Section 21 after 1 May 2026: the remaining court deadline

Suppose a landlord served a Section 21 notice in April 2026 and the tenant has not left. The notice did not automatically become useless on 1 May, but it now sits inside a short transitional window. The landlord needs to check the notice itself, the type of tenancy and the court deadline before assuming there is still time to rely on it.

No new Section 21 notice can be served in England. For current possession cases, the normal starting point is an applicable Section 8 ground. This guide deals only with the remaining transition for a notice that was given before the law changed.

31 July is the outer limit, not every notice’s expiry date

Government guidance says a pre-May Section 21 notice can support the start of court proceedings only up to whichever relevant date comes first: the time left on that notice or 31 July 2026. In many cases the notice’s own limit is six months from service. Certain periodic or rolling arrangements can work differently, which is why the official guidance advises landlords to obtain legal advice where that exception may apply.

The practical consequence is that 31 July cannot safely be copied into a calendar as though it extended every notice. It is the latest date the transition permits. A notice that expires on 18 July does not gain another 13 days because the legislation also mentions the end of the month.

Check the notice and tenancy before deciding what remains possible

Start with the served notice, proof of service and the tenancy history. Confirm when the notice was given, when it required possession, whether the tenancy began as fixed or periodic, and whether all validity requirements were met. Deposit protection and the documents supplied to the tenant can still matter to a Section 21 claim.

If the deadline has not passed and the landlord intends to proceed, the next step is a court claim, not changing locks or pressuring the tenant to leave. The correct procedure may be the accelerated or standard route, depending on the claim. Where the dates are close, a housing solicitor can check the file before an application fee and more time are committed to an invalid notice.

A missed transition does not revive Section 21

Once the applicable claim window closes, the landlord cannot serve a replacement Section 21 notice. Any later possession attempt must rely on a statutory ground that fits the facts. The notice period, evidence and court test then come from that ground rather than from the old no-fault process.

Selling or moving into the property are among the reformed grounds, but they carry conditions, including restrictions during the first year of a tenancy and limits on reletting after possession. Rent arrears and antisocial behaviour have their own rules. A ground should be chosen from evidence, not from whichever notice period appears shortest.

The broader compliance file still matters

Possession work is easier to assess when the tenancy records are already together: the agreement, deposit receipt and protection record, gas and electrical documents, prescribed information, correspondence and proof of service. That file helps an adviser see both the route that may be available and any problem that needs attention before a claim begins.

The landlord compliance tracker includes 31 July when you mark that a pre-May Section 21 notice is still being used, but it does not calculate an individual notice’s legal expiry. Check the notice and use the current government transition guidance before relying on the date.