What Is a Section 21 Notice and Is It Being Abolished?
A Section 21 notice was the no-fault route that let a landlord end an assured shorthold tenancy in England without giving a reason. It is not being abolished, it already has been: Section 21 stopped working on 1 May 2026, and every possession claim now runs on a stated ground.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 did the work, and the commencement order switched the tenancy reforms on for every landlord on the same day. There was no phased rollout and no grandfathering for tenancies that were already running.
If you are still holding an old Form 6A, or a claim you issued before that date, the transitional rules matter to you. Everyone else needs the new grounds, the notice periods and the effect on a buy-to-let budget.
Section 21 has not just been promised away, it has gone: it stopped working on 1 May 2026 under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, with no phased rollout and no exemption for tenancies already running. Every possession claim now runs on a stated ground, so you need evidence for the ground you choose and more time before a case reaches a bailiff. Retire your old Section 21 templates, and treat any guidance written before that date with caution.
Compare landlord insurance quotes with legal expenses cover for possession claims.
- What was a section 21 notice and why did landlords rely on it?
- When did section 21 stop working?
- What happened to section 21 notices served before 1 may 2026?
- What do you use instead of section 21 now?
- How much longer does possession take without section 21?
- What else changed on 1 may 2026, and what is still coming?
- What should you do with your old section 21 paperwork?
- Does any of this apply outside England?
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What was a section 21 notice and why did landlords rely on it?
Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 let you end an assured shorthold tenancy on two months’ written notice without proving fault. You did not have to say why, and the court had no discretion to refuse the order once the paperwork checked out.
The conditions a valid section 21 had to meet
The notice had to be served on the prescribed Form 6A, give at least two months, and expire after any fixed term. Section 21 sat alongside Section 8 in the Housing Act 1988, which is still the governing statute for assured tenancies.
It was void if you had not protected the deposit in an approved scheme, or had not handed over the gas safety record, the EPC and the How to Rent guide. An unlicensed HMO blocked it outright.
Why the accelerated route was so popular
A Section 21 claim could go through the accelerated possession procedure, which is a paper exercise with no hearing in most cases. That made it faster and cheaper than arguing a ground in front of a judge.
Plenty of landlords also used it defensively, serving Section 21 on an arrears case rather than proving the arrears. That shortcut is the thing the Act removed.
When did section 21 stop working?
1 May 2026. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 brought the tenancy reforms into force on that date, and a Section 21 notice served on or after it has no effect.
What the act switched off
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished assured shorthold tenancies and closed the Section 21 route in the same move. Existing fixed terms converted to periodic assured tenancies instead of running to their end date.
The government’s guide to the Renters’ Rights Act sets out the same position for landlords and tenants. There was no window for new notices, because the route closed on the day itself.
The timeline in one table
| Date | Position on Section 21 |
| Up to 30 April 2026 | Notices could be served on Form 6A with two months’ notice |
| 1 May 2026 | Section 21 abolished; every assured shorthold became a periodic assured tenancy |
| Earlier of six months from service, or 31 July 2026 | Last day to ask the court to issue a claim on a pre-commencement notice |
| 1 August 2026 | Unissued pre-commencement notices dead and unrevivable |
| September 2026 | Only Section 21 claims already before the court are still running |
What happened to section 21 notices served before 1 may 2026?
They survived, but only for a fixed window that has now closed. Schedule 6 to the Act kept a pre-commencement notice alive until the earlier of six months from the day it was served or 31 July 2026, and the claim had to be issued inside that period.
If you asked the court to issue in time
Paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 keeps the notice valid until the possession proceedings conclude. The tenancy also sits outside the new rules until the notice ceases to be valid, so it stays an assured shorthold in the meantime.
That is the one place a live Section 21 claim can still exist in September 2026. If your claim form was requested in time, the court finishes it under the old law.
If you missed the window
The notice is dead and cannot be revived. Paragraph 4 stops the court issuing a claim requested after the applicable period ended, however strong the case behind it.
Serving a fresh Section 21 is not an option either, because the section no longer applies to tenancies in England. You start again with a Section 8 notice on a stated ground.
What do you use instead of section 21 now?
A Section 8 notice citing at least one ground in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. You name the ground, give the notice period the statute sets for it, and prove it if the tenant defends.
The grounds that replace no-fault possession
Selling the property and moving back into it are the two practical replacements for Section 21, and both carry four months’ notice. The gov.uk guidance on evicting tenants covers the court steps that follow the notice.
Mandatory grounds oblige the court to make the order once you prove them. Discretionary grounds leave the judge free to refuse, which changes how you build the evidence file.
| Ground | What it covers | Notice period | Type |
| Ground 1 | You or a close family member moving in | 4 months | Mandatory |
| Ground 1A | Selling the property or granting a long lease | 4 months | Mandatory |
| Ground 2 | Lender selling after repossessing the property | 4 months | Mandatory |
| Ground 4A | Student HMO needed for the next academic year | 4 months | Mandatory |
| Ground 6 | Demolition or substantial redevelopment | 4 months | Mandatory |
| Ground 6A | Possession needed to comply with enforcement action | 4 months | Mandatory |
| Ground 8 | Three months’ rent unpaid, or 13 weeks if rent is weekly | 4 weeks | Mandatory |
| Ground 14 | Antisocial behaviour or criminal activity | Proceedings can start at once | Discretionary |
The strings attached to grounds 1 and 1a
Neither ground is available in the first 12 months of the tenancy, so a new tenant gets a guaranteed first year. Both also bar you from re-letting or marketing the property for 12 months afterwards.
