what your sign-up page must say.
Joining fees count towards the total. A £29.99 monthly plan with a £20 joining fee and no minimum term commits the member to £49.99. With a 12 month term it is £379.88.
No pre-ticked boxes for lockers and classes
Lockers, towel service and class passes must be an active choice. A pre-ticked box on the join form is the first thing our free check looks for, because it is the easiest breach to spot.
Add-ons sold with the membership are tied to it. When a member cancels inside a change of mind period, the add-ons end with the membership and the refund covers them too.
Freezes and trials
A frozen membership still renews, so the reminders keep going. We work from the payment dates in Stripe, so a freeze that moves the next charge moves the reminder with it.
A trial needs its own email before the first payment. For a 14 day trial where you promise 14 days notice, that email goes out on the day the member joins. That is allowed and it is the safest way to do it.
The front desk is no longer enough
A member who joined online must be able to leave online in one clear step. Asking them to come in, phone, or write to you no longer counts on its own. You may make one offer to keep them. A survey can come after the cancellation but not before it. See one click cancel.
Once a member cancels online you must confirm it in writing within 24 hours. If they cancel at the desk or by phone, you have until the end of the third working day.
Worked example: Gym Monthly, £29.99, 14 day trial, joined 15 January 2027
Change of mind email on 15 January. Reminder about the first £29.99 payment on 29 January, sent from 15 January and no later than 26 January. The trial ends on 29 January, which starts a second change of mind period to 12 February with its own email.
Next reminders before the 29 July 2027 and 29 January 2028 payments, each sent from the 15th of the month before. The member cancels online on 2 April 2027, so the cancellation confirmation must go by 18:30 on 3 April.
Questions
- Do existing members need the emails?
- Members whose contracts started before 1 January 2027 stay under the old rules until a new contract is made. A renewal onto a new 12 month term after that date counts as a new contract, so it is safest to treat annual renewals from 2027 as covered.
- Can we keep a 12 month minimum term?
- Yes. State the term and the total on the join page, email the member before they renew onto another 12 months, and give them 14 days to change their mind each time it renews.
- Can we still make an offer when someone cancels?
- One offer, which the member can skip in a single click. Nothing else can sit between the member and the confirmation.
- What about members who joined at the front desk?
- They may cancel the way they joined. The online cancel route is required where the member joined online. The reminders, change of mind periods and confirmations apply to everyone.
- Is a freeze a cancellation?
- No. The membership continues and so do the reminders. We follow the payment dates, so a freeze that moves the next payment moves the reminder.
This page explains the law in plain English. It is not legal advice. The detailed rules are still being finalised by the government.