Section 21 Notice Explained

A Section 21 notice is served under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. It allows a landlord to recover possession of a private rented property at the end of a fixed-term tenancy, or during a periodic tenancy, without having to prove any fault on the tenant's part. This is why it is often called a "no-fault eviction."

The notice must give you at least two months to leave. During a fixed-term tenancy, a Section 21 notice cannot take effect before the fixed term ends. Once the notice period expires, if you remain in the property, the landlord cannot remove you without first obtaining a possession order from the court.

It is important to understand that receiving a Section 21 notice does not mean you have to leave immediately. You have legal rights throughout this process, and the landlord must follow correct procedure at every stage or the notice will be invalid.

Your landlord must satisfy several conditions before a Section 21 notice is valid. If any condition is not met, the notice is invalid and cannot be used to evict you. These conditions include:

• Deposit protection: Your deposit must be held in a government-approved scheme and you must have been given the prescribed information about it within 30 days of payment.
• How to Rent guide: Your landlord must have given you the most up-to-date version of the government's "How to Rent" guide at the start of the tenancy.
• Energy Performance Certificate: A valid EPC must have been provided before you moved in.
• Gas safety certificate: If there is a gas supply, a current gas safety certificate must have been provided.
• Correct form: The notice must be on Form 6A (for periodic or fixed-term ASTs) and completed correctly.
• Timing: The notice cannot be served in the first four months of the tenancy, and it expires after six months unless court proceedings are started.

If your landlord has failed on any of these points, you can defend against the possession claim in court by raising the invalidity.

The Deregulation Act 2015 introduced protections against retaliatory eviction. If you have made a written complaint to your landlord about a repair or condition issue, and your landlord has not adequately responded, they are prevented from serving a valid Section 21 notice for six months. This protection also applies if the local authority has served an improvement or emergency remedial notice on the property.

To benefit from this protection, your complaint must have been made in writing before the Section 21 notice was served. If you believe a Section 21 notice has been served in retaliation for a legitimate repair complaint, you can raise this as a defence in possession proceedings.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 goes further — it abolishes Section 21 entirely for new and existing tenancies once its provisions are fully in force, replacing the no-fault route with a system requiring specific grounds for possession. Check current government guidance for the latest implementation timetable.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 "no-fault" evictions in England. This means landlords can no longer evict tenants without giving a specific reason. All possession claims must now be made under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, using one of the specified grounds for possession.

Transitional provisions apply: tenancies that started before the Act came into force may still be subject to existing Section 21 notices served before the commencement date. Any new Section 21 notice served after the Act is in force is invalid. Landlords must now rely on grounds such as selling the property (Ground 1), moving back in (Ground 1A), or rent arrears (Ground 8). This is the most significant change to private renting law in over 30 years.