What is a Section 21 'no-fault' eviction?

What Section 21 was

Under Section 21, a landlord could end an assured shorthold tenancy with two months' notice and no reason at all once the fixed term ended. Courts had to grant possession automatically. It made tenancies fundamentally insecure: complaining about damp or a rent rise could be answered with an eviction notice ("retaliatory eviction"), and no-fault evictions became a leading trigger of homelessness in England.

What replaces it

The Renters' Rights Act abolishes Section 21 and fixed-term tenancies: all tenancies become periodic, and a landlord must use Section 8 grounds — selling the property, moving back in, serious rent arrears, antisocial behaviour — with evidence, and generally four months' notice for no-fault-style grounds, which can't be used in the first year. The Act also ends bidding wars, bans discrimination against tenants with children or on benefits, limits rent rises to once a year, and gives tenants the right to request pets.

The debate

Renter groups call abolition the biggest improvement in tenant security since the 1980s. Landlord groups warn that slower, evidence-based possession — through courts already backlogged — will push some landlords to sell up and shrink the rental supply, raising rents for everyone else. Both effects are being watched closely as the new regime beds in through 2026.

Plain-English guide for general information only — not financial, legal or tax advice. Rates are 2026/27 unless stated. Last reviewed 5 July 2026.