That restriction bites hardest on a portfolio landlord timing a sale, because a year off the market is a year without rent. A long empty spell also pushes a property out of standard cover and into unoccupied property insurance.
How much longer does possession take without section 21?
Plan for months rather than weeks. The accelerated paper route went with Section 21, so a defended arrears claim now needs a hearing, a judge and evidence you can stand behind.
The arrears maths on ground 8
Ground 8 needs three months’ rent outstanding at the date of the notice and again at the hearing, up from two months under the old rules. On a £1,300 a month tenancy that is £3,900 gone before you can even serve.
Add four weeks’ notice, a court listing and a bailiff appointment on top. Six to nine months without rent is a sensible planning assumption on a contested case.
| Stage | Planning assumption | What you are funding |
| Arrears building to the Ground 8 threshold | 3 months | Mortgage with no rent coming in |
| Notice period on Ground 8 | 4 weeks | Mortgage with no rent coming in |
| Issuing and listing the claim | 2 to 4 months | Court fee plus legal costs |
| Order to bailiff appointment | 6 to 10 weeks | Arrears still climbing |
| Void, repairs and re-letting | 4 to 8 weeks | Voids, cleaning and re-marketing |
Where rent guarantee and legal expenses cover fit
Rent guarantee insurance pays the rent while the arrears run and the claim goes through, which is the exact gap the Act widened. Most policies fund the possession action as well as the income.
Legal expenses cover does the same job on a defended claim, and loss of rent cover handles the separate problem of a property made uninhabitable by insured damage. Those are three different sections, not one.
What else changed on 1 may 2026, and what is still coming?
Fixed terms, rent increases, pets and rental bidding all changed on the same day as Section 21. The landlord ombudsman, the property database, the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law are in the Act but not yet in force for private lets.
The changes already in force
- Every assured tenancy is periodic, and a tenant can end it on two months’ notice at any point.
- Rent can rise once every 12 months on at least two months’ notice, and rent review clauses are void.
- You must consider a tenant’s pet request and give a valid reason before refusing it.
- Inviting or accepting bids above the advertised rent is banned.
- Refusing a tenant for claiming benefits or having children is unlawful, so a DSS landlord policy now covers what is simply a normal let.
The parts not yet in force
The ombudsman, the database, the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law all await their own commencement regulations for the private rented sector. The NRLA is tracking the timetable for its members.
Do not assume those dates will land quickly, and do not delay work on the rules you already have to follow. The penalties bite on the provisions that are live now.
What should you do with your old section 21 paperwork?
Keep it, because the compliance file behind it still decides cases. Form 6A is dead, but the deposit certificate, gas safety record and EPC that made it valid are now evidence in a Section 8 claim.
The compliance file still earns its keep
A landlord who cannot produce a current gas safety record or a protected deposit has a weak possession claim and an enforcement problem at the same time. Ground 6A exists for landlords who have been served with enforcement action.
Run the same file for every let you own, from a single flat to a block of flats. Short-stay lets sit outside the assured tenancy rules altogether and need short-let cover rather than a standard let policy.
Update your templates and your cover
Strip the fixed term and the rent review clause out of your tenancy agreement, because both are now void. Replace them with the statutory rent increase route and a clear statement of the grounds you may rely on.
Then check what your policy actually pays for, because the optional sections move the premium far less than they move the outcome of a bad tenancy. Possession delays are an income risk, not a buildings risk.
Does any of this apply outside England?
No. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changes tenancy law in England only, and the other three nations run their own systems on their own timetables.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Scotland removed no-fault eviction in 2017, when private residential tenancies replaced assured shorthold tenancies. Possession there has run on stated grounds ever since.
Wales kept a no-fault route under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, using a Section 173 notice with six months’ notice. Northern Ireland still sets notice to quit periods by the length of the tenancy.
What it means for a cross-border portfolio
Letting in more than one nation means running two sets of rules and two notice regimes side by side. Never copy an English Section 8 notice into a Welsh occupation contract.
Check which nation’s law governs each tenancy before you serve anything. Getting it wrong voids the notice and costs you the whole notice period again.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No. The section stopped applying to tenancies in England on 1 May 2026, and a notice served on or after that date has no legal effect.
It expired unless you asked the court to issue a claim inside the applicable period, which ended on the earlier of six months from service or 31 July 2026.
Yes, if the claim form was requested before that deadline. Schedule 6 keeps the notice valid until the proceedings conclude, and the tenancy stays an assured shorthold until then.
The fixed term in an existing assured shorthold converted to a periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026. The tenancy did not end, it changed shape.
Four months on Ground 1A, and you cannot use it in the first 12 months of the tenancy.
Not for 12 months after using Ground 1 or Ground 1A. Re-letting or marketing inside that window is a breach that can trigger enforcement action.
No, it went with Section 21. Every claim now needs a stated ground, and a defended one needs a hearing.
Three months, or 13 weeks where rent is paid weekly, at the date of the notice and again at the hearing.
Yes, and it matters more because possession takes longer. Check the wording funds a Section 8 claim rather than only the old accelerated route.
No. The assured tenancy rules cover residential lets to tenants who occupy the property as their only or main home.
Yes if the tenant is likely to defend. This guide is general information rather than legal advice, and a solicitor should check the notice before it goes out.