Yes. Section 21 was abolished for private tenancies in England on 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. A landlord can now recover possession only on a Schedule 2 ground, normally after a Section 8 notice on Form 3A, and only by court order. The common grounds: selling (Ground 1A), moving in (Ground 1), rent arrears (Ground 8).
By Stevie Hayes · Updated 16 October 2026 · Figures checked against legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK on 16 October 2026 · How we verify · Statutory penalties are maximums; councils and courts decide the amount.
| Fact | Position | Since / status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abolished | Section 21 and assured shorthold tenancies removed for private tenancies in England | 1 May 2026 | Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.2 (abolition of assured shorthold tenancies: Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the 1988 Act omitted) |
| Old notices | Claim to be requested by 31 July 2026 (later only where a breathing space extended it); claims requested in time continue under the old rules | Sch 6 paras 3, 4 | Renters' Rights Act 2025 Sch 6 (paras 3, 4, 16, 17: notices served before 1 May 2026; para 7: information for existing tenancies) |
| Fixed terms | Of no effect; every private assured tenancy is periodic on the rent period | HA 1988 s.4A | Housing Act 1988 s.4A (fixed terms of no effect; rent periods) |
| Replacement | A Schedule 2 ground, normally cited in a Section 8 notice on Form 3A, then a court order | s.8 | Housing Act 1988 s.8 (notice of proceedings for possession; s.8(4), (4AA), (5)) |
| Selling or moving in | Grounds 1A and 1: mandatory, four months' notice, date in the notice at least one year after the tenancy began | Sch 2; s.8(4AA) | Housing Act 1988 Sch 2 (grounds for possession; Grounds 1 and 1A one-year condition; Part 5 relevant date) |
| After Grounds 1 and 1A | No letting or marketing to let from service until twelve months after the date in the notice; offence, penalty up to £40,000, rent repayment order | s.16E, s.16M, s.16J(2), s.16K | Housing Act 1988 s.16E (misuse of grounds; no letting or marketing to let in the restricted period) |
| Deposit bar | No possession order while the deposit is unprotected or information unserved, except Grounds 7A and 14 | HA 2004 s.215 | Housing Act 2004 s.215 (deposit: no possession order except Grounds 7A and 14) |
| Tenant's notice | At least two months, or a shorter period agreed in writing | PEA 1977 s.5(1ZA) | Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5(1ZA), (1ZB) (tenant's notice to quit) |
Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 let a landlord recover possession of an assured shorthold tenancy with two months' notice and no reason. Section 2 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 removes the whole of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the 1988 Act, which is where assured shortholds and section 21 lived. That was brought into force on 1 May 2026 for assured tenancies that are not social housing by SI 2026/421, regulation 2(a). From that day every private assured shorthold became a plain assured periodic tenancy (unless a notice served before then kept it a shorthold for a time, as explained below), no new Section 21 notice could be served on one, and a term providing for a fixed term is of no effect (Housing Act 1988 s.4A): the tenancy runs on the rent period, monthly or shorter.
The GOV.UK Guide to the Renters' Rights Act puts it plainly: landlords "will no longer be able to serve new section 21 or old-style section 8 notices", and "can only end tenancies in specific circumstances set out in law, including where the tenant is at fault or if the landlord needs to sell". Section 21 still exists for assured shortholds of social housing let by private registered providers; GOV.UK's forms page says the changes will not reach those tenancies "until 2027 at the earliest". England only. This guide describes the law; it is not advice on a particular tenancy.
Schedule 6 to the Act deals with notices already in play. Two paragraphs matter for Section 21 (Sch 6 paras 3 and 4); paragraphs 16 and 17 do the same job for old-style Section 8 notices.
| Position on 1 May 2026 | What the Act says | Where it stands on 16 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Valid Section 21 notice given and the court asked to issue the claim before 1 May 2026 | The notice stays valid until the proceedings conclude; the tenancy stays an assured shorthold until then (para 3) | Those claims continue under the old rules until the court finishes with them |
| Valid Section 21 notice given, claim not yet requested | The court had to be asked to issue the claim within the "applicable period": six months from the notice (for a s.21(4) notice that had to give more than two months, four months from the date specified), or three months beginning with 1 May 2026, whichever ended first (para 4) | The three-month limit expired on 31 July 2026, later only where the tenant's debt-respite breathing space extended it. A notice not taken to court by then is spent, and the tenancy has become an assured periodic tenancy |
| Old-style Section 8 notice given before 1 May 2026 | Same structure: claims requested before 1 May continue (para 16); otherwise the twelve-month life of the notice or three months from 1 May 2026, whichever first (para 17) | Window closed on 31 July 2026 unless the court was asked to issue the claim by then |
GOV.UK's assured tenancy forms page confirms the court process "cannot be started after 31 July 2026, even if the notice would otherwise still be valid", with an exception where the deadline was extended because the tenant was in a breathing space. Once the old notice lapses or the proceedings end, the tenancy converts (unless the tenant has already left under a possession order), and the landlord then has one month beginning with that day to give the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet if the tenancy is wholly or partly in writing (Sch 6 para 7(2)), or a written statement of terms if it is wholly oral (para 7(5)).
