Section 21 has been abolished — what does that mean for you?
For thirty years, the most powerful piece of paper a landlord could send a tenant was a Section 21 notice — two months' written notice to leave, with no reason needed. That notice no longer exists. As of 1 May 2026, it has been abolished entirely. This guide explains what's changed, why it matters, and what's now in its place.
The short answer
Your landlord can no longer end your tenancy without giving a specific legal reason. The "no-fault" eviction is gone. To recover the property, your landlord must now use one of seventeen specific grounds set out in law — each with its own conditions, evidence requirements, and notice period. Most of those notice periods are longer than the old two months. And in many cases, the landlord faces real consequences for serving notice and then changing their mind.
What was Section 21?
Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 was the legal route landlords used to end an assured shorthold tenancy without giving a reason. They served a written notice in the prescribed form, gave the tenant two months, and at the end of that period — assuming the tenant didn't leave voluntarily — they could go to court for a possession order. Because no reason was needed, the notice was nearly impossible for the tenant to contest. As long as the form was filled in correctly and the deposit was protected, the order was a formality.
This made Section 21 the standard route for ending a tenancy. Most landlords used it as a matter of course — easier than proving rent arrears, easier than proving any of the fault-based grounds. It gave landlords flexibility and tenants almost none. For three decades, it was the central feature of the private rented sector in England.
It was also deeply controversial. Tenant advocates argued for years that the no-fault structure created an imbalance: tenants could be removed at any time, for any reason, with two months' notice, regardless of how long they'd lived in the property or how reliably they'd paid rent. It made it hard to put down roots, hard to challenge unsafe living conditions, and hard to feel secure even when you'd done nothing wrong.
The decision to abolish Section 21 was first announced in 2019. It took until October 2025 for the necessary legislation — the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — to receive Royal Assent, and until 1 May 2026 for the abolition to actually come into force. The government's overview of the Act for tenants is a useful plain-English summary.
What's replaced Section 21?
Under the new system, every assured tenancy is automatically a periodic tenancy — a rolling tenancy with no fixed end date, calculated by reference to the rent period (usually monthly). Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies have effectively been abolished. You can give two months' notice to leave at any time. Your landlord can no longer simply give you notice — they must use one of seventeen specific grounds, set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the new Act.
The grounds fall into two categories. Mandatory grounds are those where, if the landlord proves the facts, the court must order possession. Discretionary grounds are those where the court may order possession but can also refuse if it considers it reasonable to do so.
The grounds most likely to be relevant to you, in rough order of frequency:
Ground 1A — Sale of dwelling-house (mandatory). The landlord wants to sell. Notice period: four months. Cannot grant possession in the first twelve months of the tenancy — though notice can be served earlier, provided its four-month expiry falls on or after the anniversary. If the landlord serves this notice and then doesn't sell, they cannot re-let the property for twelve months.
Ground 1 — Occupation by landlord or family (mandatory). The landlord or a close family member wants to move in. Notice period: four months. Cannot grant possession in the first twelve months — though notice can be served earlier, provided its four-month expiry falls on or after the anniversary.
Ground 8 — Rent arrears (mandatory). The tenant has at least three months of rent arrears at the time of notice and at the hearing. Notice period: four weeks. (One of the few notice periods that's shorter under the new rules — previously it was two months.)
Ground 6 — Redevelopment (mandatory). The landlord wants to demolish or substantially redevelop the property and can't do so with you in situ. Notice period: four months. Strict requirements about the type of work proposed.
Discretionary grounds cover things like persistent late payment, breach of tenancy, anti-social behaviour, deterioration of the property. Notice periods range from two weeks to four weeks. Each requires specific evidence, and the court will weigh whether possession is reasonable in the circumstances.
There are seventeen grounds in total. Most tenants will only ever encounter one or two of them.
What else has changed in your favour?
Beyond the specific grounds, several procedural changes shift the balance:
The notice must specify the ground. A notice that fails to identify the precise ground being relied on is invalid. This is a tighter standard than under the old Section 21 regime, where no reason was needed at all.
The grounds must actually be made out. If the landlord serves notice citing Ground 1A but it later transpires they had no genuine intention to sell, the court can refuse possession and may award damages. The old Section 21 didn't have this honesty requirement because no reason was needed. Now it matters.
