No-Fault Evictions Are Actually Gone
Since 1988, English landlords could evict a tenant without giving any reason at all. Three governments promised to end this before it actually happened. From 1 May 2026, Section 21 has been abolished outright — no grace period, all tenancies at once. Here's the full history, and exactly what replaced it.
The full history, 1988–2026
What actually ended
A Section 21 notice let a landlord end an assured shorthold tenancy and regain possession without stating any reason at all — no need to prove rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, or any other fault on the tenant's part. It had existed since the Housing Act 1988, and abolition was applied immediately to every existing tenancy in England on 1 May 2026, not just new ones signed afterward.
Alongside the abolition, the Act converts the vast majority of private tenancies into "Assured Periodic Tenancies" — open-ended rolling agreements rather than fixed-term contracts — and gives tenants the right to appeal rent increases they consider excessive or designed to force them out, and the right to request a pet, which landlords can no longer unreasonably refuse.
What landlords use instead
Landlords can still evict tenants — but only under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, which requires a specific, stated legal ground. The Renters' Rights Act expanded and revised these grounds, including new provisions covering a landlord wanting to sell the property (4 months' notice) or move back in themselves, alongside existing grounds like rent arrears and antisocial behaviour. Each ground carries its own notice period and evidential burden — a landlord must be able to actually demonstrate the stated reason, not simply assert it.
The transition risk
Section 21 notices validly served before 1 May 2026 can still proceed through the courts — but only if the case is actually started by 31 July 2026. After that date, no new no-fault cases can be brought at all, even for notices served before the cut-off. There is a genuine, acknowledged risk in this transition: if a landlord served a notice near the deadline but the courts haven't processed it by 31 July due to ordinary administrative delay, it isn't yet fully settled whether that case can still proceed. The government has pledged extra court funding and a new digital system to help manage the surge in cases before the window closes, but the risk of some cases falling through this gap is real and unresolved as things stand.
What's still coming
This was only "Phase One" of a multi-stage rollout. Later phases due through 2026 include a new database of private rented sector properties, a new Landlord Ombudsman for the sector (expected "from late 2026"), and an updated Decent Homes Standard setting minimum property conditions. Every landlord in England was required to provide tenants with an official "Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026" by 31 May 2026, with a penalty of up to £7,000 per tenancy for failing to do so.
Reactions
“These changes create a more stable, fairer private rented sector for both tenants and responsible landlords.”
“Renters waited seven years across three governments for a promise first made in 2019 to actually become law — every year of delay meant more families facing eviction with no reason given at all.”
“There was no grace period, no soft launch — on 1 May the rules changed for every landlord with residential property in England, every tenancy, all at once.”
In the news
Recent coverage tagged to renters' rights and evictions, pulled automatically from NewsDeck's tracked sources.
Coverage of Section 21 and renters' rights from our tracked sources will appear here automatically once this page is connected to the topic feed.