From 1 May 2026 you can no longer be evicted using the 'no fault' section 21 process, even if your tenancy agreement says you can. Your landlord will need to give you a reason for evicting you when they ask you to leave. These reasons are called grounds for possession.
Key points
✓From 1 May 2026 you can no longer be evicted using the 'no fault' section 21 process, even if your tenancy agreement says you can.
✓Most existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026.
✓Landlords will have to use the correct forms and give you the correct amount of notice, which is usually 4 months but can be shorter for some grounds.
✓For a section 21 or section 8 notice served before 1 May 2026, the court process could only be started by the earlier of the time remaining on the notice or 31 July 2026.
✓Your landlord cannot ask you to leave within the first 12 months of a new tenancy because they or a close family member need to move in, or because they intend to sell.
What was Section 21?
The government's guide to the Renters' Rights Act described a section 21 eviction as one where a landlord could evict a tenant without providing any reason. It said this required the landlord to give the tenant 2 months' notice, and that after this it was always mandatory for the court to order eviction of the tenant if the tenant did not leave during the notice period.
The guide also said section 21 meant a significant minority of tenants were forced to live in substandard accommodation due to a fear that, if they complained, their landlord could simply evict them in retaliation. It says the Act delivers the government's manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including by ending Section 21 'no fault' evictions.
The Act completed its passage in Parliament on Wednesday 22 October 2025 and received Royal Assent on Monday 27 October 2025.
Section 21 is now history. This page is kept for reference because some tenants received notices before 1 May 2026 and may still have questions about what those notices mean. For current eviction law, see our Eviction Rights guide.
Section 21 is now abolished, what this means for tenants
From 1 May 2026 you can no longer be evicted using the 'no fault' section 21 process, even if your tenancy agreement says you can. GOV.UK says the changes apply to privately rented properties.
✓Yes: Most existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026
✓Yes: If you agree a new tenancy agreement with a private landlord on or after 1 May, it will be an assured periodic tenancy
✓Yes: Assured periodic tenancies run on a rolling basis, for example, weekly or monthly, and it is no longer possible to have an assured tenancy agreement with an end date
✓Yes: If your tenancy agreement has an end date in it, this will no longer apply
✓Yes: If you want to end an assured periodic tenancy after 1 May 2026, you can end it by giving 2 months' notice in writing, on the day when the rent is due or the day before the rent is due
✓Yes: Your landlord can only increase the rent once a year and not in the first 12 months of a new tenancy, they must use Form 4A and give you at least 2 months' notice, and you can challenge a proposed rent increase that is above the market rent
GOV.UK says different rules apply if you:
✗No: rent from a housing association or local council
✗No: live in student halls of residence
✗No: are a lodger
If your landlord has given you a correct notice of eviction and you do not leave by the end of the notice period, your landlord can apply to court to get their property back, which is called applying for a possession order. The court will not be able to make a possession order to evict you if your landlord has not protected your deposit in a government approved tenancy deposit scheme.
If you think your landlord is not following the rules, you can get support, for example, from Shelter and Citizens Advice.
What if I received a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026?
GOV.UK's guidance on forms says that where a valid Section 8 or Section 21 notice was served on a private property before 1 May 2026 and had not expired immediately before 1 May 2026, landlords and tenants can only continue using the forms for social housing assured tenancies on and after 1 May in particular situations. If you are not sure whether your situation is covered, you should get advice.
1
The deadline for starting the court process
Starting the court process for possession means the landlord has asked the court to issue a claim form. The deadline for beginning the court process is the time remaining on the Section 8 or Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026, or 31 July 2026, whichever is earliest. The court process cannot be started after 31 July 2026, even if the notice would otherwise still be valid, unless the deadline for starting the court process has been extended because the tenant was in a breathing space.
2
Where the court was asked to start in time
If the court is asked to start possession proceedings before the deadline, the landlord can continue to use the social housing forms until the possession proceedings finish. If the court process for possession started before 1 May 2026 and those proceedings have not finished, the landlord can also continue to use them.
3
When the court process ends or was never started
Once the court process for the notice served before 1 May 2026 has finished, or if court proceedings have not been started by the deadline, the tenancy will automatically become an assured periodic tenancy. Section 21 will no longer be available to regain possession, and the updated Section 8 grounds must be used if a landlord wants to get their property back.
