Guide · England · Updated October 2026
Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026
No-fault eviction ended in England on 1 May 2026. What replaced it asks one thing: prove it.
Would your tenancy record stand up?
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The short answer
- Abolished: 1 May 2026, in England, under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. No new Section 21 notice can be served.
- Old notices: a Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 could be used to apply to court until 31 July 2026. It cannot start a new claim now.
- What replaced it: a Section 8 ground for possession, with that ground’s notice period — four weeks for rent arrears, four months to sell or move in.
- Scotland and Wales: Section 21 no longer applies in either (Wales since 1 December 2022); they run their own systems (below).
The dates that matter
1 Dec 2022
Wales moves on
Section 21 replaced by section 173 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act: six months’ notice.
1 May 2026
England: Section 21 ends
No new notice can be served, and every tenancy becomes periodic.
31 Jul 2026
Old notices run out
Last date for a pre-May notice to reach a court claim.
Today
Section 8 and evidence
A ground, its notice period, and a record a judge will accept.
Where is your property?
Abolished on 1 May 2026
- No new Section 21 notice can be served.
- Possession needs a Section 8 ground and a court order.
- Four weeks’ notice for arrears, four months to sell or move in.
Replaced on 1 December 2022
- Section 21 no longer applies; the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 does.
- A section 173 notice needs at least six months’ notice.
- Only after the first six months of occupation, for contracts from 1 December 2022.
Never had Section 21
- A private residential tenancy can only end on an eviction ground.
- The landlord serves a Notice to Leave.
- Its notice period depends on the ground and how long the tenant has lived there.
In England, which route is yours?
Start with why you need the property back.
Rent is unpaid
→ Grounds 8, 10 or 11
4 weeks’ notice
Ground 8 needs three months’ arrears still owing at the hearing.
You want to sell or move in
→ Ground 1 or 1A
4 months’ notice
Not available in the first 12 months of the tenancy.
Something else
→ Check the other grounds
Notice period varies
Every ground needs a stated reason, a notice and a court order.
What changed on 1 May 2026
No more Section 21
No new notice can be served, and no route in England now needs no reason.
Every tenancy is periodic
A tenancy continues until the tenant ends it or a court grants possession on a ground.
Possession is now about evidence
Under Section 8 the paperwork is the case: a judge looks at how you ran the tenancy.
Read the detail of each changeShow less
On 1 May 2026 the Renters' Rights Act ended no-fault eviction in England. Every assured shorthold tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy the same day, and the route landlords had used for thirty years, two months' notice with no reason given, closed. What replaced it asks a question the old route never did: prove it.
1. No more Section 21. Notices served before commencement had until 31 July 2026 to reach court proceedings — the claim had to be issued by the court by then, not just prepared — and cannot start a new claim after that. Old-style Section 8 notices served before 1 May had the earlier of 31 July 2026 or 12 months from the notice. There is no longer a route in England that needs no reason: even Grounds 1 and 1A, where the tenant has done nothing wrong, require a stated ground, four months' notice and a court order.
2. Every tenancy is periodic, and fixed terms no longer end anything. A tenancy now continues until the tenant ends it or a court grants possession on a ground. The end of a twelve-month term no longer has any consequence for possession. It's just a date passing.
3. Possession became an evidential exercise. Under Section 21 the paperwork was largely a gate. Get the prescribed information, the deposit protection and the certificates right, and the claim usually did not turn on how the tenancy had been run. Under Section 8 the paperwork is the case. A judge is looking at how a specific landlord handled a specific tenancy over years. A disrepair counterclaim is a common response to an arrears claim, so your maintenance history can end up on trial alongside the rent ledger.
Would your tenancy record stand up? Check it now
Built as the tenancy runs, not the week a dispute starts, when the gaps are already permanent. Tick what you could hand a judge today.
The tenancy paperwork
Why it matters and what to doHide
It is the document the whole claim is built on. Every other obligation you are about to rely on is one this agreement created.
If you don't: Find the signed copy and store it against the tenancy — not in an email thread from three years ago. If it was never signed, get advice before serving anything.
Why it matters and what to doHide
Protection on its own is not the proof — the reference is. Its absence is a defence a tenant can raise against your claim, and it is one of the first things a duty solicitor checks.
If you don't: Get the reference from your scheme (TDS, DPS or mydeposits) and record it against the tenancy alongside the amount and the date protected.
Why it matters and what to doHide
Serving it is a separate duty from protecting the deposit, and landlords who did the first routinely cannot evidence the second.
If you don't: Re-serve it now if you cannot prove the original service, and keep a dated record of how it was sent.
Certificates — held and served
Why it matters and what to doHide
Holding a valid certificate and having served it on the tenant are two different questions, and only the second is usually in dispute. A gap in the middle of a tenancy is visible in the record even when today's certificate is in date.
If you don't: Keep every year's record rather than only the current one, and keep a dated record of the tenant receiving each.
