Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 was abolished on 1 May 2026. From that date, no-fault evictions ceased to exist in the private rented sector in England, and every tenancy in the sector transitioned to a new legal framework under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
For landlords, the change is immediate and practical. The route to possession they have relied on for nearly four decades is gone, replaced by a revised set of grounds under Section 8 that require evidence, process, and in every case, a court hearing. For property investors, the implications run deeper.
The abolition of Section 21 is not an isolated event; it marks the beginning of a sustained period of regulatory change that will progressively add to the compliance burden on anyone operating as a self-managed landlord in England.
The sections below set out what the abolition means in practice, how the new possession framework operates, what the real costs look like for a traditional landlord navigating the rules, and how the investment landscape is shifting as a result.
It also sets out why many landlords and investors are now reconsidering how they structure their property holdings, and what a professionally managed alternative looks like in practice.
We recommend reading this alongside Landlord Responsibilities: The Complete Guide for a fuller picture of the obligations that now apply to the private rented sector.
What Is a No-Fault Eviction?
A no-fault eviction is the process by which a landlord ends a tenancy without needing to give a reason. Under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, a landlord could serve a Section 21 notice on a tenant in an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) and recover possession of the property simply by following the correct procedure, regardless of whether the tenant had done anything wrong. No arrears, no antisocial behaviour, and no breach of the tenancy agreement was required. The tenant had no grounds to challenge the notice itself, only its technical validity.
Section 21 was introduced deliberately. Before the 1988 Act, strict rent controls and security of tenure rules had made the private rented sector deeply unattractive to landlords, and the sector had contracted sharply as a result. Section 21 was designed to bring private landlords back into the market by giving them a reliable, low-friction route to regain possession at the end of a tenancy. It worked, and the private rented sector expanded significantly over the following decades.
The trade-off was security for tenants. A landlord could serve a valid Section 21 notice at any point after the fixed term of an AST had ended, or in some cases during it, and a tenant had no recourse beyond challenging whether the notice met the procedural requirements. A possession order from the county court would follow if the tenant did not leave.
That mechanism no longer exists. Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, and no new Section 21 notices can be served from that date.
When Was Section 21 Scrapped?
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, with 1 May 2026 set as the date on which abolition would take effect. All tenancies in the private rented sector in England transitioned simultaneously to the new regime on that date, regardless of when they were originally created.
Key Dates for the Section 21 Abolition
The transition from Section 21 to the new possession framework was not instantaneous for every landlord. A set of transitional provisions, set out in Schedule 6 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, govern notices served in the period leading up to abolition.
The critical dates are:
- 27 October 2025: Royal Assent. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 becomes law.
- 30 April 2026: The last day on which a valid Section 21 notice could be served, before 4:30pm.
- 1 May 2026: Abolition takes effect. All tenancies transition to the new framework. No new Section 21 notices can be served from this point.
- 31 July 2026: The hard longstop date. Any possession proceedings based on a pre-abolition Section 21 notice must be issued at court by this date, regardless of when the notice was served.
How the Transitional Window Works in Practice
The notice period for a Section 21 notice was two months, and the transitional rules create three distinct scenarios depending on when a notice was served:
- Notice served before 1 February 2026: The landlord has up to six months from the date the notice was served to issue possession proceedings at court.
- Notice served between 1 February 2026 and 30 April 2026: The landlord must issue proceedings by 31 July 2026 at the latest, regardless of the six-month calculation.
- Notice served on 30 April 2026: The two-month notice period expires on 30 June 2026. Proceedings must still be issued by 31 July 2026.
One additional risk is worth noting. If a Section 21 notice served before abolition is later found to be invalid, because it failed a procedural requirement, for example, the landlord cannot simply serve a new one.
The tenant becomes an assured tenant, and the landlord must proceed under Section 8, meaning they need a qualifying ground for possession and must start the process from the beginning.
The Full Renters’ Rights Act Timeline
Section 21 abolition is the most immediate change under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, but it is one part of a phased programme of reform that will extend well into the next decade. The government’s implementation roadmap sets out the full schedule.
Phase 1 (1 May 2026) Section 21 abolished. All ASTs converted to periodic tenancies. New rent increase framework introduced. Rental bidding banned.
Phase 2 (late 2026 onwards) The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database goes live. Mandatory landlord registration begins. Landlords who have not registered will face civil penalties.
Phase 2 continued (expected 2028) The PRS Landlord Ombudsman becomes operational. All private landlords in England will be required to join.