Possession now runs only on the grounds in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, cited in a notice on Form 3A under section 8, followed by a court claim if the tenant does not leave. The court makes an order on a mandatory ground if the ground is proved; on a discretionary ground it must also find possession reasonable. Our Section 8 notice guide covers the form and the notice periods, and the grounds guide covers every ground. The ones that do the work Section 21 used to do:
| Situation | Ground | Type | Notice | Conditions that did not exist under Section 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You or close family will move in | Ground 1 | Mandatory | Four months | The date in the notice cannot be earlier than one year after the tenancy began (counting both days); no letting, or marketing to let, from service until twelve months after that date |
| You intend to sell | Ground 1A | Mandatory | Four months | Same one-year condition and re-letting bar; not available to social landlords |
| Serious rent arrears | Ground 8 | Mandatory | Four weeks | At least three months' rent (13 weeks if weekly or fortnightly) unpaid both at service and at the hearing; arrears due only to a Universal Credit housing payment not yet received are ignored |
| Arrears, persistent late payment, breach, damage | Grounds 10, 11, 12, 13 | Discretionary | Four weeks (12 and 13: two weeks) | The court must find possession reasonable |
| Anti-social behaviour | Grounds 7A, 14 | 7A mandatory, 14 discretionary | No minimum period: proceedings can begin on service | Exempt from the deposit protection and prescribed-information bar (HA 2004 s.215(4)) and from the future register bar |
| Redevelopment | Ground 6 | Mandatory | Four months | Substantial works that cannot be done around the tenant; tenancy at least six months old (or a compulsory-acquisition transfer) |
The "protected period" GOV.UK describes is the condition in Grounds 1 and 1A that "the current tenancy began at least 1 year before the relevant date", counting both the first day of the tenancy and the relevant date, where the relevant date is the date specified in the Section 8 notice (Sch 2 Part 5). The notice can be served inside the first year, but the date in it cannot fall before the first anniversary, and it must be at least four months after service (s.8(4AA)). So the earliest a claim can begin on either ground is about twelve months after the tenancy began, with the notice served about four months before that.
Because fixed terms no longer bind, a tenant can end a private assured tenancy at any time by giving notice to quit of at least two months, or any shorter period the landlord has agreed in writing; for joint tenants the agreement must be with all of them (Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5(1ZA), (1ZB)). The landlord's two months under Section 21 has gone; the tenant now gives at least two months unless the landlord agrees less in writing. Rent can rise only once a year by a Section 13 notice, and the tenant can take the proposed figure to the tribunal (see the rent increase guide).
Government changes that bear on this duty. Where the status says in force the rule already applies; everything else is not yet law for private landlords. Dates are quoted as the government has published them, checked on 15 October 2026.
| Change | Status today | Published timing | Sensible preparation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandatory landlord and property registration on the Private Rented Sector Database (the landlord register), with an annual fee | regulations in draft | Regional rollout from 15 December 2026 (West Midlands first) to 15 September 2027 for all other purposes, per the draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 | Keep copies, not just dates, of the gas safety record, EICR and EPC for each property, and know whether a licence applies; those are what the draft regulations say the entry needs. Source |
Yes, for private tenancies in England, from 1 May 2026. Section 2 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 removed assured shorthold tenancies and Section 21 with them, commenced for non-social tenancies by SI 2026/421. Section 21 remains for now for assured shortholds of social housing let by private registered providers.
Only if the court was asked to issue the claim within the applicable period, which for every such notice ended no later than 31 July 2026, unless extended because the tenant was in a debt-respite breathing space (Sch 6 para 4; GOV.UK). Claims requested in time continue under the old rules until they conclude (para 3). A notice not taken to court by then is spent and the tenancy is now an assured periodic tenancy.
A Section 8 notice on Form 3A citing a Schedule 2 ground, followed by a court claim. The grounds that cover the old no-fault situations are Ground 1 (landlord or family moving in) and Ground 1A (selling), both mandatory with four months' notice, a date in the notice no earlier than one year after the tenancy began, and a bar on re-letting that runs from service until twelve months after that date.
Yes, on Ground 1A, with four months' notice to a date no earlier than one year after the tenancy began, and the court must be satisfied you intend to sell. You then cannot let the home, or market it to let, from service until twelve months after the date in the notice; marketing it for sale is not restricted. Breach is an offence with a penalty of up to £40,000 as the alternative to prosecution.
For a sale or a move-in, the date in the notice cannot be earlier than about a year after the tenancy began, and the notice must give at least four months, so it can be served from about month eight; a claim follows if the tenant stays, plus the court's time. For serious arrears on Ground 8 the notice is four weeks.
Not yet for social housing. SI 2026/421 commenced the tenancy reforms on 1 May 2026 only for assured tenancies that are not social housing let by a private registered provider. GOV.UK says the changes will not apply to those tenancies until 2027 at the earliest. A private registered provider's letting that is not social housing is already under the new regime.
No. The agreement stands, but any term providing for a fixed term is of no effect under Housing Act 1988 s.4A, so the tenancy is periodic on the rent period, and a Section 21 clause points at a route the Act has removed. Using a fixed-term agreement for a new letting is different: purporting to let for a fixed term is a contravention under s.16E(1)(a), with a penalty of up to £7,000.
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