Section 21 Transitional Arrangements 2026 — Complete Landlord Guide to Pre-Commencement Notices

What changed on 1 May 2026 — Section 21 abolition and AST conversion

From 1 May 2026, the English private rented sector operates under a fundamentally different framework:

• Section 21 abolished — no new notices after 1 May 2026: No Section 21 notice may be served on or after 1 May 2026 — the notice form (Form 6A) is discontinued and a court would not make a possession order based on a Section 21 notice served after commencement. The abolition is absolute — there is no category of tenancy for which Section 21 remains available post-commencement. All tenancies (including those in the transitional period, existing tenancies under fixed terms, and new periodic tenancies) lost Section 21 from 1 May 2026
• All ASTs converted to periodic Assured Tenancies from 1 May 2026: Every Assured Shorthold Tenancy in existence on 1 May 2026 automatically converted to a periodic Assured Tenancy (APT). The fixed-term element of any AST in a fixed term on 1 May 2026 fell away. From 1 May 2026, there are only periodic Assured Tenancies — no new fixed-term ASTs can be granted. Section 21 was only available against ASTs; since no tenancy is an AST after 1 May 2026, Section 21 is permanently unavailable regardless of the transitional provisions
• Section 8 is the only possession route post-1 May 2026: From 1 May 2026, all possession proceedings for assured tenancies (whether pre-commencement or new) use Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. The Section 8 notice must specify one or more grounds from Schedule 2 HA 1988 (as amended by RRA 2025 — new grounds added; some grounds amended; mandatory vs discretionary grounds). Landlords who have not previously used Section 8 should familiarise themselves with the grounds, notice periods, and court process — it is more complex than Section 21
• Court proceedings issued pre-commencement continue under old rules: Where a landlord had already issued possession proceedings in court before 1 May 2026 (based on a Section 21 notice), those proceedings continue under the pre-commencement rules. The court will determine the possession claim under the old regime — the landlord does not need to re-serve under Section 8. However, proceedings in the system on 1 May 2026 faced significant backlogs in many courts — the practical reality is that many cases listed for hearing after 1 May 2026 were still live, and the courts continued to process them under the transitional provisions

Pre-commencement Section 21 notices — validity requirements

A pre-commencement Section 21 notice can only be relied upon in the transitional period if it was fully valid when served. Every pre-condition must have been met:

• Valid Form 6A: The Section 21 notice must have been served in Form 6A (the prescribed form under the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015). An incorrect form, or a form missing mandatory information, is invalid. Form 6A must have included: the property address; the notice period; the date by which possession is required; the landlord's (or agent's) name and address; the prescribed wording about the tenant's right to check the validity of the notice. A notice served in an old or superseded form (pre-2015 Form) was invalid
• Minimum 2 months' notice: The notice period must have been at least 2 months from the date of service (not from the date the notice was written or the date it expires). Service by hand is deemed same-day; first class post adds 2 working days; second class or recorded delivery adds 2 working days. The date on the notice must allow at least 2 months from the deemed service date. Notices that gave less than 2 months' notice — even by one day — were invalid
• Deposit protection and prescribed information: If the landlord held a tenancy deposit, it must have been protected in an approved scheme (DPS, MyDeposits, or TDS) within 30 calendar days of receipt, AND the prescribed information must have been served on the tenant. Failure to protect the deposit on time, or failure to serve prescribed information, prevents a valid Section 21 notice — this is absolute under s.215 Housing Act 2004. Re-protecting a deposit late does not revive the right to use Section 21 for the period of non-compliance. Landlords should check the deposit protection certificate and the date of protection carefully
• How to Rent; Gas Safety Certificate; EPC: Additional pre-conditions under the 2015 Regulations: (1) a valid EPC must have been provided to the tenant at or before the start of the tenancy; (2) a Gas Safety Certificate (current at the time of service) must have been provided to the tenant at the start of the tenancy AND given to the tenant each year; (3) the How to Rent guide (the current version at the time the tenancy was granted or last renewed) must have been provided to the tenant. Failure to provide any of these deactivates the right to serve a valid Section 21 notice. These defects cannot be cured retrospectively for the purpose of serving a pre-commencement notice

The transitional window — using a pre-commencement notice post-1 May 2026

Landlords with pre-commencement Section 21 notices face the key question of whether and how to use them after 1 May 2026:

• The transitional period — when a pre-commencement notice can still be used: The RRA 2025 transitional provisions allow pre-commencement Section 21 notices that were valid at commencement to be relied upon in possession proceedings issued within a specified transitional window. The window runs from the commencement date (1 May 2026). Landlords should issue possession proceedings as soon as possible after commencement if they intend to rely on a pre-commencement Section 21 notice — do not assume the transitional window is open-ended. Legal advice on the specific timing of your notice and whether proceedings must be issued by a particular date is strongly recommended given the complexity of the transitional provisions
• Checking notice validity before committing to proceedings: Before issuing possession proceedings based on a pre-commencement Section 21 notice, the landlord should verify each of the pre-conditions was met at the time of service: (1) Form 6A correctly completed; (2) minimum 2 months' notice from deemed service date; (3) deposit protected in time with prescribed information served; (4) EPC provided at tenancy start; (5) Gas Safety Certificate provided at start and each year; (6) How to Rent guide provided. A single failure invalidates the notice. Proceeding on an invalid notice wastes court fees and delays possession — it is better to identify invalidity early and decide whether to switch to Section 8
• Other bars to Section 21 — retaliatory eviction; improvement notices: The Deregulation Act 2015 introduced additional bars on Section 21: (1) retaliatory eviction — where the landlord serves a Section 21 notice within 6 months of the local authority serving an improvement notice or emergency remedial action notice (triggered by a tenant's complaint about housing conditions), the Section 21 notice is invalid; (2) Section 47/48 LTA 1987 — where a landlord's address has not been properly served on the tenant (Section 48 notice), service of a valid Section 21 notice is prevented. These bars applied to pre-commencement notices — a notice that was invalid due to a Deregulation Act bar cannot be relied upon in transitional proceedings
• Strategic decision — proceed on pre-commencement notice or switch to Section 8: Landlords with live pre-commencement Section 21 notices face a strategic choice. If the notice is valid and proceedings can be issued within the transitional window, proceeding is straightforward — the court will make a possession order without requiring any specific ground. If the notice has any defect, or if issuing proceedings in time is impractical, the landlord should consider whether a Section 8 notice is more appropriate. Post-RRA 2025, Section 8 grounds have been strengthened: Ground 8a (persistent arrears — mandatory) and Ground 1A (landlord intends to sell — discretionary) are new; Ground 8 remains mandatory for 3+ months' arrears. A switch to Section 8 requires a new notice and a new notice period — but may be the more reliable route

Section 8 after 1 May 2026 — the only route for new possession claims

For landlords who cannot or choose not to rely on pre-commencement Section 21 notices, Section 8 is the sole possession mechanism from 1 May 2026:

• Section 8 notice (Form 3, post-RRA 2025 version): A Section 8 notice served after 1 May 2026 must use the updated post-RRA 2025 Form 3, which incorporates the amended Schedule 2 grounds. The notice must state the ground(s) relied upon; the facts supporting those grounds; and the notice period applicable to each ground. Using the pre-commencement Form 3 for a notice served after 1 May 2026 may be defective — always use the current prescribed form. Notice periods vary by ground: Ground 8 (serious arrears — 2 weeks); Ground 1A (landlord intends to sell — 4 months); Ground 14 (ASB — can apply immediately); Ground 1 (own occupation — 4 months)
• Key mandatory grounds post-RRA 2025: Mandatory grounds require the court to make a possession order if proved — no discretion. Key mandatory grounds: Ground 8 (at least 3 months' rent arrears at notice AND at hearing — 2 weeks' notice); Ground 8a (new — persistent arrears: 3+ episodes of 2+ months' arrears within 36 months — 4 weeks' notice); Ground 7A (criminal conviction of tenant, household member, or visitor for Schedule 2A serious offence — 2 weeks' notice); Ground 14A (domestic abuse — landlord is a registered social landlord; not applicable to private landlords). Key discretionary grounds: Ground 14 (antisocial behaviour — no fixed notice minimum; court can dispense with notice); Ground 12 (breach of tenancy covenant); Ground 1A (landlord intends to sell — 4 months; must not have been let to current tenant from the start of the tenancy)
• Ground 1A strategic considerations — landlord intends to sell: Ground 1A (new under RRA 2025) allows possession where the landlord genuinely intends to sell the property. It is a discretionary ground (court has discretion to refuse possession on reasonableness grounds). Minimum 4 months' notice (Form 3, post-RRA 2025 version). The landlord must provide evidence of intent to sell (instructed estate agent; planning to list; mortgage discharge arrangements). The ground cannot be used if the landlord let the property to the current tenant for the first time (it requires a pre-existing letting — landlords who let to the first tenant after commencement cannot use Ground 1A against that tenant). Ground 1A replaces Section 21 as the no-fault route to sell; however, unlike Section 21, it requires proving to the court that the sale intention is genuine
• Accelerated possession procedure — no longer available: Under the pre-RRA 2025 regime, Section 21 cases could be dealt with by the accelerated possession procedure (APR) — a paper-only process where no hearing was needed if the case was straightforward. APR was faster and cheaper than a full possession hearing. Section 8 cases require a hearing (unless the defendant does not respond, in which case judgment in default may be available for some grounds). The loss of APR is a practical cost for landlords — Section 8 hearings add time and court fees to the possession process. Landlords should budget for a longer possession timeline using Section 8 compared with the (now abolished) Section 21 APR

Frequently asked questions