Section 21 Notice Period UK

Quick answer

A Section 21 notice is a landlord's notice seeking possession of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) in England without giving a reason. Under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, the landlord must give the tenant at least two months' notice, served on the prescribed Form 6A. Section 21 cannot be used in the first four months of a tenancy, and the notice is only valid if the landlord has complied with deposit protection, energy performance, gas safety and licensing rules. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 will abolish Section 21 when its provisions are brought into force, so the rules described here are the current (pre-abolition) position.

What Section 21 is

Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 lets a landlord recover possession of an AST without proving fault by the tenant - the "no-fault" route. It sits alongside Section 8, which is used when the landlord relies on specific grounds such as rent arrears. Section 21 has long been the main way landlords end ASTs, but it is being phased out by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and will abolish Section 21 and move all tenancies to a periodic model once the relevant provisions are commenced.

The two-month minimum notice period

Section 21(1)(b) and section 21(4)(a) of the Housing Act 1988 require the landlord to give notice in writing stating that possession is required, and the notice must give the tenant not less than two months before the date possession is sought. The two months are calendar months, not working days. A notice served on 3 June requiring possession on or after 3 August is valid; a notice seeking possession before the two months have elapsed is defective.

Form 6A and how to serve it

Section 21 notices must be given using the prescribed Form 6A (or a form substantially to the same effect), as set out in the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/620), as amended. Form 6A must be completed correctly - errors in names, addresses, or dates can render the notice invalid. The notice can be served by hand or by post; if posted, allow for service time. The notice period ends on the date possession is claimed, but the landlord cannot apply to court for a possession order until the notice period has expired and the notice is still valid.

Validity requirements (the four-month rule and documents)

Section 21 is subject to strict preconditions, most of which were introduced by the Deregulation Act 2015. If any are missing, the notice is invalid and a possession claim will fail:

• No Section 21 in the first four months: Section 21 cannot be served during the first four months of the original tenancy (section 21B of the Housing Act 1988, as amended).
• Deposit protection: Any deposit must be protected in a government-approved scheme and the prescribed information given to the tenant before the notice is served (section 213 of the Housing Act 2004, read with section 21).
• Energy Performance Certificate: The landlord must have given the tenant a valid EPC before service (Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015).
• Gas safety certificate: A current gas safety record must have been provided (where gas is supplied) before the tenancy began, and on each annual renewal.
• How to Rent guide: The landlord must have provided the current version of the government's "How to Rent" guide.
• Licensing: Where the property requires a licence (for example, a selective or mandatory HMO licence), it must be in place.
• Repayment of prohibited fees: Any prohibited payments or deposits above the cap must have been returned.
• Retaliatory eviction: A Section 21 notice may be invalid where it follows a complaint about disrepair and a relevant local authority notice has been served.

Worked example: counting the two months

The two-month period runs from the date the notice is served, not the date it is written. If service is delayed, the effective deadline moves with it. The notice itself cannot require possession before the two months have run.

Tenant notice vs landlord notice

These rules are about the landlord's notice. A tenant ending a periodic AST gives different notice: at least one rental period (usually one month for a monthly tenancy), ending on a rent day, under common law and the terms of the tenancy agreement, subject to the minimum four weeks set by section 5 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Tenants do not use Form 6A. For fixed-term tenancies, a tenant cannot normally leave before the fixed term ends unless the contract allows a break clause or the landlord agrees.

Section 8 as the alternative

Where the landlord has grounds - most commonly rent arrears (Ground 8) or breach of tenancy (Ground 12) - they can use a Section 8 notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 instead. Notice periods for Section 8 vary by ground: Ground 8 (at least two months' rent arrears) requires at least two weeks' notice, while some grounds require two months. Section 8 requires the landlord to prove the ground at a court hearing, unlike Section 21's no-fault approach.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 and the end of Section 21

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolishes Section 21 "no-fault" evictions and converts existing ASTs into a single system of periodic tenancies. Once the abolition provisions are in force, landlords will generally need to rely on the reformed Section 8 grounds, and tenancy notices will work differently. At the time of writing (August 2026), the Section 21 abolition has not yet been fully commenced, so the current rules in this guide still apply to existing tenancies - but always check the latest GOV.UK guidance and commencement dates before acting, because the position is transitional.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Section 21 applies to England. Wales replaced Section 21 with its own notice regime under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (a landlord's notice under section 173, with a minimum six months' notice in most cases). Scotland uses the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, with 84 days' notice in many no-fault cases. Northern Ireland has its own notice-to-quit rules under the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. This guide does not cover those regimes.

Step-by-step: checking a Section 21 notice

1. Confirm the tenancy is an AST in England and that the four-month initial period has passed.
2. Check the form is Form 6A and is correctly completed.
3. Confirm the dates give at least two months from service to the possession date claimed.
4. Verify the preconditions: deposit protection, EPC, gas safety record, How to Rent guide, licensing, and no outstanding prohibited payments.
5. Check for retaliatory eviction and any outstanding repair complaints.
6. Use the tenancy notice period calculator to sanity-check the dates, then verify against current GOV.UK guidance.

Key takeaways

• Section 21 requires at least two months' notice on Form 6A (Housing Act 1988, section 21).
• The notice is invalid if served in the first four months, or if deposit/EPC/gas safety/How to Rent requirements are unmet.
• Two months means calendar months, not working days.
• Section 8 is the alternative route where the landlord has specific grounds such as rent arrears.
• Tenants ending a periodic AST give different notice (usually one month, ending on a rent day).
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 will abolish Section 21 once commenced - check current guidance.

References

• Housing Act 1988, section 21 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Act 1988, section 21B (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Act 1988, section 8 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977, section 5 (legislation.gov.uk)
• GOV.UK - Section 21 and Section 8 notices
• GOV.UK - Ending your tenancy
• Shelter England - Section 21 eviction