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On 1 May 2026, Section 21 no-fault evictions will be abolished. Here’s how you can future-proof your agency and steal a march on your competition.
The Goodlord team
Mar 2, 2026
Originally published: October 2024
Section 21 notices allow landlords to quickly regain possession of their properties without going to court. They also reduce admin for agents, making them a popular mechanism for both parties.
It’s no surprise, then, that almost 80% of landlords believe abolishing no-fault evictions will negatively affect the private rented sector (PRS).
This is one of the key reforms proposed by the Renters’ Rights Act, which will take effect on May 1, 2026.
So what are the permutations of abolishing Section 21? And how can agencies future-proof themselves?
That’s exactly what we’ll cover in this blog.
What is a Section 21 eviction notice?
Section 21 is a legal notice used by landlords or letting agents to seek possession of a property at the end or termination of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST). Often called a “no-fault eviction”, it doesn’t require the landlord to give a reason for seeking possession.
In most cases, landlords must give tenants at least two months’ notice, although longer notice may be required once a fixed-term tenancy becomes periodic. The government website says: "The amount of notice must be the same as the rental period, if this is more than two months. For example, if your tenant pays rent every three months, you must give three months’ notice".
If you want to evict a tenant during a fixed-term tenancy, you need to serve a Section 8 notice, which requires you to cite grounds for eviction. These notices must be processed by the courts.
How to serve a Section 21 notice correctly before 1 May, 2026
To serve a Section 21 eviction notice, you need to fill out Form 6A on the government site. If you create your own Section 21 notice, it must include all the information on Form 6A. You can only serve the notice at the end of a fixed-term tenancy or during a periodic tenancy.
Depending on the terms you stipulated in the tenancy agreement, you can serve a Section 13 notice via:
- Email - Considered delivered and received on the same day if you send before 16.30 on a working day.
- First-class mail - The notice comes into effect two days after the posting day, as long as it’s a working day.
- Personal delivery - Considered delivered and received on the same day, if you physically give the notice to the tenant in an envelope before 16.30 on a working day; you also need to provide evidence (e.g. a time-stamped photo).
- Left at address - Similar to the above, although you’ll post the letter through the letter box and take a time-stamped photo of you doing so.
- Process server - A specialised company or individual can handle the service for you.
Serving a notice via a method not included in the tenancy agreement could invalidate it, so check this beforehand.
When can't you use a Section 21 notice?
The Government site says there are circumstances in which a letting agent or landlord can't use a Section 21 notice. These include:
- If the tenancy started less than four months ago, or a fixed-term tenancy has not ended. However, a landlord can use a Section 21 notice if the contract contains a clause allowing it.
- If the property is a house in multiple occupation (HMO), but the landlord does not have an HMO license from their council.
- If the tenancy started after April 2007, and the tenant deposit isn't in a deposit protection scheme.
- If a council notice has been served in the last six months stating that emergency works will be carried out on the property.
- If a landlord has not repaid any unlawful fees or deposits that were charged to the tenant.
You also must provide the following to the tenant for the notice to be valid:
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
- The How to Rent guide
- Gas safety certificate
You won’t be able to serve a Section 21 notice from 1 May 2026 onwards.
When will Section 21 be scrapped, and what’s changing?
The Renters’ Rights Act will be introduced in phases, rather than taking effect all at once. Changes affecting Section 21 will be introduced as part of Phase 1, effective 1 May, 2026.
This phase introduces some of the most significant reforms to the private rented sector, including a move away from fixed-term tenancies and changes to Section 8 grounds.
From this point, Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs) will replace Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) as the default, and the system will start with every eviction requiring legal grounds.
How will Section 8 replace Section 21?
Once Section 21 goes, Section 8 will be the only route to possession for landlords and letting agents. That means to evict tenants from a property, you must rely on specific legal grounds such as:
- Selling the property or moving into it
- Ongoing rent arrears
- Damage to the property
- Anti-social behaviour
While many of the Section 8 grounds already exist, the Act further strengthens them to balance tenant security with a landlord's right to regain possession when it is reasonable.
