Section 21 abolished — what landlords need to do now

Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 gave landlords the ability to end an assured shorthold tenancy without giving a reason. It was the most commonly used route to recover possession in England. As of May 2026, it no longer exists. Here is what that means in practice and what you need to do to adapt.

What Section 21 was

Section 21 allowed a landlord to serve a notice requiring a tenant to leave at the end of a fixed-term tenancy or during a periodic tenancy, without needing to prove any fault on the tenant's part. The notice period was two months. If the tenant did not leave, the landlord could apply to the court for a possession order, and the court had to grant it — there was no discretion.

This mechanism was straightforward and predictable, which is why landlords and agents relied on it heavily. However, it was also criticised for enabling "no-fault" evictions, where tenants who had done nothing wrong — and who may have complained about disrepair — could be asked to leave with relatively little notice.

Why it was abolished

The Renters' Rights Act 2025, which came fully into force in May 2026, abolished Section 21 as part of a broader overhaul of the private rented sector. The stated aim is to give tenants greater security of tenure while still allowing landlords to recover their properties when they have a legitimate reason to do so. The legislation also converted all assured shorthold tenancies into periodic tenancies — there are no more fixed terms.

What replaces it: reformed Section 8

Landlords must now use Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 to seek possession, which requires proving one of the specified grounds. The Renters' Rights Act has reformed and expanded these grounds to cover situations that Section 21 previously handled. The key grounds you need to know are:

Ground 1 — Landlord occupation. You want to move into the property yourself, or a close family member needs to live there. This is a mandatory ground, meaning the court must grant possession if the ground is proved. The notice period is four months, and you cannot use this ground during the first 12 months of a tenancy.

Ground 1A — Sale of the property. You intend to sell the property with vacant possession. Also mandatory with a four-month notice period, and not available in the first 12 months.

Ground 8 — Serious rent arrears. The tenant owes at least two months' rent at both the date of the notice and the date of the hearing. This remains a mandatory ground.

Grounds 10 and 11 — Other rent arrears. These are discretionary grounds for lesser arrears. The court decides whether to grant possession based on the circumstances.

Ground 14 — Antisocial behaviour. The tenant or someone living with them has caused nuisance or used the property for illegal purposes. This is a discretionary ground, except in the most serious cases where it becomes mandatory.

Ground 6 — Redevelopment. The landlord intends to demolish or substantially reconstruct the property. Mandatory ground, with a four-month notice period.

New notice periods

Notice periods under the reformed system are generally longer than under Section 21. Most mandatory grounds require four months' notice, up from two months under the old regime. For rent arrears grounds, the notice period is four weeks for serious arrears (Ground 8) and two weeks for the most severe cases involving antisocial behaviour. Make sure you are using the correct notice period for each ground — an invalid notice means starting the process again.

Practical steps landlords must take

Review your tenancy agreements. Fixed-term clauses are no longer enforceable. You do not need to issue new agreements immediately, but any reference to fixed terms is now meaningless. Update your template for new tenancies.

Serve the Tenant Information Sheet. You must provide every existing tenant with the prescribed Tenant Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. Without this, you cannot use any Section 8 ground. This is the single most time-sensitive action.

Tighten your compliance records. Several Section 8 grounds are blocked if you are not compliant with gas safety, deposit protection, and other prescribed requirements. Under Section 21, some landlords got away with patchy compliance. Under the new system, compliance gaps directly prevent you from recovering possession.

Plan for longer void periods. With four-month notice periods for sale and occupation grounds, the timeline from deciding to sell to gaining vacant possession is longer. Factor this into your financial planning.

Document everything. If you ever need to rely on discretionary grounds — antisocial behaviour, breach of tenancy terms — you will need evidence. Courts expect a paper trail: dated letters, photographs, complaints from neighbours, records of conversations. Start keeping better records now.

What this means for portfolio management

The end of Section 21 raises the stakes for compliance across your entire portfolio. Every gap in your records — a missing gas safety certificate, an unprotected deposit, a lapsed EICR — is now a potential barrier to possession. You need to know the compliance status of every property, every day.

Tekniti's compliance engine tracks every regulatory requirement for every property in your portfolio. It flags gaps before they become problems, stores documents with an audit trail, and gives you a real-time view of where you stand. When compliance is the foundation of your ability to manage tenancies, you cannot afford to guess.