Phase 3 (proposed 2035 to 2037) The Decent Homes Standard is extended to the private rented sector. Awaab’s Law, which sets legal timeframes for landlords to address hazards including damp and mould, comes into force for the PRS.
Each phase adds obligations. Taken together, the trajectory is one of sustained and increasing regulatory complexity for self-managed landlords in England over the coming decade.
What Will Replace Section 21?
With Section 21 gone, the only legal route to possession for private landlords in England is now Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988.
Unlike Section 21, Section 8 requires a landlord to prove a qualifying ground for possession. The full list of revised grounds is set out in Schedule 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which amends Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988.
Grounds are either mandatory, meaning the court must grant possession if the ground is proven, or discretionary, meaning the court can choose not to grant possession even if the ground is made out.
All Section 8 claims now require a court hearing. The accelerated possession procedure, which allowed landlords to apply for possession without a hearing in straightforward Section 21 cases, no longer exists.
| Section 21 | Section 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Reason required | No | Yes |
| Notice period | 2 months | Varies by ground |
| Court hearing | Not always required | Always required |
| Accelerated procedure | Available | No longer available |
| Evidence burden | None | Must prove ground |
Revised Section 8 Grounds for Possession
The government’s guide to the Renters’ Rights Act sets out the full detail of each revised ground. The key grounds most landlords will encounter are as follows.
Grounds 1 and 1A: The landlord wants to move in or sell
Ground 1 covers the scenario where a landlord or a member of their close family intends to occupy the property as their principal home. Ground 1A covers the intention to sell. Both grounds require four months’ notice and cannot be used within the first 12 months of a tenancy, a period known as the protected period.
Ground 1A carries a significant additional restriction that is not widely understood. If a landlord uses Ground 1A to recover possession on the basis that they intend to sell, and the sale subsequently does not proceed, the property cannot be marketed for let or rented out in any form for 16 months from the date the notice was originally served. That is a substantial period of potential lost rental income for a landlord whose sale falls through or who changes their plans.
Ground 4A: Purpose-built student accommodation and HMOs
Ground 4A is a new ground specific to houses in multiple occupation where all occupants are full-time students. It allows landlords to serve notice before the end of the academic year so that the property can be re-let for the following intake. Four months’ notice is required. This ground preserves the academic-year letting cycle that student property landlords depend on.
Ground 8: Serious rent arrears
The threshold for Ground 8 has increased from two months to three months of arrears. The notice period has increased from two weeks to four weeks. Critically, the three-month arrears threshold must still be met at the date of the court hearing, not just when the notice was served. If a tenant makes a partial payment that brings arrears below three months before the hearing, the Ground 8 claim fails, and the landlord must start again.
Ground 14: Antisocial behaviour
Ground 14 is largely unchanged. It remains a discretionary ground, and landlords can apply to court immediately on service of the notice without waiting for a notice period to expire.
The Shift to Periodic Tenancies
From 1 May 2026, all assured shorthold tenancies in England have converted to periodic tenancies by operation of law. Fixed-term tenancies no longer exist in the private rented sector. Every tenancy now rolls on a periodic basis, typically month to month, until either the tenant or the landlord brings it to an end.
For tenants, the change means they can end their tenancy by giving two months’ notice in writing at any point. For landlords, it means the only route to ending a tenancy is through one of the Section 8 grounds described above.
Landlords with existing tenants also have a compliance obligation to address promptly. The government’s Renters’ Rights Act information sheet must be provided to all existing tenants by 31 May 2026. Failure to do so can result in a civil penalty of up to £7,000.
How the Section 21 Changes Affect Landlords
The shift to Section 8 as the sole possession route changes more than legal procedure. It changes the economics of managing a problem tenancy, the administrative discipline required to maintain a valid possession claim, and the strategic calculus for anyone with buy-to-let assets in England.
The True Cost of Eviction Under the New Rules
Under Section 21, a landlord dealing with a non-paying tenant could serve notice relatively quickly and pursue the accelerated possession procedure without a full court hearing. That route no longer exists. Under the new framework, recovering possession from a tenant in arrears follows a fixed sequence, and each stage takes time.
A realistic timeline for a Ground 8 rent arrears claim looks like this:
- Months 1 to 3: The tenant falls into arrears. A Ground 8 notice cannot be served until three full months of arrears have accrued. The landlord covers mortgage, insurance, and maintenance costs throughout.
- Month 3: The landlord serves a Section 8 notice. The minimum notice period for Ground 8 is four weeks.
- Month 4: The notice expires. The tenant does not leave. The landlord applies to court for a possession order.