If you have a written tenancy agreement, your landlord or their letting agent must give you a government-produced Information Sheet telling you about the changes to your tenancy before 31 May 2026, and if they do not do this, they could receive a fine. See our guide to the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet.
It is a crime for your landlord to harass you or try to remove you from a property without following the correct process.
What replaced Section 21?, Section 8 grounds
The Renters' Rights Act abolishes section 21 evictions, meaning landlords must instead use a section 8 ground for possession, which are specific circumstances in which a landlord can regain possession. Our Section 8 grounds guide goes through every ground.
The mandatory grounds are grounds where, if your landlord can prove the ground, the court must usually give them a possession order to start the process of evicting you. If your landlord is seeking possession through the courts on a discretionary ground, it will be up to the court to decide whether it is reasonable to evict you even if there is evidence against you.
Some mandatory grounds:
✓Yes: Ground 1: your landlord or their close family member need to move into the property, they cannot ask you to leave within the first 12 months of a new tenancy for this reason, and they must give you 4 months' notice
✓Yes: Ground 1A: your landlord intends to sell their property, they cannot ask you to leave for this reason within the first 12 months of a new tenancy, and they must give you 4 months' notice
✓Yes: Ground 6: your landlord needs to redevelop or demolish the property and you cannot live there whilst this is happening, usually they cannot evict you on this basis in the first 6 months of your tenancy, and they must give you 4 months' notice
✓Yes: Ground 7A: you or a person living with you or visiting you is convicted of criminal behaviour or breached an order to prevent antisocial behaviour, and the court cannot make a possession order for 14 days from the date your landlord gave you notice
✓Yes: Ground 8: you owe at least 3 months' rent if you pay rent monthly, or at least 13 weeks' rent if you pay weekly or fortnightly, and your landlord must give you 4 weeks' notice
For Ground 8, you will need to owe your landlord 3 months or 13 weeks rent on the day they give you the notice and at the date of the hearing. You cannot be evicted under this ground if you pay off what you owe or owe less than the amounts above by the time you get to court, and if you owe that rent because you have not received Universal Credit, your landlord cannot evict you as benefits are not counted.
Some discretionary grounds:
✓Yes: Ground 10: you owe your landlord rent, and your landlord can try to evict you before you owe 3 months' rent, but they will only get a possession order if the court believes it is reasonable, with 4 weeks' notice
✓Yes: Ground 11: you have repeatedly delayed paying your rent, with 4 weeks' notice
✓Yes: Ground 12: you have broken one or more terms in the tenancy agreement that is not related to paying rent, with 2 weeks' notice
✓Yes: Ground 13: you have allowed the condition of the property to get worse, with 2 weeks' notice
✓Yes: Ground 14: a person that lives with you or visits you commits antisocial behaviour, or you or a person living or visiting you has committed a serious offence near the property, and the court cannot make a possession order until 14 days from the date your landlord gave you notice
✓Yes: Ground 17: you or someone acting on your behalf gave false information to get the property, with 2 weeks' notice
The 12-month protected period applies to Ground 1 and Ground 1A. Your landlord can give notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy for those grounds, but it cannot expire before the 12 months have ended.
Scotland and Wales, how eviction rules differ
The grounds and notice periods above are for private tenancies in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own law.
