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The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 no-fault evictions in England on 1 May 2026 and rewrote the Section 8 notice periods across Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. Mandatory grounds (where the court must order possession if proven) and discretionary grounds (where the court may, weighing reasonableness) get different notice periods, and several grounds become unavailable in the first 12 months of a new tenancy under the new "protected period" rule. Get the notice period wrong and the entire claim fails on a technicality — the court has no discretion to overlook a defective notice.

The biggest practical change is to arrears" class="border-b border-dotted border-emerald-300/60 font-medium text-emerald-800 hover:border-emerald-500 hover:text-emerald-950" data-glossary-link="ground-8-serious-rent-arrears">Ground 8 (mandatory rent arrears→). Pre-RRA the threshold was 2 months’ arrears at the date of notice and at the date of hearing, with a 14-day notice period. From 1 May 2026 the threshold rises to 13 weeks (3 months) of arrears and the notice period extends to 4 weeks. A landlord serving a Ground 8 with under 13 weeks’ arrears post-1 May will have the claim struck out on the first paper review. Discretionary Grounds 10 and 11 (some arrears / persistent late payment) are still available alongside Ground 8 but with the new 4-week notice.

The protected period — the first 12 months of a new tenancy — removes most landlord-fault grounds (1, 1A, 1B, 6, 6ZA) entirely. A landlord cannot serve notice to recover the property for their own occupation, sale, redevelopment or a family member in the first year. Ground 8 (rent arrears) and Grounds 12-17 (tenant breaches) remain available immediately. This is a major shift for landlords who used to serve a Section 21 in month 13 — the equivalent under RRA is Ground 1A (intention to sell), which now requires 4 months’ notice and a 12-month bar on re-letting after the notice expires.

The Act added several new mandatory grounds, but most are narrow and unavailable to a private landlord: Ground 1B (a private registered provider of social housing selling after a Rent to Buy agreement) and Ground 6A (a social landlord re-housing a tenant decanted during redevelopment) both sit outside the private rented sector. The grounds a private landlord will actually use remain Ground 1 (moving in), Ground 1A (selling), Ground 8 (serious arrears) and the conduct grounds. Notice periods differ by ground and are not all the same, so check the current Schedule 2 and the GOV.UK grounds guidance for the ground you intend to use.

The earliest possession date→ is calculated from the date the notice is validly served (which means received, not posted) plus the statutory notice period. Service rules under Section 196 LPA 1925 still apply: 2 working days for first-class post, 1 working day for hand delivery. If the tenant disputes service, the burden of proof is on the landlord — keep the AD1 / Royal Mail receipt and a dated photograph. Inside LetCompliance the notice generators audit-log every step (served by, date / time, method, recipient) so the evidence chain holds up at the tribunal.

After notice expires, you can issue court proceedings (Form N5 / N5B for accelerated possession). Standard track typically takes 8-20 weeks to a possession order and a further 6-12 weeks for the bailiff appointment. Plan the cash-flow impact accordingly: from notice service to vacant possession→, total elapsed time on a contested Ground 8 in 2026 is realistically 5-9 months. The calculator gives the earliest possession date assuming the tenant leaves on day one of the notice expiry; in reality, contested cases run to the bailiff stage.