A section 21 notice is the notice landlords in England historically used to seek possession of a property let on an assured shorthold tenancy without relying on a specific tenant fault. The legal basis sits in section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. However, this is now a changing area of law. GOV.UK states that from 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act reforms abolish assured shorthold tenancies and end section 21 “no fault” evictions in the private rented sector in England. You can see that on GOV.UK’s pages about assured tenancy forms from 1 May 2026, giving notice of possession before 1 May 2026, and the government’s implementation roadmap for the Renters’ Rights Act.
That means this topic is still highly relevant, but any modern article needs to explain both what a section 21 notice is and how the law has now changed.
What is a section 21 notice?
A section 21 notice is the notice landlords traditionally used to seek possession at the end of an assured shorthold tenancy or during a periodic assured shorthold tenancy, provided the statutory requirements were met. The underlying legislation is section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, and GOV.UK’s older possession guidance still explains that landlords had to use Form 6A or a notice containing the same information. See GOV.UK’s page on evicting tenants in England: section 21 and section 8 notices and the general assured tenancy forms page.
In plain terms, it was often called a “no fault” eviction notice, because the landlord did not need to prove rent arrears or another breach in order to use it. That description is reflected in the government’s own recent pages about the abolition of section 21.
Can landlords still use a section 21 notice?
This is the most important point to get right.
In England, GOV.UK says that from 1 May 2026 landlords in the private rented sector will no longer be able to serve a section 21 notice. GOV.UK also says that if a tenancy started on or after 1 January 2026, the landlord would not be able to serve a section 21 notice because there would not be time to do so before the reforms took effect. You can see this on the official GOV.UK guidance for giving notice of possession before 1 May 2026 and in the tenant-facing GOV.UK guide on notices of possession served before 1 May 2026.
So for a current blog post, the accurate position is not “how to serve a section 21 notice” as if it were normal future practice. The accurate position is that section 21 is now being phased out and, from 1 May 2026, cannot be newly used in the private rented sector in England.
What were the main rules before the change?
Before 1 May 2026, a landlord generally needed to comply with several requirements for a section 21 notice to be valid. GOV.UK explains that landlords had to use Form 6A, give at least 2 months’ notice, and in many cases provide key documents such as the How to Rent guide. GOV.UK’s tenant guidance also says the notice would only usually be valid if the landlord had met certain prescribed requirements. See evicting tenants in England: section 21 and section 8 notices, How to Rent: the checklist for renting in England, and the official tenant guide for notices served before 1 May 2026.
That background still matters because some landlords, tenants, and legal teams are dealing with notices served before the reform date.
What happens to notices served before 1 May 2026?
GOV.UK says that if a landlord gave a section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, they will usually only be able to use it to start court proceedings for up to 6 months after it was given or until 31 July 2026, whichever is sooner. After 31 July 2026, landlords will not usually be able to use a section 21 notice to start an eviction process, even if the tenant was given notice less than 6 months earlier. This appears in GOV.UK’s guidance on giving notice to evict tenants.
That transition point is important because it means section 21 is still relevant for some ongoing matters, but only in a limited way.
Section 21 notice vs section 8 notice
A section 21 notice was the route traditionally used where the landlord wanted possession without relying on a specific breach. A section 8 notice is different because it relies on statutory grounds, such as rent arrears or another reason listed in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. GOV.UK still explains both on its page about section 21 and section 8 notices, while the legislation for possession grounds appears in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988.
Because section 21 is ending, section 8 and the newer assured-tenancy possession routes are becoming more important.
Why proper service matters
Where formal housing notices are still being used, service matters because landlords and legal teams need clear evidence of what was delivered, when it was delivered, and whether the notice complied with the relevant rules. Poor service can create delay, disputes, or failed possession action.
That is where a process server can still be relevant, especially for time-sensitive property and housing matters. WeProcess’s live pages on Process Server UK, What Is Process Serving UK?, and Our Process Serving Services position the business around clear evidence, formal delivery, and fast document handling across legal matters including possession-related documents. While a section 21 blog should not overstate future use of section 21 itself, it can still naturally link back to broader property and legal document service pages on the WeProcess site.
What landlords should focus on now
For current England-focused content, the practical message is that landlords should not assume section 21 remains available in the usual way. GOV.UK’s latest reforms show that the private rented sector is moving away from assured shorthold tenancies and away from section 21 possession. The most useful official pages to monitor are the GOV.UK guidance on assured tenancy forms from 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act guide, and the Housing Hub renting changes page.
In other words, this is now as much a law-change explainer as it is a guide to the old notice itself.
How WeProcess can help
WeProcess can still be linked naturally here as part of the wider conversation around legal document delivery, possession-related paperwork, and formal evidence of service. Useful internal links for this post include Process Server UK, What Is Process Serving UK?, Our Process Serving Services, and the main WeProcess homepage. These pages support the commercial side of the article without overstating the future role of section 21 itself.
Final thoughts
A section 21 notice was historically one of the best-known possession notices in England, but the law has now changed. GOV.UK says that from 1 May 2026, assured shorthold tenancies are abolished and section 21 “no fault” evictions end in the private rented sector in England. Some notices served before that date may still be used temporarily, but this is now a transitional area rather than standard future practice.