- Months 4 to 6+: Court proceedings. Typical county court timelines for possession claims are currently around nine weeks, but are widely expected to lengthen as Section 8 claims increase and the accelerated procedure is no longer available to absorb volume.
- Months 6 to 7+: If the possession order is granted and the tenant still does not vacate, the landlord applies for a warrant of possession. Bailiff enforcement adds a further four to six weeks in typical conditions.
A landlord navigating this process from start to finish could be without rental income for six months or more, while carrying the full cost of the property throughout. That calculation only holds if every step is handled correctly. Any procedural error, a missed document, an arrears figure that dips below the three-month threshold before the hearing, or a defective notice, means starting again.
For investors who want exposure to property without carrying this operational burden, we cover the alternative model later in this article.
Increased Documentation and Compliance Requirements
The shift to Section 8 makes procedural compliance more consequential than it was under Section 21. A possession claim under Section 8 can be undermined at court if a landlord has not met their obligations in full. The standard documentation requirements that apply before any Section 8 notice can be served include a valid deposit protection certificate, a current Gas Safety Certificate, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), and a signed copy of the How to Rent guide provided to the tenant at the start of the tenancy.
Landlords who have not maintained these documents, or who cannot evidence that they were provided correctly, face a compounding problem. The possession claim may fail, and the local authority has the power to issue civil penalties of up to £7,000 for standard breaches of the new rules. Serious or repeated offences carry penalties of up to £40,000.
The government’s Renting is Changing campaign page provides a practical summary of everything that changed from 1 May 2026, including new forms, notice requirements, and the possession grounds, and is a useful reference for landlords who want to audit their current compliance position.
The upcoming PRS Database, due to launch in late 2026, will add a further layer of formal registration and record-keeping obligations on top of those that already exist.
What This Means for Landlords Considering Their Options
The picture that emerges from the new framework is one of increased cost, increased process, and increased risk for anyone managing a buy-to-let property without professional support. That assessment is reflected in landlord behaviour. According to the English Private Landlord Survey 2024, 31% of landlords were already planning to reduce the size of their portfolios, and 16% intended to sell all of their properties within two years. Those figures were recorded before the Renters’ Rights Act came into force.
Property remains a resilient long-term asset class. Capital appreciation, rental income, and portfolio diversification are all still valid reasons to hold property. The question the regulatory environment now poses is not whether property investment makes sense, but how it should be structured.
For landlords who have sold buy-to-let assets specifically to avoid the new compliance landscape, and for investors who want exposure to the property market without taking on the operational and legal responsibilities of a self-managed landlord, the structure of the investment matters as much as the asset itself.
A Different Approach to Property Investment
The compliance timeline, the eviction process, the documentation requirements, the civil penalty framework, and the decade of further reform ahead all point to the same conclusion. Self-managed buy-to-let has become a significantly more demanding proposition than it was even five years ago.
The structural alternative is professionally managed property investment. The model is straightforward.
An investor purchases a buy-to-let property through a consultancy such as Knight Knox, and a professional management company handles tenants, maintenance, and day-to-day operations from that point. The investor owns the asset and receives monthly rental income. The legal obligations that apply to the property still exist, but the day-to-day responsibility for fulfilling them sits with the management company, not the investor personally.
The legislative changes covered in this article still apply to the property. The difference is who carries the burden of navigating them. A self-managed landlord absorbs every obligation directly. In a professionally managed structure, that responsibility transfers to operators with the systems, expertise, and legal knowledge to handle it at scale.
This distinction matters more now than it did before 1 May 2026. The compliance obligations that have historically been manageable for an attentive individual landlord are now more complex, more consequential when they go wrong, and more likely to increase further over the coming years. Managing them well has become a professional undertaking.
For investors considering this model, Knight Knox structures investments for long-term, income-focused returns rather than short-term speculation.
The focus is on assets that generate reliable, consistent rental income over time, in locations with strong and sustained tenant demand. As with any property investment, returns are not guaranteed, and we recommend seeking independent financial advice before making any investment decision.
A Note on Managed Investment Sectors
For investors interested in specific asset classes, two sectors within the Knight Knox portfolio are worth understanding in the context of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The first is purpose-built student accommodation. Ground 4A, the new possession ground introduced by the Act, applies to houses in multiple occupation where all tenants are full-time students. It allows compliant operators to serve notice ahead of the new academic year, preserving the letting cycle that makes student property a structurally distinct investment category. I
It is one of very few areas where the Renters’ Rights Act creates a specific provision that works in favour of structured, professional operators rather than adding to their obligations. Our Student Property Investment Explained article covers the PBSA investment model in full.