Why it matters and what to doHide
Five-yearly, and the same held-versus-served distinction applies. A missing EICR also feeds straight into a disrepair counterclaim.
If you don't: Book the inspection if it has lapsed, and send the report to the tenant in a way you can evidence later.
Why it matters and what to doHide
The weakest of the three on its own, but its absence gets cited alongside the others to build a picture of a tenancy run loosely.
If you don't: Check the expiry — ten years from issue — and send a copy to the tenant.
The record of how the tenancy ran
Why it matters and what to doHide
Ground 8 turns on the arrears figure still holding up at the hearing, not on what it was the day you served notice. A running balance cannot show that. Dated periods can.
If you don't: Rebuild the ledger period by period from your bank statements before serving anything, and keep it current from then on.
Why it matters and what to doHide
The Renters' Rights Act raised Ground 8 from two months to three on 1 May 2026, and the level has to hold at the hearing. A tenant who pays a month down on the court steps takes the mandatory ground away.
If you don't: Below the threshold, Grounds 10 and 11 are still open but discretionary — the judge decides, which makes everything else on this list matter more, not less.
Why it matters and what to doHide
A disrepair counterclaim is a common response to an arrears claim. Your maintenance history can end up on trial alongside the rent ledger, and “I sent someone round at some point” is not an answer to it.
If you don't: Log every report, what you did, and when it was resolved — including the ones you fixed the same week, because those are what show a pattern of responding.
Why it matters and what to doHide
“The landlord never responded” against “I called them on the 3rd” is the most contested category there is, and almost nobody keeps a record of it. The party with the contemporaneous note wins that exchange.
If you don't: Write down calls and doorstep conversations the same day, with the date. A note made at the time is evidence; one written after the dispute started is argument.
The notice itself
Why it matters and what to doHide
Four weeks for the arrears grounds (8, 10 and 11), raised from two. Four months for Grounds 1 and 1A. Serving short does not shorten the process — it restarts it.
If you don't: Check the period against the specific ground before serving, and diarise the earliest date proceedings can be issued.
8 decisive gaps
0 of 11These are the gaps that routinely decide claims. Close them before serving notice rather than after.
- A signed tenancy agreement, on file and findable. Find the signed copy and store it against the tenancy — not in an email thread from three years ago. If it was never signed, get advice before serving anything.
- Deposit protected, with the scheme reference recorded. Get the reference from your scheme (TDS, DPS or mydeposits) and record it against the tenancy alongside the amount and the date protected.
- Prescribed information served on the tenant, with proof. Re-serve it now if you cannot prove the original service, and keep a dated record of how it was sent.
- Gas safety record in date, and given to the tenant. Keep every year's record rather than only the current one, and keep a dated record of the tenant receiving each.
- A dated rent ledger: what was due, what was paid, period by period. Rebuild the ledger period by period from your bank statements before serving anything, and keep it current from then on.
- Arrears at three months' rent (or thirteen weeks), at service and still at the hearing. Below the threshold, Grounds 10 and 11 are still open but discretionary — the judge decides, which makes everything else on this list matter more, not less.
- The right notice period for the ground you are using. Check the period against the specific ground before serving, and diarise the earliest date proceedings can be issued.
- A repair history with dates, responses and outcomes. Log every report, what you did, and when it was resolved — including the ones you fixed the same week, because those are what show a pattern of responding.
- EICR in date, and given to the tenant. Book the inspection if it has lapsed, and send the report to the tenant in a way you can evidence later.
- EPC in date, and given to the tenant. Check the expiry — ten years from issue — and send a copy to the tenant.
- A log of what you told the tenant, and when. Write down calls and doorstep conversations the same day, with the date. A note made at the time is evidence; one written after the dispute started is argument.
LetBuddy builds that record for you, from day one
Every tenancy keeps a dated case record as it runs. Pick a ground and LetBuddy drafts the Section 8 notice from it.
Read the detailShow less
The record draws on the rent ledger, the compliance calendar, the maintenance log, the notices you've served and a log of the calls and texts nothing else captures, and exports as one PDF for possession evidence. The draft notice is for you to check before serving. Included on every account, including the free one.
Free for your first property · No card · 2-minute setup
The grounds and notice periods that matter most
Four weeks for rent arrears, four months to sell or move in. Every ground needs evidence.
See every ground and its notice periodShow less
- Ground 8 — serious arrears (mandatory)4 weeks notice3 months’ rent unpaid (13 weeks if rent is weekly or fortnightly), and still unpaid at the hearing
- Ground 10 — any arrears (discretionary)4 weeks noticeAny rent lawfully due and unpaid
- Ground 11 — persistent late payment (discretionary)4 weeks noticeA pattern of late payment, whether or not arrears exist today
- Ground 1 — landlord or family moving in4 months noticeNot available in the first 12 months of the tenancy
- Ground 1A — selling the property4 months noticeNot available in the first 12 months; the property can’t be re-let for 12 months after possession
Ground 11 is worth understanding. It doesn't require arrears to exist now. It requires a pattern of late payment, which you can't prove from a bank statement and can prove from a rent ledger with dated due dates against dated receipts.