One of the biggest changes affects cases where the tenant isn’t at fault. If a landlord wants to sell or move into the property, a new mandatory ground (1A) applies. This entails longer notice periods and tighter restrictions on re-letting to prevent misuse of the system.
Put simply, if landlords use this ground, they may have to wait longer to regain possession, and if the plan changes, the property could sit empty for months.
Additionally, the bar for taking action on serious rent arrears is also being raised. Tenants must now be at least three months in arrears before landlords can serve notice. Combined with an already stretched court system, this could significantly extend eviction timelines.
In real terms, this means landlords may receive no rental income for six months or more before regaining possession.
It’s one of the reasons conversations around risk management and rent protection are becoming unavoidable, which we’ll explore later in this blog…
Why is the government abolishing Section 21?
According to its Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act, the government is “ending the threat of arbitrary Section 21 evictions, which uproot renters from their homes with little notice and minimal justification.”
It continues: “The new tenancy system will provide tenants with greater security and stability and empower them to challenge bad practice without fear of retaliatory eviction. Landlords will also benefit, with more straightforward regulation, and clearer and expanded possession grounds.”
These changes address concerns about high tenant churn rates.
For example, in August 2025, the housing charity Shelter published data estimating that 11,400 tenants had been evicted between July 2024 and June 2025 with a Section 21 notice.
However, critics of the legislation say abolishing Section 21 without reforming the court system is naive.
With evictions delayed, tenants will be in rent arrears for longer, while landlords’ legal costs will skyrocket.
How will these changes affect letting agents?
As uncertainty reigns in the PRS, the burden is on letting agents to support and advise their clients through the turbulence. But this is easier said than done. You’ll need to navigate the following three challenges effectively to ensure you’re ready for the Renters’ Rights Act:
1 - Increased admin
Put simply, Section 8 notices are more complicated than Section 21 notices.
Landlords can cite eight mandatory grounds and 11 discretionary eviction grounds to evict tenants from their property. In Form 3, the official documentation landlords must fill out to serve a Section 8, landlords need to:
- State the grounds they’re seeking possession for
- Give a full explanation of why each ground is being relied upon
Assisting your clients with this process will mean your agents spend even more time on paperwork.
2 - Risk of non-compliance
Incorrectly citing grounds or missing supporting evidence in a Section 8 notice is a significant problem for several reasons.
Firstly, your clients want an expert service. If you allow them to send notices that courts throw out, your reputation and customer relationships could be damaged.
Secondly, the eviction process is likely to be prolonged as the Renters' Rights Act takes effect. Further delaying the process will result in longer periods of tenant arrears, leaving landlords out of pocket.
As a result, relying on manual data entry practices that are vulnerable to human error isn't sustainable.
3 - Financial constraints on landlords
Landlords and letting agents can serve Section 21 notices until the Renters’ Rights Act becomes effective on 1 May, 2026, so it’s fair to expect a flurry of them in the next few months.
With more tenants being evicted from their homes, there’s a higher risk they’ll fall into arrears. Properties may also fall into disrepair if tenants no longer care for them.
To stop your clients from leaving the sector for good, you need to protect them from these threats.
How can agencies prepare for the abolition of Section 21?
It’s fair to say that agencies are under the cosh right now. But none of the challenges facing you are insurmountable. Here are two solutions that’ll help you combat the abolition of Section 21 and position your business as a market leader.
Invest in technology
Agencies have been calling on technology to automate manual admin and compliance processes for some time now. The Renters’ Rights Act heightens this need for agencies that haven’t fully digitised. Here are the benefits you’ll get by investing:
Reduce admin
One of the key promises of lettings software is to reduce admin and allow agencies to do more with the same or fewer resources. This capability has never been more important than it is right now. Vera Rogers, Head of Administration at South-West-based agency, Milburys, says:
“I had to do quite a lot of the admin, plus some employees, like the actual negotiators, used to have to help with admin. Whereas after the integration of Goodlord, the admin tasks move mainly to me, so Milburys can manage and deal with a lot more properties with the same amount of people”.