The second is specialist supported housing. SSH operates under a different contractual framework from the standard private rented sector, with properties secured on long-term leases, often 20 years or more, with professional housing providers.
Tenant care, maintenance, and compliance responsibilities sit with the housing provider rather than the investor, making it a genuinely hands-off model that generates consistent rental income largely insulated from typical market volatility. Our Specialist Supported Housing Investment page covers how the model works in practice.
At Knight Knox, we have supported more than 6,500 investors across the UK and in 113 countries since 2004. The consistency of that track record reflects an approach built on structured, income-focused investment rather than short-term market timing. The regulatory environment has changed. The fundamentals of why professionally managed property investment works have not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Landlords Still Evict Tenants After Section 21 Is Abolished?
Yes. The abolition of Section 21 removes no-fault eviction, but landlords retain the right to recover possession of their property through Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. Section 8 requires a landlord to establish a qualifying ground for possession.
Mandatory grounds, such as serious rent arrears under Ground 8 or the intention to sell under Ground 1A, mean the court must grant possession if the ground is proven. Discretionary grounds, such as antisocial behaviour under Ground 14, give the court the option to refuse possession even if the ground is made out. All Section 8 claims require a court hearing.
What Happens if a Section 21 Notice Was Served Before 1 May 2026?
Notices served before abolition remain valid subject to the transitional provisions set out in Schedule 6 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. The key longstop date is 31 July 2026.
Any possession proceedings based on a pre-abolition Section 21 notice must be issued at court by that date, regardless of when the notice was served or when it expires. If a pre-abolition notice is later found to be invalid, the landlord cannot serve a replacement. The tenant becomes an assured tenant and the landlord must proceed under Section 8.
Does the Section 21 Abolition Apply in Scotland and Wales?
No. The abolition applies to England only. Scotland abolished no-fault evictions in 2017 under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016. Wales has its own legislative framework under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, which introduced equivalent protections for Welsh tenants separately from the English regime.
How Much Notice Does a Landlord Need to Give Under the New Rules?
Notice periods vary depending on the ground being relied upon. Ground 1 and Ground 1A, covering the landlord’s intention to move in or sell, both require four months’ notice. Ground 8, covering serious rent arrears, requires four weeks’ notice. Ground 14, covering antisocial behaviour, allows the landlord to apply to court immediately on service of the notice without waiting for a notice period to expire.
Is the Accelerated Possession Procedure Still Available?
No. The accelerated possession procedure, which allowed landlords to apply for possession without a court hearing in straightforward Section 21 cases, has been abolished alongside Section 21 itself. All possession claims under Section 8 now require a court hearing, regardless of how straightforward the case appears.
What Is the 16-Month Reletting Restriction?
The 16-month reletting restriction applies when a landlord uses Ground 1A to recover possession on the basis that they intend to sell the property. If the sale subsequently does not proceed, the property cannot be marketed for let or rented out in any form for 16 months from the date the original notice was served.
The restriction exists to prevent landlords from using the intention to sell as a pretext for ending a tenancy, and then immediately reletting the property.
Will Rent Go Up Because of the No-Fault Eviction Ban?
Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, landlords can only increase rent once per year through the formal Section 13 process, which requires serving a prescribed notice on the tenant.
Tenants who consider the proposed increase above the market rate have the right to challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal, which will assess the increase against comparable market rents. The Tribunal cannot set the rent above the level the landlord proposed, but it can set it lower.
Whether the abolition of Section 21 leads to broader rent increases across the market will depend on supply and demand conditions in individual locations rather than the legislation itself.
Can I Invest in Property Without Being a Hands-On Landlord?
Yes. Professionally managed property investment offers a structure in which the investor owns the asset and receives rental income, while a professional management company handles tenants, maintenance, compliance obligations, and day-to-day operations.
The legal obligations that apply to the property still exist, but the responsibility for fulfilling them sits with the management company rather than the investor personally. Our Property Investment for Beginners guide covers the full range of investment approaches available, including how the managed model works in practice.
Rebecca Jackson began her property career at just 16 and has spent the past 13 years with Knight Knox, growing into her current role as Associate Director. Her journey has taken her around the world—hosting seminars, meeting clients face-to-face, and even taking part in a charity skydive—all while building a wealth of experience and strong client relationships.
Rebecca’s passion for property is personal. She loves helping clients build their portfolios and long-term wealth, and takes great pride in the longstanding connections she’s formed with both investors and colleagues over the years.