Scotland
✓Yes: The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 commenced on 1 December 2017 and introduced the new 'private residential tenancy'
✓Yes: The tenancy is open-ended and will last until you wish to leave the let property or your landlord uses one (or more) of 18 grounds for eviction
✓Yes: All eviction grounds are discretionary, which means the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) can take all circumstances into account when deciding whether or not it is reasonable to grant an order for eviction
✓Yes: If you refuse to leave, your landlord can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for an eviction order under these grounds
✓Yes: Your rent can't go up more than once a year and you must get at least three months' notice of any increase
Wales
✓Yes: Under section 173 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, the landlord under a periodic standard contract may end the contract by giving the contract-holder notice that they must give up possession of the dwelling on a date specified in the notice
✓Yes: Section 174 says the date specified in a notice under section 173 may not be less than six months after the day on which the notice is given to the contract-holder
Northern Ireland
✓Yes: Private tenancies in Northern Ireland are governed by their own legislation, the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
✓Yes: A landlord must always provide the tenant with a written notice to quit, except in the case of a fixed term tenancy
✓Yes: If the tenancy has not been in existence for more than 12 months, nidirect says the landlord must give no less than 4 weeks' written notice, for more than 12 months but not more than 10 years no less than 8 weeks, and for more than 10 years no less than 12 weeks
Your new rights under the Renters' Rights Act 2025
GOV.UK's overview for tenants lists other changes from 1 May 2026:
✓Yes: Your landlord cannot ask for, encourage or accept a payment of rent before you have signed the tenancy agreement, and when you have signed it you can be asked to pay a maximum of 1 month's rent in advance
✓Yes: You can ask to keep a pet in the property, and your landlord must consider your request and should give you a reason if they refuse
✓Yes: A landlord cannot discriminate against a tenant because of a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, and they also cannot refuse to rent a property to a tenant who is on benefits or has children
✓Yes: A landlord must include a specific price in any written advertisement or offer, and cannot accept or encourage offers above the advertised rent
✓Yes: Your local council has new powers to investigate and take action if your landlord breaks the law
For some offences, like failing to licence a property, you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order, and the Tribunal may order your landlord to repay you some or all the rent you paid for a period of up to 2 years. See our guide to HMO licensing and rent repayment orders.
The government's guide to the Act says the Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman Service will be a service which all private landlords in England with assured or regulated tenancies will be required by law to join, including those who use a managing agent, and that tenants will be able to use the service for free to complain about a landlord's actions or behaviours. It says the administrator will be appointed as soon as possible after the Act's provisions are commenced.
GOV.UK says all landlords must sign up to the new 'Register your rental property' service as it rolls out across the country, gradually rolling out region by region from December.
Some of the Act's provisions have not yet been commenced, so check GOV.UK for the current position. This page provides general information, not legal advice.
Yes. From 1 May 2026 you can no longer be evicted using the 'no fault' section 21 process, even if your tenancy agreement says you can. The Act completed its passage in Parliament on Wednesday 22 October 2025 and received Royal Assent on Monday 27 October 2025.
When did the abolition of Section 21 happen?
The Renters' Rights Act changes how landlords let out private properties on or from 1 May 2026. Most existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026.
When was Section 21 scrapped?
From 1 May 2026 you can no longer be evicted using the 'no fault' section 21 process, even if your tenancy agreement says you can. If you agree a new tenancy agreement with a private landlord on or after 1 May, it will be an assured periodic tenancy.
I received a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, do I still have to leave?
The deadline for beginning the court process is the time remaining on the Section 8 or Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026, or 31 July 2026, whichever is earliest. The court process cannot be started after 31 July 2026, even if the notice would otherwise still be valid, unless the deadline for starting the court process has been extended because the tenant was in a breathing space. If you are not sure whether your situation is covered, you should get advice, and you can get support, for example, from Shelter and Citizens Advice.
What is Section 8 and how is it different from Section 21?
The Renters' Rights Act abolishes section 21 evictions, meaning landlords must instead use a section 8 ground for possession, which are specific circumstances in which a landlord can regain possession. Your landlord will need to give you a reason for evicting you when they ask you to leave. These reasons are called grounds for possession. If your landlord is seeking possession through the courts on a discretionary ground, it will be up to the court to decide whether it is reasonable to evict you even if there is evidence against you.
Can my landlord evict me in the first 12 months of my tenancy?
Your landlord cannot ask you to leave within the first 12 months of a new tenancy because they or a close family member need to move in, or because they intend to sell. Your landlord can give notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy for those grounds, but it cannot expire before the 12 months have ended.
Do Scotland and Wales have the same rules as England on no-fault evictions?
No. The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 commenced on 1 December 2017 and introduced the new 'private residential tenancy', which is open-ended and lasts until you wish to leave the let property or your landlord uses one or more of 18 grounds for eviction. In Wales, section 174 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 says the date specified in a notice under section 173 may not be less than six months after the day on which the notice is given to the contract-holder. Private tenancies in Northern Ireland are governed by their own legislation, the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022.
Know Your Rights UK. "Section 21 Abolished: What It Meant and What Replaced It." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/housing/section-21