Section 21 notices: what they were and what happens to them now

Shilpa Mathuradas

Section 21 has been abolished

Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notices have been abolished. From 1 May 2026, when the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force, landlords can no longer serve a new section 21 notice. Possession must now be sought under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, on one of the statutory grounds.

This guide covers what section 21 was, what happens to notices already served, and what landlords and tenants need to do during the transitional period.

For the full overview of the new regime, see our guide to the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. For the specific transitional deadlines, see Renters’ Rights Act 2025: what landlords must do now section 21 has been abolished.

Pre-commencement notices: the 31 July 2026 deadline

If you served a valid section 21 notice on your tenant before 1 May 2026, you can still rely on it. But there is a hard statutory deadline.

The last date to issue court proceedings on a pre-commencement section 21 notice is 31 July 2026. This cut-off is set by the Act and may be shorter than the time period printed on the notice form itself.

After 31 July 2026 the notice is unenforceable. The landlord must restart under the new section 8 framework, relying on one of the statutory grounds for possession.

If you are sitting on a section 21 notice and the tenant has not left, do not wait. Take advice now about issuing proceedings within the window.

What was a section 21 notice?

Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 allowed a landlord to recover possession of a property let on an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) without needing to give a reason, provided certain conditions were met:

• The tenancy had to be an AST
• The fixed term had to have ended, or the tenancy had to be running on a periodic basis
• The landlord had to follow strict procedural rules

It was known as a “no-fault” eviction because the landlord did not have to prove the tenant had breached anything.

Why pre-commencement notices can still fail

A section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 only remains usable if it was valid in the first place. Many notices were defective and a defective notice cannot be enforced, regardless of timing. The most common validity issues are:

Deposit protection

If a security deposit was taken, it had to be placed in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receipt. If you missed that window, you cannot rely on a section 21 notice. Protecting the deposit late does not fix the problem. The deposit has to be returned to the tenant before any section 21 notice can be valid.

Prescribed information

At the start of the tenancy, the landlord had to provide:

• A gas safety certificate
• An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• The government’s “How to Rent” guide
• The prescribed information about the deposit scheme

Failure to provide these documents at the right time can invalidate the notice. In some cases the documents can be served late and a notice served afterwards, but only if the deposit itself was properly protected.

Form and service

• The notice had to be served in writing using the prescribed form (not by email unless permitted by the tenancy agreement, and not over the phone)
• The notice had to give at least two clear months from the date the tenant received it
• Service had to allow time for postal delivery (two additional working days where served by post)

Other knockouts

• Retaliatory eviction. A section 21 notice served in response to a tenant’s legitimate complaint about disrepair, where the local authority has issued an improvement notice, is invalid under the Deregulation Act 2015.
• Prohibited payments. Charging an illegal fee under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 invalidates a section 21 notice.

If you are unsure whether a notice was validly served before 1 May 2026, get it reviewed before incurring court fees.

How tenants can contest a pre-commencement section 21 notice

A tenant who has been served a section 21 notice (before 1 May 2026) can challenge it by showing the correct procedure was not followed. Common defences include:

• The deposit was not protected, or was protected late
• The tenant did not receive the prescribed information
• The notice used the wrong form or contained a mistake
• The eviction is retaliatory
• The landlord charged a prohibited fee

A tenant cannot be removed from a property without a court order. If the landlord proceeds to court on a defective notice, the claim will fail and the tenant can stay.

The accelerated possession procedure

For pre-commencement section 21 notices that proceed to court before 31 July 2026, the accelerated possession procedure still applies. This is faster than the section 8 procedure because the court usually decides on the papers.

How it works in outline:

• The landlord files the claim with evidence that all procedural requirements have been met
• The court sends the papers to the tenant, who has 14 days to respond
• If there is no valid response, the court grants possession without a hearing
• The tenant is usually given 14 days to leave
• If the tenant does not leave, the landlord must apply for a warrant of possession, after which court bailiffs enforce the order

It is a criminal offence for a landlord to evict a tenant without a court order. Locks must not be changed, and tenants must not be harassed or pressured into leaving.

After 31 July 2026: section 8 is the only route

Once the transitional window closes, every possession claim in England requires a statutory ground under section 8. The available grounds have been strengthened and expanded under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, including:

• Ground 1A (sale of property): mandatory, two months’ notice
• Ground 1 (landlord or family member occupation): mandatory, two months’ notice
• Ground 8 (repeated serious rent arrears): mandatory, four weeks’ notice, tightened for cyclical non-payment
• Ground 14 (antisocial behaviour): discretionary, immediate notice, with a broader definition

For a full walkthrough, see our guide to section 8 notices.

The Information Sheet: a separate obligation every landlord must meet

Quite apart from any pending section 21 notice, every landlord must give their tenants “The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026” on or before 31 May 2026. The penalty for non-compliance is up to £7,000 per tenancy. The official document is available to download from gov.uk.

If the tenancy has no written agreement, the landlord must also provide certain written information about the tenancy by the same deadline.

Speak to our property litigation team

Whether you are a landlord trying to enforce a pre-commencement section 21 notice before 31 July 2026, or a tenant who has been served a notice and is unsure of your rights, our property litigation solicitors can help.

Call us on 020 7485 8811 or contact us online to speak to a member of the team.