Renters Rights Act: Ending a periodic assured tenancy
The Renters' Rights Act is now in force as of 1 May 2026, with periodic assured tenancies becoming the default tenancy in England and Section 21 notices have been abolished.
Landlords will still be able to end a tenancy when they have a genuine need, but they will rely on the grounds-based Section 8 notice procedure instead.
Unlike Section 21 notices, you must state why you need possession when you serve a Section 8 notice, and that reason must be one or more of the established grounds that entitle you to possession.
Should you need to apply to the court, you must provide evidence of the grounds you have relied upon. For some grounds, the court must grant possession if the ground is evidenced, but for others, the judge should weigh up whether it is reasonable to grant possession.
Many different grounds can be included on a Section 8 notice, including for things like:
- The landlord needing to move into the property
- Serious antisocial behaviour
- The tenant breaching their contract.
However, the existing grounds do not cover all the circumstances where a landlord might need to seek possession.
To address this, now that Section 21 has been abolished, several new grounds have been added, including new grounds related to selling the property and managing student houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). However, this is balanced out by changes to existing grounds which mean notices may take longer or allow tenants to build up more arrears than under the current rules.
The guidance on this page sets out these changes to help you understand the changes that are now in force.
What are the big changes to gaining possession?
Since 1 May 2026, if a landlord is seeking possession of an assured tenancy you must consider:
- The fact that you are not able to use a Section 21 notice anymore
- That you are only able to use the Section 8 notice, and only if you have evidence one of the possession grounds exists
- That you may have to wait longer before applying to court. Most possession grounds have had their notice periods lengthened
- There are new potential financial penalties when evicting - particularly the new offences of 'recklessly misusing a possession ground' or seeking to end a tenancy orally.
Tenants notice has also changed, and now requires a minimum two month's notice to end a tenancy, unless the landlord and tenant have agreed a shorter notice which is not usually the case on new assured periodic tenancies.
Tenancies this guidance applies to
This page applies to assured tenancies only. This includes any assured shorthold tenancies that converted to assured tenancies on 1 May 2026.
You will probably have an assured tenancy if all of the following conditions are met:
- It is on or after 1 May 2026
- You are letting the property to a person or group of people
- They have exclusive occupation over the property or the room they are renting
- It is their main home
- The rent is more than £250 per annum and less than £100,000 per annum
- You, the landlord, are not a resident in the same building
If your tenancy does not meet these conditions, you may have a non-assured tenancy instead. These tenancies will usually be ended by a notice to quit.
Notices and claims begun before 1 May 2026
Before the act came into force, you were able to serve Section 21 notices. A valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice served before the Act came into force can also be used to apply to the court until 31 July 2026.
For possession claims that are already in progress
If the court issued your possession claim before 1 May 2026, it will progress normally.
For Section 21 notices
The rest of the content on this page is available to members only.
It includes guidance on -
- Transitional arrangements for older notices
- How the Section 8 notice is changing
- What restrictions apply to using a Section 8 notice
- The changes to Section 8 possession grounds
- Important information on when and where the possession grounds can be used.
How long does a Section 8 last for after being served?
A Section 8 notice can be used to apply to court once the notice period expires, up to 12 months after the day it was served.
If you have not acted on your Section 8 notice within a year of serving it then the notice will then expire and you will have to serve a fresh notice to make a court application.