Section 21 Transitional Window Closed 31 July 2026 — What Landlords Need to Know

By RentVault Team · Published 2026-07-07 · Updated 2026-08-26 · 4 min read

The Section 21 transitional window closed on 31 July 2026. Notices not taken to court by that date are no longer enforceable.

The Section 21 transitional window closed on 31 July 2026. Any pre-1 May Section 21 notice that was not taken to court by that deadline is no longer enforceable, regardless of how much time would otherwise have remained on it.

This article explains what the transitional window was and the position now that it has closed.

What the transitional window is

Section 21 no-fault evictions were abolished on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. From that date, no new Section 21 notices can be served in England.

The government created a transitional arrangement for landlords who had already served a valid Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026. Those notices remained potentially enforceable only where possession proceedings were issued at court by 31 July 2026.

After 31 July 2026, pre-May Section 21 notices not taken to court by the deadline expired and cannot be revived. The tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy under the Renters' Rights Act, and an applicable Section 8 ground is required for possession.

Who this affects

The transitional window applied where:

• You served a valid Section 21 notice on a tenant before 1 May 2026, and
• You have not yet issued court proceedings seeking possession on the basis of that notice

Where both were true, proceedings had to be issued by 31 July 2026.

What the deadline required

To enforce a pre-May Section 21 notice, a landlord had to issue a possession claim at the county court before 31 July 2026. The relevant court form was N5B (accelerated possession procedure) or N5 (standard possession procedure).

Before you can issue proceedings, the Section 21 notice must have been validly served in the first place. A Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 had to comply with the rules in force at the time. Common reasons a pre-May Section 21 notice may be invalid:

• The deposit was not protected or the prescribed information was not served
• You did not provide the tenant with a gas safety certificate, EPC and How to Rent guide before or at the start of the tenancy
• The notice was served within the first four months of the tenancy
• The notice was on the wrong form
• The property was required to be licensed and was not
• A section 21A prohibition notice was in force

If your notice may be invalid for any of these reasons, seek legal advice before issuing court proceedings. Issuing on a defective notice wastes court fees and time.

If you miss the 31 July deadline

Where 31 July passed without court proceedings being issued, the Section 21 notice expired. The tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy under the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

You are not without options. If you have valid grounds under Section 8 — for example, rent arrears, breach of tenancy, or wanting to sell or move in — you can serve a Section 8 notice using the relevant grounds and proceed through court if the tenant does not vacate.

The key difference is that Section 8 requires you to prove a ground. Section 21 did not. If you had been relying on Section 21 to recover possession without a specific reason, the closure of this window means you will need a reason going forward.

If you need to serve a new notice after 31 July

From 1 August 2026 onwards, Section 21 does not exist. The only route to possession is Section 8, using one of the grounds under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988.

If you want possession to sell the property, you will need Ground 1A (intending to sell) — requiring four months' notice and proof of genuine intention to sell.

If you want possession to move in, you will need Ground 1 (landlord or close family member intending to occupy) — also four months' notice.

If you have rent arrears, Grounds 8, 10 and 11 may apply. Ground 8 requires four weeks' notice and arrears of at least three months' rent for monthly tenancies or 13 weeks' rent for weekly or fortnightly tenancies at both notice and hearing.

RentVault's document templates include the current prescribed forms for Section 8 notices, updated for the Renters' Rights Act grounds.

Sources: GOV.UK guide to the Renters' Rights Act · Housing Act 1988 (as amended).