Section 21 was the part of the Housing Act 1988 that let a landlord in England end an assured shorthold tenancy without giving any reason. It was known as the "no-fault" eviction notice, and for decades it was the standard way for landlords to get a property back. On 1 May 2026, that route closed for good when the first phase of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force.

Millions of renters and landlords are still searching for answers about it: what a Section 21 notice was, whether one served before May 2026 can still be used, and what landlords must do now if they want their property back. This guide answers those questions, explains the Section 8 grounds that replaced it, and sets out the key dates, including what happened to old notices on 31 July 2026.

What was a Section 21 notice?

A Section 21 notice was a notice served under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. It applied to assured shorthold tenancies, which were the most common type of private rental agreement in England. The landlord did not have to give any reason for wanting the property back — no rent arrears, no damage, no complaint about the tenant. That is why it was called a no-fault eviction.

Before serving a valid Section 21 notice, the landlord had to have ticked a series of boxes. The tenant's deposit had to be protected in a government-backed scheme, the tenant had to have been given a valid gas safety record, an energy performance certificate and the government's How to Rent guide, and there must have been no outstanding improvement notice from the local council. A Section 21 notice could not be served within the first four months of the original tenancy, and landlords had to use the prescribed form, Form 6A, or a document setting out the same information.

The minimum notice period was two months. Once served, a Section 21 notice remained valid for six months; if the landlord did not begin possession proceedings within that window, the notice expired and a new one had to be served. Importantly, the notice itself was not a court order. If the tenant stayed past the date on the notice, the landlord could not change the locks or physically remove them — the only legal route was to apply to the county court for a possession order. Section 21 claims could be decided under an accelerated possession procedure, which let many cases be decided on paper without a hearing.

Why it was controversial

Critics argued that no-fault evictions left tenants insecure, because a tenancy could be ended at the end of a fixed term even when the tenant had done nothing wrong. Housing charities and tenant groups said the threat of a Section 21 notice discouraged tenants from asking for repairs. Landlords and their representatives argued the opposite: that Section 21 was a necessary safety valve, because the alternative — proving a specific legal ground in court — was slow, expensive and uncertain. That debate ran for years, through the Renters (Reform) Bill and then the Renters' Rights Bill, before Parliament settled it with the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025.

What changed on 1 May 2026

On 1 May 2026, the first phase of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force in England, and Section 21 no-fault evictions ended. From that date, no landlord can serve a new Section 21 notice, and a notice dated on or after 1 May 2026 has no legal effect at all. At the same moment, every existing assured shorthold tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy — a rolling tenancy with no fixed end date.

The changes apply to the private rented sector in England. The social rented sector is not covered by this first phase of the Act. Tenants can now end a tenancy at any time on two months' written notice. Landlords, by contrast, can only end a tenancy by serving a Section 8 notice that relies on one or more legal grounds, giving the right amount of notice and, if the tenant does not leave, proving the ground in court.

The Act also brought in other reforms at the same time, including a revised Section 13 process for rent increases, under which landlords may only increase the rent once a year, with at least two months' written notice on the prescribed government form. A new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman and a national landlord database are also being created, with the database due to open on 15 December 2026 at a fee of £65 per property. Landlords who fail to register may face fines and restrictions on their ability to serve valid possession notices.

What about a Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026?

The Act kept valid notices alive for a short transitional period under Schedule 6, but that window has now closed. A Section 21 notice served on or before 30 April 2026 could only be used if court proceedings were issued by 31 July 2026. Any notice not acted on by that date has lapsed, so a landlord relying on one today would need to start again with a Section 8 notice.

There is one nuance. If the landlord had already asked the court to issue a claim form before 1 May 2026, the notice remains valid until those possession proceedings conclude, and the case can run its course under the old rules. Claims issued in time continue until proceedings conclude, and if a claim is dismissed, the tenancy becomes an assured periodic tenancy from the date of dismissal. But a notice served before 1 May 2026 on which no claim form was ever requested cannot now be used to start a new claim — whatever date is printed on it. GOV.UK's guidance on notices given before 1 May 2026 was updated on 1 August 2026 to say exactly that.