Section 21 in Scotland and Wales
Neither has Section 21. Each runs its own system.
What applies insteadShow less
Scotland has no Section 21. A private residential tenancy can only be ended on one of the eviction grounds, with a Notice to Leave whose notice period depends on the ground and how long the tenant has lived there. The Scottish Government's guide for landlords.
Wales replaced it on 1 December 2022 with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. A landlord's notice under section 173 of that Act needs at least six months' notice, and can only be given after the first six months of occupation, for contracts that started on or after 1 December 2022. The Welsh Government's landlord FAQs.
Common questions
When was Section 21 abolished?
On 1 May 2026, in England, when the main changes in the Renters' Rights Act came into force. From that day no new Section 21 notice could be served, and every assured shorthold tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy.
Has Section 21 been abolished?
Yes. Section 21 'no-fault' evictions ended in England on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act. No new Section 21 notice can be served, and pre-commencement notices became unenforceable for the purpose of issuing proceedings after 31 July 2026. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run on their own separate possession regimes and were not changed by this Act.
Is a Section 21 notice still valid?
Not for a new claim. A Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 could only be used to apply to court up to 31 July 2026 (or the end of the notice's own time limit, if that came first), and the claim had to be issued by the court by then — serving the notice or preparing the paperwork was not enough. A claim issued in time can still run to its conclusion. After 31 July 2026 an unused notice cannot start a claim, and possession needs a Section 8 ground.
What will replace Section 21?
It has already been replaced: since 1 May 2026 a landlord in England needs a ground for possession under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, served on the current form with that ground's notice period, and then a court order if the tenant does not leave.
Does Section 21 apply in Scotland or Wales?
No. Section 21 is an English and Welsh Housing Act 1988 power, and it no longer applies in either Scotland or Wales. In Scotland, private residential tenancies created since December 2017 can only be ended on one of the eviction grounds, using a Notice to Leave. In Wales, Section 21 stopped applying on 1 December 2022, when the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 replaced it: a landlord's notice under section 173 of that Act needs at least six months' notice, and can only be given after the first six months of occupation, for contracts that started on or after 1 December 2022. This page covers England.
What happened to the Renters' Rights Bill?
It became law as the Renters' Rights Act 2025, and its main tenancy changes — including the end of Section 21 — came into force in England on 1 May 2026.
What replaces Section 21 for landlords?
Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, with a revised and expanded set of grounds. Every possession claim now has to name a ground and be supported by evidence a judge will accept: arrears records, correspondence, compliance certificates, or proof of intention to sell or move in.
How much rent arrears are needed for Ground 8 now?
Three months' rent unpaid for a monthly tenancy, or thirteen weeks where rent is paid weekly or fortnightly, raised from two months on 1 May 2026. The arrears must still be at that level at the hearing, not just when the notice was served. That's why a clean, dated rent ledger matters more than it used to.
What notice period applies to a Section 8 notice?
Four weeks for the rent arrears grounds (8, 10 and 11), raised from two weeks. Four months for Ground 1 (landlord or family moving in) and Ground 1A (selling the property), and neither of those can be used in the first twelve months of a tenancy.
Are all tenancies now periodic?
In England, yes. Assured shorthold tenancies converted automatically to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. Fixed terms no longer end a tenancy by themselves, so the tenancy continues until it is ended by the tenant or by a successful possession claim on a ground.
What evidence does a landlord need for a possession claim now?
In practice: a signed tenancy agreement, proof the deposit was protected with the scheme reference, in-date gas safety, electrical and EPC certificates, a rent ledger showing exactly what was due and what was paid, a maintenance history showing repairs were handled, and a log of what was communicated to the tenant and when. The communication log is the piece that is easiest to leave out, because calls and texts leave no paper trail unless someone writes them down.
Do I need special software for the Renters' Rights Act?
No. But the record-keeping burden went up sharply, and a shoebox of certificates and a bank statement is a weak position in front of a judge. What matters is that the evidence is dated, kept at the time, and complete for the whole tenancy, rather than reconstructed after a dispute starts.
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Read this next
- Section 8 evidence checklistWork through what a possession claim actually needs, before you serve anything.
- Renters' Rights Act checklistEvery change from 1 May 2026 in one list: tenancies, adverts, pets, rent rises and possession.
- Tenant repair reportingRepairs reported by link, with the dated record a possession claim later needs.
- Letting and referencingAdvertise, take applications, reference, and end up with a tenancy.
General information about the law in England as at October 2026, not legal advice. The 1 May and 31 July 2026 dates are from GOV.UK's guidance on notices given before 1 May 2026. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate possession regimes. Grounds, thresholds and notice periods are set by statute and can be amended — check the current position, and take advice from a solicitor before serving any notice or issuing proceedings.