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May 1 2026 - Renters' Right Act Commencement Day

You have 0 days to:

Serve any final Section 21 notices

Stop accepting above-asking rent offers

Prepare for the rental bidding ban

Remove “No DSS” from adverts

Remove “No Children” from listings

Show one clear rent price

Stop using fixed-term agreements

Switch to periodic tenancy templates

Check which tenancies go periodic

Stop taking rent before signing

Take no more than one month’s rent

Move all evictions to Section 8

Train staff on new notice rules

Create Section 13 process flow

Add two months to rent reviews

File court claims for Section 21s

Update landlord move-in grounds

Update landlord selling grounds

Send the RRA Information Sheet

Create written terms where missing

Update How to Rent processes

Review tenant screening questions

Update pet request processes

Stop backdating rent increases

Discuss rent protection backbooks

Act now before it is too late...

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Covid-19

Notice periods return to pre-pandemic levels in England with new Section 21 and 8 forms required

After more than 18 months of disruption, notice periods have reverted to their pre-pandemic levels from 1 October 2021, with new versions of Section 21 and Section 8 notice forms for agents and landlords.

Andrea Warmington

Sep 10, 2021

Notice periods in England had been set at four-months in all but the most serious cases since June 2021, but have now returned to normal levels. In Wales, extended notice periods of six months still applied until 31 December 2021, and in Scotland six month notice periods lasted until 31 March 2022.

Looking for more information about the proposed changes to Section 21 and Section 8 under the Renters' Reform Bill? Check out the guides below:

New notice forms and funding for the courts

With a backlog of cases to be heard, the Chancellor announced £324 million of funding for the courts in his Autumn Budget 2021, to help alleviate this pressure on the system and speed up the claim to repossession process.

Letting agents and landlords in England are also advised that there are new prescribed forms to complete for Section 8 and Section 21 notices for landlords and letting agents to use from 1 October 2021. Any notices served using old versions of the forms will be considered invalid.

According to Propertymark, the government "intends to retain the power to implement any similar measures again in the future should the public health situation worsen. To this end, legislation has been tabled that retains the ability for the UK Government to reapply longer notice periods until 25 March 2022 as a backstop."

Guidance to be updated

The government confirmed to Propertymark that the guidance would be updated ahead of 1 October 2021 to reflect that notice periods will be reverting to their pre-pandemic levels.

A statement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government obtained by Letting Agent Today says that, "while these measures were appropriate at the height of the pandemic, these restrictions could only ever be temporary. Returning notice periods to their pre-Covid lengths from 1 October will allow landlords to repossess their property where necessary.”

This article is intended as a guide only. It is not exhaustive and does not constitute legal advice. For more information, please refer to gov.uk.

Notice periods return to pre-pandemic levels in England with new Section 21 and 8 forms required

New notice forms and funding for the courts

Guidance to be updated

Further reading

What will happen to rent arrears if section 21 is abolished?

Notice periods for less than four months' arrears reduced to two months from 1 August 2021

ARLA Propertymark legal expert says landlords can serve Section 8 notice twice, if needed

Your guide to who can sign eviction notices and tenancy deposit certificates

UPDATED: Notice periods for rent arrears of less than four months reduced to two months