Streamlining admin with Goodlord also helped Greg Tsuman, Lettings Director at South-East-based agency, Martyn Gerrard:
"From a team of 30 people progressing files, we've now got a team of three, with the rest focusing on business generation instead of administration."
Of course, the Renters’ Rights Act adds further admin onto agents’ plates. But by removing existing tasks from their workload, you can free up their time to support Section 8 notices.
That’s why it’s important to think about this now, rather than after the Act becomes effective.
Ensure compliance
Saving time isn’t the only promise of lettings software, as Vera can attest to:
“When there's a change in legislation, we rely on Goodlord. They know about legislation and compliance because they've got the legal team. They will change the tenancy agreements, it's on the system the next day, and I’m sending contracts that are already compliant”.
When the Renters’ Rights Act ushers in overnight changes, you can rest assured that Goodlord has you covered. Greg reinforces this point, stating:
"All agents are equally good, until things start going wrong - knowing that there is a paper trail helps us assure clients that they can have complete peace of mind."
Add more value to landlords
By reducing admin and ensuring compliance, you can better navigate choppy waters and get ahead of your competition. Greg says:
"The fact that we now have more time to speak to our clients rather than being bogged down with the admin tasks means we can have more quality conversations. We can provide that human customer service that helps us stand out from our competitors."
Provide Rent Protection Insurance
As we’ve already touched on, higher arrears thresholds and slower court processes mean landlords could go months without rental income. That’s where Rent Protection & Legal Expenses Insurance comes into its own.
Lettings software can do many things, but it doesn’t cover unpaid rent. That’s where insurance comes in. James Conway, Director at David Conway Estate and Letting Agents, says:
"We offer Goodlord's Rent Protection on 70% of our properties, through our four landlord packages,'' says James. "Rent Protection helps us sell our agency's services. The fact that we can protect the rent [...] now with payouts until vacant possession - that's really key.”
James also highlights the reality of eviction timelines and the need for comprehensive support:
"Other providers might pay out 12 months maximum, but evictions can take longer. We've had a couple of evictions recently, which have unfortunately taken over a year, and some rent guarantee products would have stopped payouts by then Goodlord's product can now make sure that doesn't happen.”
He continues: "You can put a landlord's mind at rest knowing they're going to be covered, which really enhances our offering to our landlords."
Conclusion
Section 21 is a safety blanket landlords and letting agents would rather keep hold of. However, by combining lettings software and Rent Protection Insurance, you can still thrive in a world without it.
Making this decision proactively will further ease the transition to the reforms proposed by the Renters’ Rights Act.
FAQs
Q1 - Will evictions be quicker or slower once Section 21 is abolished?
In most cases, evictions are expected to be slower. Without Section 21, every possession claim will require a court process, and longer notice periods apply in many scenarios.
Q2 - What happens if a tenant falls into rent arrears?
Under the new rules, tenants are given more time to recover from short-term financial difficulty. The threshold for mandatory action on rent arrears increases from two months to three months.
However, if a tenant owes three months’ rent or more, the court must grant a possession order once notice has been served correctly. If arrears are below three months, possession is not guaranteed.
Q3 - Can landlords evict tenants if they want to sell or move back in?
Yes, but stricter rules apply. Landlords can rely on new Section 8 grounds if they intend to sell the property or move into it themselves.
However, to provide stability for tenants, a 12-month protected period applies at the start of a tenancy, during which these grounds cannot be used. When they do apply, landlords must give four months’ notice, giving tenants more time to find alternative accommodation.
Q4 - If the property is not sold, can it be re-let immediately after?
No. If possession is regained using the selling ground, landlords are restricted from re-letting the property for 12 months. This is designed to prevent misuse of the ground, so landlords should be confident in their plans before serving notice.
Q5 - What happens if a tenant refuses to leave after notice is served?
If a tenant does not leave once the notice period expires, the landlord must apply to the court for a possession order. If the tenant still refuses to vacate after this, enforcement action, such as using bailiffs, may be required.