The practical effect is straightforward. If you are a tenant and your landlord gives you a Section 21 notice dated after 30 April 2026, it has no legal effect. If the notice was served before 1 May 2026 but no court claim was issued by 31 July 2026, it can no longer be used either. In either case, the landlord needs a reason to evict you, and you now have an assured periodic tenancy. This is general information, not legal advice for an individual case: anyone facing possession proceedings should check the GOV.UK guidance and get advice from a service such as Shelter, Citizens Advice or their local council.

What landlords use now: Section 8 grounds

A Section 8 notice tells the tenant which ground or grounds the landlord is relying on, explains why, and gives the date after which the landlord can apply to court. Landlords now use the updated prescribed form, Form 3A, which is published on GOV.UK alongside the other assured tenancy forms. With a mandatory ground, the court must order possession if the landlord proves the ground and has followed the rules. With a discretionary ground, the court decides whether it is reasonable to evict, and it can refuse or suspend the order even if the ground is proved.

The two grounds most landlords will use in place of Section 21 are Ground 1, where the landlord or a close family member wants to live in the property, and Ground 1A, a new ground for when the landlord wants to sell. Both are mandatory grounds, both require at least four months' notice, and neither can end a tenancy in its first 12 months. A landlord can serve the notice earlier, but the date it gives must fall after the tenant has been in the property for 12 months. Ground 1A cannot be used against a tenant who has an assured tenancy created before 1 May 2026 that was never a shorthold.

There is also a 12-month ban on re-letting. If a landlord regains possession under Ground 1 or Ground 1A, the property cannot be let or marketed to let for 12 months afterwards. The ban is there to stop landlords using the selling or moving-in grounds as a disguised no-fault eviction.

Other grounds cover different situations. Ground 8, for example, is a mandatory ground for serious rent arrears: the tenant must owe at least three months' rent if rent is paid monthly, or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly. There are also grounds for antisocial behaviour, for breach of the tenancy agreement, and for a landlord who needs the property back for major works. The grounds were rewritten by the Act, and notice periods for most of them are longer than they were before.

What tenants should know now

For tenants, the practical change is security. A tenancy no longer ends simply because a fixed term runs out, and a landlord who wants the property back must give a genuine reason and, in the most common cases, four months' notice. Tenants also gained the right to leave on two months' notice at any time, which matters for people whose circumstances change. Rent increases are limited to once a year and must follow the Section 13 process, with the tenant able to challenge an increase at the First-tier Tribunal.

None of this means eviction has become impossible. Landlords can still recover possession for a genuine reason, and rent arrears and antisocial behaviour remain grounds for possession. What has changed is that the landlord must prove the reason, and the tenant gets their day in court. The accelerated possession procedure, which let Section 21 claims be decided on paper without a hearing, went at the same time as Section 21 itself.

Section 21 in Wales and Scotland

The 1 May 2026 change applies to England only. Wales replaced Section 21 notices entirely when the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 came into force on 1 December 2022, and Scotland has its own separate system, where private residential tenancies replaced assured shorthold tenancies in 2017. Anyone renting in Wales or Scotland should check the rules for their own nation rather than relying on the English position set out here.

What happens next

The next milestone is the landlord database, which opens on 15 December 2026. Landlords will have to register their properties, and failure to register will affect their ability to serve valid possession notices and could result in financial penalties. The Private Rented Sector Ombudsman is also being set up to handle disputes. Further phases of the Renters' Rights Act are expected to follow, and the government has published an implementation roadmap setting out the sequence.

For now, the short answer to the question this guide started with is simple. A Section 21 eviction notice was a no-fault notice that let a landlord in England end a tenancy without giving a reason. It ended on 1 May 2026, old notices stopped working on 31 July 2026, and landlords who want a property back must now use a Section 8 ground instead.