It's the end for Section 21 Notices

With the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 coming into force imminently, Section 21 no fault eviction notices are being abolished. Section 21 eviction notices have allowed landlords to remove tenants quickly from their property, even when the tenant had done nothing wrong, but had been hugely controversial.

Section 21 notices cannot be used after 1 May 2026. The last day a Section 21 notice can be served by a landlord is therefore 30 April 2026. 

Of course there will still be circumstances in which landlords need to evict a tenant, but what will the new procedure be, with Section 21 notices coming to an end?

What is the deadline for serving Section 21 Notices?

From 1 May 2026, every possession claim must be justified under statutory grounds - there are no more "no fault" evictions.

Some landlords may assume that as long as a Section 21 notice is served before the deadline of 30 April 2026, they can take their time issuing possession proceedings. However, this is not the case. If a Section 21 notice is served before 30 April 2026, proceedings to evict the tenant must be issued by end of July 2026 at the very latest. It is possible that the eviction proceedings would need to be served before the end of July 2026, depending on when the Section 21 notice was served and legal advice should be taken as to the exact deadline on a case by case basis. 

If a landlord does not issue eviction proceedings within this short window of time, the Section 21 notice becomes invalid and cannot be issued again. 

Similarly, if a Section 21 notice is defective in any way, and the deadline for starting eviction proceedings passes, a new Section 21 notice cannot be served on the tenant. 

What is replacing Section 21 Notices?

After May 2026, landlords must have a reason for evicting a tenant. If a landlord wants to evict a tenant, they must prove that one of the statutory grounds under the Renters' Rights Act applies. 

The statutory grounds which will allow landlords to evict tenants under the new Renters' Rights Act are:

• Ground 1: The landlord or a close family member of the landlord intends to move into the property. This ground cannot be used to evict a tenant within the first twelve months of a tenancy and four months notice needs to be given to the tenant;
• Ground 1A: The landlord intends to sell the property. This ground cannot be used to evict a tenant within the first twelve months of a tenancy and four moths notice must be given to the tenant; 
• Ground 6: The landlord wants to redevelop the property, and must demonstrate that the property needs to be vacant to allow the works to take place. The tenant must be given four months notice under this ground, which cannot be used during a fixed term tenancy. 
• Ground 7: If the tenant dies, the landlord must give no less than two months notice for the property to be vacated.
• Ground 7A: This ground allows landlords to evict tenants immediately when a notice is served, if they have been convicted of a serious offence, breached an injunction, committed serious serious anti-social behavior at the property, including violent crime, or committed drug offences at the property.
• Ground 7B: This ground means that any tenant without leave to remain in the UK, or who are not British or Irish citizens, can be evicted on two weeks' notice. 
• Ground 8: This ground applies if there are the tenant has not paid rent for more than 13 weeks or three months, after which the landlord must wait four weeks before starting possession proceedings. This is likely to be the most widely used ground for landlords to evict tenants. 

The new grounds under the Renters' Rights Act require the landlord to present evidence to support their case to the court, without Section 21 to fall back on. 

Should landlords change how they operate under the Renters' Rights Act?

The abolition of Section 21 is a rebalancing of the landlord–tenant relationship, with greater emphasis on security for tenants and accountability for landlords. For landlords, the immediate priority is to understand the April 2026 deadline and use the remaining window wisely.

As it will be significantly more difficult for landlords to evict tenants, landlords should consider the following when granting leases over their properties:

• Tenants should be selected as carefully as possible, paying special regard to references for tenants;
• Landlords should keep careful records of any issues at the property as they arise; and 
• Landlords should take action to deal with any issues as quickly as possible, as generally the notice periods and time it will take to evict tenants will be longer.  

If you need legal advice about dealing with a dispute between tenants and landlords, we will be able to help. Contact us today to speak to one of our legal experts.