Section 21 Abolition: What Landlords Must Do Now

For two decades, Section 21 was the landlord’s clean exit: two months’ notice, no reason required, no argument in court. It no longer exists, and pretending otherwise is now the fastest way to lose a possession claim before it starts.

The practical shift is not just that one form has been retired. It is that possession has moved from something you could reach for at the end to something you have to build towards from the first day of a tenancy. Here is what that means and what to put in place now.

What abolition actually means

From commencement, a Section 21 notice cannot be served, on new tenancies or existing ones. Every landlord in England who wants their property back now has one route: Section 8, on the prescribed Form 3A, pleading a specific statutory ground. This is in force today, not a change to prepare for.

How Section 8 is different

Section 8 is fault-based. To serve a valid notice you must cite at least one ground from Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Act. Three do most of the work in arrears cases.

Ground 8, mandatory possession

The tenant must owe at least three months’ rent (13 weeks for weekly tenancies) both when the notice is served and at the hearing. Meet that and the court has no discretion; it must grant possession. The catch is the second test: a partial payment that drops arrears below the threshold before the hearing defeats the ground, which is why it should never be pleaded alone. Our Ground 8 calculatorchecks whether a tenant’s arrears qualify.

Ground 10, some rent unpaid

Covers any arrears, however small. Discretionary, so the court can refuse, but it is the fallback that survives if a tenant pays down below the Ground 8 line before the hearing.

Ground 11, persistent late payment

Covers a tenant who chronically pays late even when not currently in arrears. A documented pattern over several months is enough.

The checklist that has to be complete before you serve

A Section 8 notice has no effect unless the tenancy’s compliance basics were handled. All of the following must be in place first:

• Deposit protected and prescribed information served within 30 days of receipt
• Current Gas Safety certificate served on the tenant
• Valid EICR served on the tenant
• EPC rated E or above served on the tenant
• How to Rent guide (current version) served on the tenant
• Information Sheet served on the tenant

Any one of these missing and the court will dismiss the claim. Landlords leaning on Ground 8 alone have been turned away because a single certificate had lapsed.

Serving it correctly

Use Form 3A

The notice must be on Form 3A, with the specific grounds, the prescribed wording, and the correct notice period. A custom letter or an old-format notice is invalid.

Get the notice period right

For Ground 8 the statutory minimum is now four weeks, up from two under the old regime. You cannot apply to court until it expires. The notice expiry calculator works out the earliest application date for any ground.

Serve, and prove you served

Personally, by post, or through the letterbox, and keep proof: a signed acknowledgement, a recorded-delivery receipt, or a witness statement. Without proof of service the claim stalls.

Apply once the period expires

Apply to the First-tier Tribunal only after the notice period ends. Apply early and the application is rejected.

What this means in practice

Landlords who used Section 21 as a clean exit now need to keep accurate payment records, have every compliance document in order before trouble starts, know which grounds fit their situation, and act early, because the Ground 8 threshold is specific and time-sensitive.