The Renters (Reform) Bill is set to abolish Section 21 notices. However, the courts will likely have to be reformed first to keep up with increased claims.
A main commitment of the upcoming Renters (Reform) Bill is to abolish section 21, which is also known as a "no-fault eviction" notice. This has often been seen as the main headline news story of the bill.
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The Renters (Reform) Bill is one of the most significant pieces of legislation for the private rented sector in the past 30 years. The abolition of section 21 evictions has been a longstanding commitment. The bill instead proposes strengthening other legal grounds - such as section 8 - to help landlords recover their properties.
In April 2024, the government made amendments to the bill, proposing that the ban on Section 21 may be postponed until the justice secretary decides whether the courts will be able to deal with an increase in repossession claims.
Here's a breakdown of what you need to know:
- What is section 21?
- What's changing for section 21?
- Why is section 21 being abolished?
- What do these changes mean for landlords and tenants?
- What will replace section 21?
- How will the new system be enforced?
- How do letting agents and landlords feel about the abolition of section 21?
- Will section 21 be scrapped?
What is section 21?
A section 21 notice allows a landlord to evict a tenant by providing them with two months' notice once their fixed term contract has come to an end.
Landlords aren’t required to provide their tenants with a reason for the eviction, hence the phrase “no-fault” eviction. In contrast, to serve a section 8 notice, the landlord needs to prove that the tenant has broken the terms of the tenancy agreement.
In April 2024, housing charity Shelter published data estimating that 830,000 tenants were evicted over the last 12 months - with around 190,000 likely being served a legal eviction notice, like a section 21.
What's changing for section 21?
Plans to abolish section 21 eviction notices were first set out as far back as the Queen's Speech in 2019. These plans were confirmed in the A Fairer Private Rented Sector white paper in 2022.
A main aim of the bill is to simplify tenancy structures by transitioning all tenancies to periodic, rolling contracts. This means that there will no longer be 6, 12, or 24 month contracts for tenancies. Instead, all tenancies (with some exceptions) will be on a rolling basis.
This means that a tenancy will end only if the tenant chooses to leave, or if the landlord has a valid reason, as defined by law through section 8 grounds.
Section 21 would therefore no longer be required, which would put an end to these so-called “no-fault evictions”.
However, plans to abolish section 21 has seen controversy among MPs due to fears that landlords will leave the market, which will reduce the number of rental properties available for tenants to rent.
Tabled amendments to the bill, which will be debated in parliament in the bill's third reading, include the fact that the ban on no-fault evictions can't be implemented until an impact assessment is published by the Justice Secretary.
Meanwhile, other amendments to the bill include the fact that tenants must live in a property for a minimum of four months before they can give notice to end their tenancy.
🖥️ Watch our video on what agents need to know about the Renters (Reform) Bill
Why is section 21 being abolished?
Michael Gove has previously shared that, under current legislation, some renters face "a precarious lack of security" - especially in terms of section 21 "no fault" evictions.
The government also found in its A new deal for renting: government response
that section 21 evictions led "some tenants to feel reluctant to challenge poor standards due to risk of eviction without reason."
The new rules therefore aim to empower tenants to "challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of eviction."
Data from Shelter in April 2024 indicated that 40% of tenants said their last moved was "forced and not made through choice."
What do these changes mean for landlords and tenants?
After section 21 is abolished, landlords will always need to provide their tenants with a reason for ending a tenancy, for example: a breach of contract or wanting to sell the property.
Originally, the plan was that tenants could choose to end the tenancy at any time - as long as they provided two months notice to the landlord. However, recent amendments to the bill means that tenants need to have lived in a property for four months before giving their two months' notice.
This amendment effectively means that a landlord can guarantee a tenant will be in a property for six months as a minimum.
You can read an overview of how the plans to change section 21 have already affected the sector in our blog.
What will replace section 21?
The government aims to strengthen the grounds for possession under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. This will allow landlords to recover their property in reasonable circumstances.
After a tenant has lived in a property for six months, landlords will be able to evict a tenant under "reasonable" circumstances under section 8. This includes:
- Redevelopment
- Wanting to sell the property
- Allowing a close family member to move in to rent the property
The ground for anti-social behaviour will also be strengthened. Landlords will be able to make a possession claim immediately, and the ground would cover "behaviours 'capable of causing' nuisance or annoyance." This means that a wider range of tenant behaviours can be considered in court.
In January 2024, it was proposed that allowing evidence such as texts and emails from neighbours would be taken into account when discussing anti-social eviction cases in court.
You can read more about the new grounds in our guide.
How will the new system be enforced?
The government's white paper originally warned landlords and agents that "any attempt to find loopholes [for evicting tenants] will not be tolerated".
The government also said at the time that it would "consider the case" for new or strengthened penalties to support those currently in existence, including the power for councils to issue Civil Penalties Notices.
How do letting agents and landlords feel about the abolition of section 21?
In 2022, 71% of landlords believed abolishing section 21 would have a negative impact on the lettings industry, according to Goodlord and Vouch's State of the Lettings Industry Report 2022.
However, in the 2023 edition of the report, this dropped to 62%.
At the same time, the number of landlords feeling neutral about the change has risen from 12% to 29%.
In contrast, in 2022, 27% of letting agents believed the abolition of section 21 would have a positive impact. In 2023, this number had dropped to just 11%.
Will section 21 actually be abolished?
The government announced that section 21 would only be abolished when "sufficient progress has been made to improve the courts", which created a lot of questions about whether the section will actually be abolished.
Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, confirmed that the section will be abolished by the end of January 2025. "We will have outlawed it and we will have put the money into the courts in order to ensure that they can enforce that."
One of the amendments to the bill is to ensure that section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions cannot be abolished until there has been an examination of whether the courts can handle the increased capacity.
If you want to learn more about the Renters (Reform) Bill, you can find a number of different resources on Newsagent:
- 📜 Take our free, CPD-accredited Renters (Reform) Bill course
- 🎥 Watch our webinar on the bill
- 🎧 Listen to our podcast on the changes to come
This article is intended as a guide only and does not constitute legal advice. For more information, visit bills.parliament.uk.
