What Was a Section 21 Notice?
A Section 21 notice was the legal mechanism landlords in England used to regain possession of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) without proving fault by the tenant. It was abolished on 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025: no new Section 21 notice can be served in England.
This guide explains what Section 21 was, what still applies to a notice that was validly served before 1 May 2026 and is now working through the courts, and the Section 8 route that has replaced it for every new possession case.
Despite being called a "no-fault" eviction, Section 21 always had strict procedural requirements, and failing even one made the notice invalid. Those same compliance duties now underpin a valid Section 8 claim, so none of this knowledge is wasted.
When Could a Section 21 Be Served? (pre-1 May 2026)
For any notice served before 1 May 2026 (and therefore for a transitional notice still in court now), a Section 21 was only valid if:
A Section 21 could not be served within the first 4 months of a tenancy.
From 1 May 2026 none of this applies to a new notice: possession now runs entirely through Section 8 grounds.
The Compliance Preconditions (still matter for Section 8)
This is where most landlords lost cases. For a Section 21 to be valid, ALL of the following had to be in place, and these are exactly the duties that now protect a Section 8 claim, so keep them current on every tenancy:
1. Gas Safety Certificate, in date. A certificate that lapsed even one day defeated the notice.
2. EPC, the tenant had to have received a copy of a valid EPC before the tenancy started.
3. How to Rent guide, the current government How to Rent guide had to be provided at the start of the tenancy.
4. Deposit protection, the deposit had to be in a government-approved scheme with the Prescribed Information served.
5. EICR, a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report had to exist and have been provided to the tenant.
If any of these was missing, the notice failed, and the same gaps will undermine a Section 8 possession claim today.
How a Section 21 Was Served (transitional notices only)
For a notice served before 1 May 2026:
For any new case you now use Section 8. LetCompliance's Section 8 readiness checker confirms your compliance status first, then shows which grounds your prerequisites clear and the earliest possession date, cutting the risk of a procedural error throwing the claim out.
Section 21 and the Renters' Rights Act 2025
Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. New Section 21 notices can no longer be served in England. A notice that was validly served before that date can still complete through the courts during the transition window, provided every precondition above was met at the time.
For possession from here on you use Section 8, citing a specific ground. See the eviction process for 2026 and the Renters' Rights Act landlord guide.
Checklist for a transitional Section 21 notice
If you are completing a Section 21 notice that was served before 1 May 2026, every one of these had to be in place at the time or the notice was defective:
Important — these are NOT the Section 8 preconditions. Do not carry this list over to a new possession claim. Under Section 8, only the deposit rules bar an order (every ground except 7A and 14, and returning the deposit cures it). Gas, EICR, EPC and How to Rent never gated Section 8: they carry their own penalties and, on the discretionary grounds, weigh on the reasonableness test, but a possession order does not turn on them.
Why Section 21 notices failed, and what actually carries over
Courts rejected Section 21 notices for a small set of recurring reasons. Knowing them matters for two things: finishing any transitional Section 21 still in the courts, and understanding what does, and does not — transfer to Section 8.
1. Lapsed Gas Safety Certificate
If the annual Gas Safety (CP12) certificate was out of date on the date of service, a Section 21 notice was defective. It does not invalidate a Section 8 notice, though an unsafe installation weighs against you on the reasonableness test for a discretionary ground, and the gas duty carries its own unlimited fine regardless.
2. EICR not provided
An Electrical Installation Condition Report had to be in date and served for a valid Section 21. Missing it does not defeat a Section 8 claim; it carries a penalty of up to £30,000 in its own right.
3. Deposit not protected or Prescribed Information missing
This is the one that does carry over. A late-protected deposit, or Prescribed Information not served within 30 days of receipt, blocked Section 21, and now bars a Section 8 possession order on every ground except 7A and 14 (returning the deposit cures the bar), on top of a 1×–3× penalty.
4. How to Rent booklet not given
The correct edition had to be given at the start of the tenancy for a valid Section 21. The guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and is no longer served on new tenants; it never gated Section 8. It is relevant now only as evidence for a pre-May-2026 Section 21 claim.
5. Notice period too short
Section 21 needed at least 2 months. Section 8 notice periods vary by ground (for example Ground 8 rent arrears is now 4 weeks). Always check the exact ground and allow the full period.
6. Wrong form used
Section 21 used Form 6A; Section 8 uses Form 3A. Using a letter or a general notice is not sufficient: the prescribed form is mandatory.
7. "Retaliatory eviction" defence
If the council served an improvement notice or the tenant complained in writing about disrepair in the past 6 months, courts could refuse possession as retaliatory. Maintain the property proactively, and this defence carries over to Section 8.
How to serve correctly today (Section 8):
(Keep your gas, EICR and EPC current too, not because they bar Section 8, but because they carry their own penalties and a judge weighing a discretionary ground will notice a landlord who neglected them.)
Don't let a deposit slip cost you a possession claim. LetCompliance checks your deposit position before you draft, pre-fills the ground wording verbatim from Schedule 2, and audit-logs the service so the court accepts the chain. For old Section 21 notices in the transition window, the same precondition tracker keeps your bundle court-ready.
Section 21 → Section 8 Transition Map (2026)
Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026. Map every active S21 / Form 6A scenario onto a valid Section 8 ground with this 2-page transition guide.
- Pre-1 May 2026 Form 6A — still valid? Decision tree
- Map every S21 trigger to a Section 8 mandatory / discretionary ground
- Ground 8 (rent arrears) — 13-week threshold under RRA 2025
- Top 5 evidence packs courts now expect for possession
Frequently asked questions
Is Section 21 still available for UK landlords?
No. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 no-fault possession in England on 1 May 2026. Possession now runs through a Section 8 ground in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, served on the prescribed Form 3A. A valid Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 remains usable within its existing time limits.
What blocks a Section 8 possession claim?
Deposit compliance is the bar that matters. For an assured tenancy beginning on or after 1 May 2026 the court cannot make a Section 8 possession order while the deposit is unprotected, the scheme’s requirements are unmet, or the Prescribed Information has not been given — on every ground except 7A and 14 (anti-social behaviour). Returning the deposit cures it. Registration on the PRS Database will bar possession the same way once the register opens. A lapsed Gas Safety record, EICR or EPC does not bar a Section 8 claim: each carries its own penalty and weighs on the reasonableness test for discretionary grounds, but none is a statutory bar.
How much notice must a Section 21 give the tenant?
Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026, so a landlord can no longer serve a new Section 21 notice, and possession now runs through Section 8 grounds instead. Where a valid Section 21 was served before that date, it had to give the tenant at least 2 months to leave and (for a periodic tenancy with rent paid more than monthly) align with a rental period; court proceedings on those already-served notices had to begin by 31 July 2026.
Can I serve Section 21 by email?
You cannot serve a Section 21 notice at all any more: it was abolished on 1 May 2026 by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Possession now runs through a Section 8 ground on the prescribed Form 3A. The service rules are the same either way — email works only if the tenancy agreement expressly permits it, otherwise serve in person or by first-class post to the property, and keep proof of service (a dated photograph, tracking receipt, or a process server’s certificate). If you served a valid Section 21 before 1 May 2026, it remains usable within its existing time limits.