Section 21 after 31 July 2026: the transition has closed

acrenvo.com/guides/section-21-abolished-what-now, last reviewed 4 October 2026

Suppose a landlord served a Section 21 notice in April 2026 and the tenant has not left. Through the early summer, that notice sat inside a short transitional window. The window has now closed, and GOV.UK updated its guidance on 1 August 2026 to say so: “You can no longer apply for a possession order using a section 8 or section 21 notice which you gave to your tenant before 1 May 2026.” 31 July 2026 was the last date on which you could make an application.

No new Section 21 notice can be served in England either. In GOV.UK’s words, “You can no longer issue section 21 notices for existing and new tenancies from 1 May 2026.” For a landlord who still needs possession, the starting point is an applicable Section 8 ground under the rules that began on 1 May. This guide explains where that leaves a notice served before May, and the guide to the Renters’ Rights Act for landlords covers the rest of the rules that began on the same day.

A claim issued by 31 July can carry on

The closing date did not cut short cases that were already under way. GOV.UK puts it this way: “If you asked the court to issue a claim form on or before 31 July, however, the case will continue until proceedings have concluded.”

So a landlord who asked the court to issue a claim form in time carries on with that claim. GOV.UK’s guidance on notices given before 1 May 2026 still covers those cases, from the hearing and the kinds of order a judge can make to warrants of possession. Where a claim is close to a hearing, a housing solicitor can check the file against that guidance.

Why some notices ran out before 31 July

So a notice that expired on 18 July could only have been used until 18 July; it did not gain another 13 days because the legislation also mentions the end of the month. That still matters when an adviser looks at a claim that was issued close to the deadline, because the question is whether the notice itself was still in time.

An unused Section 21 notice cannot be revived

Once the window closed, an unused pre-May Section 21 notice stopped being a route to possession, and no replacement Section 21 notice can be served. Any new 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.

GOV.UK does describe one narrow extension, and it concerns Section 8 rather than Section 21. Where a pre-May Section 8 notice relied on rent arrears and the tenant entered a debt breathing space, the guidance says: “If the section 8 notice would have otherwise expired whilst your tenant was in the breathing space, or if when the breathing space ends you have less than 8 weeks before the notice expires, the time limit for asking the court to issue possession proceedings will be extended. In those circumstances, you will have 8 weeks beginning with the date that the breathing space ends to ask the court to start court proceedings.” GOV.UK suggests taking legal advice on individual circumstances in that situation.

Selling or moving into the property are among the reformed grounds, but they carry conditions, including a restriction during the first 12 months of a tenancy. 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. If a pre-May notice ended without possession, the guide to the 31 May information deadline explains when the Information Sheet is then due.

The landlord compliance tracker still shows 31 July 2026 as a past date when you mark that a pre-May Section 21 notice is in use, as a prompt to check where that claim stands. It does not assess an individual notice or claim, so check the notice and GOV.UK’s current guidance before relying on either.

Questions landlords ask about Section 21 after the transition