Re-letting restrictions apply to some grounds. If a landlord serves notice under Ground 1A or Ground 1 and then doesn't proceed with the stated reason, they cannot re-let the property for twelve months. This is a significant constraint that didn't exist before — it makes a no-reason eviction structurally impossible, because every reason now carries a downstream cost if it turns out to be untrue.
Notice periods are longer for most grounds. Four months for the most common landlord-side grounds (sale, family occupation), compared to the old two months under Section 21. This gives tenants more time to plan, save, find new accommodation, or negotiate a different outcome.
Rent increase challenges go to a tribunal. The First-tier Tribunal can now adjudicate disputed rent increases and can only set the rent at or below market rate. Previously, a tribunal could potentially set the rent higher than the landlord proposed — a quirk that discouraged challenges. That's been fixed. Challenging a rent increase is now risk-free, in the sense that the worst case is the rent stays where the landlord proposed.
What this means for you
If you're currently in a tenancy that started before 1 May 2026, your tenancy automatically converted to a periodic assured tenancy on that date. You don't need to do anything — the conversion is automatic and applies to all existing tenancies. You retain the same protections as everyone else under the new system.
If you've been told your landlord is thinking of ending your tenancy:
- They can't simply give you notice without specifying a ground.
- The notice period for most landlord-side reasons is now four months, not two.
- They cannot take possession in the first twelve months for a sale or family occupation reason. Notice may be served earlier, but only if its four-month expiry falls on or after your twelve-month anniversary.
- If they serve notice citing a ground that turns out not to be true, they face real consequences.
If you've already been served a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, that notice is still legally valid. However, the landlord must bring possession proceedings within either twelve months of the notice being served, or by 31 July 2026, whichever is earlier. After those dates, the notice expires and a fresh notice — under the new rules — would have to be served.
One option people don't know about
If your landlord is ending the tenancy in order to sell, and you're going to be moving on anyway, there's one more thing worth knowing — because it can mean you don't leave empty-handed.
A tenanted property usually sells for around twenty per cent less than the same property empty. That gap is real money, and there's a growing route — a co-operative exit — where the landlord shares some of it with you in return for agreeing a move-out date and co-operating with the sale. You leave on a date that suits you, with a cash reward to cushion the move, rather than absorbing all the disruption for nothing.
This is something you can suggest to your landlord — it's their decision whether to take it up, and you lose nothing by raising it. It sits alongside your other options, not instead of them: your rights, your notice period, and your ability to get free advice are all unchanged. We explain how it works, and how to raise it, in What to do if your landlord is selling.
What to do next
Three things, depending on where you are:
If you've recently been served notice — or are about to be — read it carefully. The notice must be in the prescribed statutory form. It must specify the precise ground. It must give the correct notice period for that ground. If anything is wrong, the notice is invalid and the clock doesn't start running. Free advice on whether a notice is valid is available from Citizens Advice and Shelter.
If your landlord has mentioned selling, but no formal notice has been served, you have time. Ground 1A's four-month notice plus the practical realities of selling a property with a tenant in it usually means six to nine months between the first conversation and the day you'd actually need to move. That's enough time to plan well — and enough time to suggest a co-operative exit if you'd like to try it. We've written a separate guide on that: What to do if your landlord is selling.
If you're not in any of these situations but you've been worried about your security as a tenant — the new rules genuinely improve your position. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 was years in the making and it has shifted the legal landscape meaningfully. You have more time, more notice, more grounds to challenge a notice, and stronger remedies if your landlord acts in bad faith. The gap between landlord and tenant power hasn't been closed. But the floor for tenants is higher than it has been in thirty years, and that's worth understanding clearly.
Common questions
Has Section 21 really been abolished?
Yes. As of 1 May 2026, Section 21 "no-fault" eviction no longer exists. Your landlord can no longer end your tenancy without giving a specific legal reason.
Can my landlord still evict me now?
Yes, but only by using one of seventeen specific grounds, each with its own conditions and notice period. They have to name the ground, and it has to be genuine.
How much notice does my landlord have to give now?
It depends on the reason. For the most common landlord-side grounds — selling (Ground 1A) or moving in (Ground 1) — it's four months, double the old two months under Section 21. Some grounds, such as serious rent arrears, are shorter.
Does the change apply to my existing tenancy?
Yes. Tenancies that started before 1 May 2026 automatically converted to the new periodic system on that date. You didn't need to do anything, and you have the same protections as everyone else.