Section 21 abolished in England: how to get possession

Last updated 25 Oct 2026

In England, a landlord can no longer serve a section 21 notice: from 1 May 2026, a private landlord who wants possession must use a section 8 notice and one of the grounds in the Housing Act 1988. This page covers England only; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate rules.

What ended and what replaced it

GOV.UK says section 21 notices can no longer be issued for new or existing tenancies from 1 May 2026. GOV.UK's forms page says the updated section 8 grounds must be used to get a property back, and that Form 3A is the section 8 notice for privately rented property.

For the wider picture, see the Renters' Rights Act dates.

Notice periods under section 8

Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 now sets the earliest possession date by ground. Proceedings must begin within twelve months of the notice being served.

Grounds	Earliest possession date
7A or 14	The date the notice is served
1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2ZA to 2ZD, 4A, 6, 6A, 6B	Four months from service
5, 5A to 5D, 5H, 7, 9	Two months from service
5E, 5F, 5G, 8, 10, 11, 18	Four weeks from service
4, 7B, 12, 13, 14ZA, 14A, 15, 17	Two weeks from service

The grounds landlords ask about most

Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 lists every ground. Part I grounds are ones where the court must order possession if the conditions are met. Part II grounds are discretionary.

Ground	What it covers	Type
1	The landlord or a close family member needs the home as their only or principal residence	Mandatory
1A	The landlord intends to sell, or grant a long lease of more than 21 years	Mandatory
7A	Serious offence convictions, anti-social behaviour injunction or criminal behaviour order breaches, closure orders	Mandatory
8	Rent arrears: at least 13 weeks unpaid for weekly or fortnightly rent, or three months for monthly rent, at both the notice and the hearing	Mandatory
10	Some rent is unpaid when proceedings begin and was unpaid at the notice date	Discretionary
11	The tenant has persistently delayed paying rent	Discretionary
12	The tenant has broken another term of the tenancy	Discretionary
14	Nuisance or annoyance, or illegal or immoral use of the home	Discretionary
17	The tenancy was granted on a false statement by the tenant	Discretionary

Schedule 2 attaches conditions to several grounds, such as written notice requirements and minimum tenancy lengths for Grounds 1 and 1A. Read the ground in full before serving a notice. For those two grounds, including the 12-month ban on re-letting, see selling a rented home with tenants in and moving back into your rented home. For Grounds 8, 10 and 11, see rent arrears by nation.

What happened to notices served before 1 May 2026

GOV.UK says a section 8 or section 21 notice given before 1 May 2026 could only be used to start a court claim until the earlier of its own limit and 31 July 2026. A section 21 notice needed to have been given on or before 30 April 2026.

After 31 July 2026, a landlord who still wants possession must start again under the rules for notices served on or after 1 May 2026. A claim issued by 31 July continues until it concludes. If a claim is dismissed, the tenancy becomes an assured periodic tenancy.

Track the dates with Letbook

Letbook is a compliance tracker for private landlords. It holds your gas safety and electrical report dates and certificate files per property and emails you before they lapse; it does not draft or track possession notices. Sign up free.

Sources

Facts checked on 25 October 2026, with the law as in force then. This page is general information, not legal advice.