Section 21 notice: abolished, what landlords use now

A section 21 notice can no longer be used by private landlords in England. Section 21 was abolished for private tenancies on 1 May 2026, and the last day to start a court claim on a notice served before then was 31 July 2026. If you need a property back today, you serve a Section 8 notice on Form 3A and prove a legal ground for possession.

Is section 21 abolished?

Yes, for private landlords. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 repealed section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, along with the rules on assured shorthold tenancies, for every assured tenancy that isn't social housing.

Date	What happened
27 October 2025	The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent
30 April 2026	Last day a section 21 notice could be given for a private tenancy
1 May 2026	Section 21 abolished for private tenancies; ASTs became periodic assured tenancies; Form 3A introduced
31 July 2026	Last day to start court proceedings on a section 21 or Section 8 notice served before 1 May 2026 (with a narrow breathing-space exception)
2027 at the earliest	Expected date for applying the reforms to social housing tenancies of private registered providers

So the honest answer to "is section 21 abolished?" is: completely, for private landlords, and every transitional route for older notices has now closed. This applies to England only. Wales replaced its system earlier with occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own law.

What happened to a section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026?

A section 21 notice served on or before 30 April 2026 didn't become invalid overnight, but it had to be used quickly. The rules are in Schedule 6 to the Renters' Rights Act:

• If you had already asked the court to issue the claim before 1 May 2026, the notice stays valid until those proceedings are concluded, and the tenancy stays an AST until then.
• If you hadn't, you had to start proceedings by the end of the "applicable period":
  • for an ordinary section 21(1) notice, the earlier of 6 months beginning with the date the notice was given, or 31 July 2026;
  • for a section 21(4) notice that had to give more than 2 months' notice, the earlier of 4 months beginning with the date specified in the notice, or 31 July 2026.
• If you started proceedings in time, the notice stays valid until those proceedings finish.
• If you didn't, the notice stopped being valid and the tenancy carried on as a periodic assured tenancy.

Example. A section 21(1) notice given on Monday 12 January 2026 had a 6-month period ending on 11 July 2026. That is earlier than 31 July 2026, so the claim had to be requested by 11 July. A notice given on Friday 20 March 2026 had a 6-month period running to 19 September 2026, so the 31 July 2026 cut-off applied instead. Either way, the deadline has now passed for every pre-May notice.

GOV.UK is clear that the court process can't be started after 31 July 2026, even if the notice would otherwise still have been valid. The only exception is where a tenant's debt-respite breathing space extended the deadline. If you think that applies to you, speak to a solicitor straight away.

Watch out: when an old notice stopped being valid, a written tenancy needed the government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet within one month. If you haven't given it, give it now. Not giving it risks a penalty of up to £7,000. See the Information Sheet.

If your section 21 case is already in court

If you requested the claim in time, it carries on under the old rules until it finishes. Accelerated possession claims on form N5B remain available to private landlords only in these transitional cases. See accelerated possession after section 21. If that claim fails or is withdrawn, you can't start a new one on the same notice.

How do landlords evict tenants now section 21 is abolished?

The answer to "how will landlords evict tenants once section 21 is abolished?" is now settled: through Section 8. You serve a notice on Form 3A naming at least one ground from Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, wait for the notice period to pass, and apply to court if the tenant stays. The court orders possession if you prove the ground (and, for discretionary grounds, if it is reasonable).

Start from your real reason for wanting the property back:

Your situation	Section 8 ground	Minimum notice	Watch out for
You want to sell	Ground 1A	4 months	Not in the first 12 months; no re-letting or marketing for 12 months after the notice date
You or close family will move in	Ground 1	4 months	Same first-year rule and re-let ban; evidence of genuine need
The tenant owes rent	Grounds 8, 10 and 11	4 weeks	Ground 8 needs 3 months' or 13 weeks' arrears at service and at the hearing
Antisocial behaviour or crime	Grounds 7A and 14	None	Evidence: convictions, logs, witness statements
Breach of the tenancy agreement	Ground 12	2 weeks	Discretionary: the court decides if it is reasonable
Damage to the home or furniture	Grounds 13 and 15	2 weeks	Inventory and dated photos
Major works needing the home empty	Ground 6	4 months	Tenancy must have begun 6 months before the notice date
A banning order, licence refusal or similar	Ground 6B	4 months	The court may order you to compensate the tenant
Student HMO needed for new students	Ground 4A	4 months	Written statement before the tenancy; notice date 1 June to 30 September
The tenant has died	Ground 7	2 months	Proceedings within 12 months of the death
The tenant has no right to rent	Ground 7B	2 weeks	You need the Home Office's written notice

The full list of Section 8 grounds covers every ground, including the rarer ones.

Section 21 eviction vs Section 8: what's different now

If you're used to a section 21 eviction, these are the changes that matter most:

• You need a reason, and evidence. A judge must be satisfied your ground is proved. Keep rent schedules, inventories, photos, letters and agent instructions.
• Notice periods vary by ground, from none to 4 months, and the longest applies if you use several.
• There is usually a hearing. Standard claims use forms N5 and N119; only rent-arrears-only claims can go online.
• The deposit rule now attaches to the order. An unprotected deposit doesn't invalidate a Section 8 notice, but it stops the court making an order on most grounds.
• Gas safety, EPC and the How to Rent guide were section 21 preconditions. They aren't preconditions for a Section 8 order, though gas and EPC rules remain legal duties.
• Misuse is penalised. Defective notices, grounds used without a reasonable belief that you can get possession, and re-letting after Ground 1 or 1A can all bring council penalties.

Our side-by-side guide to Section 8 vs section 21 goes into more detail.

Section 21 myths to avoid

"My tenancy started before May, so I can still use section 21." You can't. The start date of the tenancy doesn't matter; section 21 is gone for all private tenancies.

"I'll wait for the fixed term to end." Fixed terms no longer have any effect. Every private assured tenancy is periodic, with no end date to wait for.

"I'll serve a notice to quit instead." A landlord's notice to quit has no effect on an assured tenancy, and purporting to end a tenancy that way can bring a £7,000 penalty.

"I'll re-date an old section 21 template." It won't work, and a document that purports to end the tenancy outside the Section 8 rules risks a council penalty.

"Once the notice runs out, I can change the locks." Never. Only county court bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers can carry out an eviction under a court order. Illegal eviction can lead to prosecution or a penalty of up to £40,000. See illegal eviction and harassment.

What to do next

1. Identify your ground from the table above and check its conditions on the ground's own page.
2. Gather your evidence and check the deposit and Information Sheet are in order.
3. Prepare your Section 8 notice on Form 3A. ValidNotice suggests the grounds that fit your answers, calculates every date and fills in the form for you to check, sign and serve.

For the full process, start with the Section 8 notice guide, or read which eviction notice to use if you're still unsure.